Ostracism and Solitude

Ostracism – being ignored and excluded – is a painful event that the majority of individuals will experience at least once in their lives. This chapter reviews the research on various affective, cognitive, and behavioral reactions to ostracism and suggests future directions, particularly on the resignation stage of the temporal model of ostracism (Williams, 2001). We also reccomend that ostracism researchers consider the situations and motives in which ostracized people choose to withdraw from social circumstances and seek solitude.