Social rejection increases perspective taking

Given that threatened belonging needs heighten attention to social cues and enhance their decoding, social rejection should motivate a shift in perspective from an egocentric focus to an other focus. In three studies, this hypothesis was tested by manipulating rejection using a reliving task (Study 1), Cyberball (Study 2), and gaze aversion stimuli (Study 3); manipulating cognitive load using an 8-digit recall task (Study 2); and measuring perspective taking (Studies 1–3), social memory (Study 3), and desire to escape the self (Study 3). In every study, rejected participants displayed greater perspective taking than accepted participants. Even under load, rejected participants took others' perspectives on a task requiring social coordination. The effect could not be attributed to a desire to avoid self-awareness. Perspective taking also predicted social memory suggesting that this rejection-induced shift in perspectives is adaptive. Findings are discussed in relation to the social monitoring and empathy literatures.