چشم انداز تمپورال واکنش های خود گزارش شده برای محرومیت اجتماعی را تعدیل می کند

Self-reported feelings of personal distress (i.e., thwarted needs for belonging, lowered self-esteem) following social exclusion are commonly used as the sole determinant of whether an event was experienced as rejection as well as whether a person has recovered from the experience (e.g., Zadro, Williams, & Richardson, 2004). However, the present research reveals that the temporal framing (past or present tense) of self-report measures shapes responses. In two studies, we manipulated social exclusion and the tense of self-report personal distress measures (i.e., basic needs satisfaction and self-esteem). The results suggest that differences based on tense are the result of biased self-reports (due to social desirability concerns or implicit theories of change over time), rather than representing actual recovery from exclusion. The present research highlights the importance of attending to question tense when assessing reactions to social exclusion.

Although people have many essential physical and psychological needs, the need for social belonging is high in motivational priority (e.g., Baumeister and Leary, 1995 and Kenrick et al., 2010). When this need is thwarted through social exclusion, rejection, or ostracism, people self-report lowered feelings of belonging, self-esteem, control, and meaningful existence, as well as exhibit marked changes in behavior ranging from increased aggression to increased pursuit of social affiliation (e.g., Williams, 2007a). Researchers have begun to identify some of the contextual factors that moderate how people respond to social rejection (see Smart Richman & Leary, 2009, for a review), but one contextual factor that has not been explored is the temporal perspective taken when reflecting on the experience of social exclusion. Self-reported feelings of social exclusion are the most widely used measures assessing the impact of social rejection and ostracism (e.g., Bernstein et al., 2010, Gonsalkorale and Williams, 2006 and Wirth et al., 2010). In this paper we reveal that the temporal framing, or phrasing, of these self-report measures shapes people's responses.

This research identifies temporal framing as a crucial moderator of self-reported personal distress following social exclusion. Temporal framing could affect responses due to actual recovery from exclusion, socially desirability concerns, or implicit theories about how emotions change over time. Our results and data from other researchers suggest that the latter two explanations are more plausible than actual emotional recovery. This research is important because self-reported feelings of belonging and self-esteem are often used as the sole determinant of whether an event was experienced as rejection and whether a person has recovered from rejection (e.g., Bernstein et al., 2010, Gonsalkorale and Williams, 2006, Goodwin et al., 2010, Wirth et al., 2010 and Zadro et al., 2006). We encourage other researchers to make use of this information when exploring the phenomenon of social exclusion in the future.