Humans are social animals. Our need to belong is a cross-cultural human universal. When our desire for social connection is frustrated, we can suffer from a host of harmful psychological and physiological consequences. As a result, social rejection can be an extremely aversive experience that can be strategically employed to inflict harm/punishment (e.g., relational aggression). Social rejection has both emotional antecedents and consequences. That is, social rejection can be elicited by emotions (e.g., anger, disgust, etc.) within the rejecter and can evoke emotional reactions within the rejected (e.g., anger, sadness, etc.). Thus, the role that emotion plays in social rejection is not simple. It is multifaceted. Negative emotions such as anger and disgust can provoke social rejection and, reciprocally, they can evoke negative emotions in those who are socially rejected. Positive emotions, however, may act as a buffer or shield that insulates us from the deleterious consequences of rejection.
The goal of the present research topic is to bring together researchers from diverse backgrounds in order to shed light on the multifaceted relationship between emotional experience and social rejection. We hope to provide an opportunity for contributors to present recent advances in the area of belongingness, social rejection, stigma, and emotion. Furthermore, we hope to generate discussion about implications for future work in the area, as well as practical applications. Thus, the aims are twofold:
1. This Research Topic will provide a current overview of the theoretical and methodological advances in regards to social rejection and emotion processing;
2. Discuss real-world implications and identify critical gaps left to be explored.
Manuscripts submitted to this research topic should focus on how emotion is linked to belonging and rejection (broadly construed—e.g., stigma, bullying, other related constructs). Authors can explore emotion as an elicitor (i.e., cause), consequence, or buffer of social rejection. We welcome research articles (e.g., brief reports, full-length original reports, registered reports), review papers (e.g., mini-reviews, review articles, systematic reviews), methodological papers, and general commentaries and perspective papers. Registered reports will be evaluated in two phases. In Phase 1, peer reviewers will assess the value and validity of the research question, the rationale of the hypotheses, and rigor of the proposed methods. After the manuscript receives an in-principle acceptance, the authors are invited to pre-register their study in a recognized repository (e.g., osf.io), collect data, and submit Phase 2 manuscripts with results and a discussion. Phase 2 reviewers will focus on adherence to the study protocol and on eventual post-hoc exploratory analyses.
Humans are social animals. Our need to belong is a cross-cultural human universal. When our desire for social connection is frustrated, we can suffer from a host of harmful psychological and physiological consequences. As a result, social rejection can be an extremely aversive experience that can be strategically employed to inflict harm/punishment (e.g., relational aggression). Social rejection has both emotional antecedents and consequences. That is, social rejection can be elicited by emotions (e.g., anger, disgust, etc.) within the rejecter and can evoke emotional reactions within the rejected (e.g., anger, sadness, etc.). Thus, the role that emotion plays in social rejection is not simple. It is multifaceted. Negative emotions such as anger and disgust can provoke social rejection and, reciprocally, they can evoke negative emotions in those who are socially rejected. Positive emotions, however, may act as a buffer or shield that insulates us from the deleterious consequences of rejection.
The goal of the present research topic is to bring together researchers from diverse backgrounds in order to shed light on the multifaceted relationship between emotional experience and social rejection. We hope to provide an opportunity for contributors to present recent advances in the area of belongingness, social rejection, stigma, and emotion. Furthermore, we hope to generate discussion about implications for future work in the area, as well as practical applications. Thus, the aims are twofold:
1. This Research Topic will provide a current overview of the theoretical and methodological advances in regards to social rejection and emotion processing;
2. Discuss real-world implications and identify critical gaps left to be explored.
Manuscripts submitted to this research topic should focus on how emotion is linked to belonging and rejection (broadly construed—e.g., stigma, bullying, other related constructs). Authors can explore emotion as an elicitor (i.e., cause), consequence, or buffer of social rejection. We welcome research articles (e.g., brief reports, full-length original reports, registered reports), review papers (e.g., mini-reviews, review articles, systematic reviews), methodological papers, and general commentaries and perspective papers. Registered reports will be evaluated in two phases. In Phase 1, peer reviewers will assess the value and validity of the research question, the rationale of the hypotheses, and rigor of the proposed methods. After the manuscript receives an in-principle acceptance, the authors are invited to pre-register their study in a recognized repository (e.g., osf.io), collect data, and submit Phase 2 manuscripts with results and a discussion. Phase 2 reviewers will focus on adherence to the study protocol and on eventual post-hoc exploratory analyses.
