The psychological sting of stigma: The costs of attributing ostracism to racism

Stephanie A. Goodwin, Kipling D. Williams, Adrienne R. Carter-Sowell

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

102 Scopus citations

Abstract

Laboratory-based research with university students demonstrates that ostracism is reflexively painful, depletes fundamental needs, and is highly resistant to variations in situational context or individual differences. Employing a representative sample of 614 US White and African American adults, we sought to (1) demonstrate the utility of using Cyberball on a broader non-college sample, and examine (2) whether attributing ostracism to racial prejudice mediates recovery. Participants in an Internet version of Cyberball were either included or ostracized by two other players (both White or both Black), and reported their level of distress before and after making attributions for treatment during the game. Overall, reflexive needs were threatened by ostracism, but more so for Blacks. Whites attributed ostracism to racism when the other players were Black. Blacks attributed ostracism to racism when the other players were White or Black. Within a few minutes, participants reported feeling less distress, but attributing ostracism to racial prejudice impeded their recovery.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)612-618
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Experimental Social Psychology
Volume46
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2010

Keywords

  • Attribution
  • Ostracism
  • Prejudice
  • Stigma

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