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Marginalized Individuals and Extremism: The Role of Ostracism in Openness to Extreme Groups
Author(s) -
Hales Andrew H.,
Williams Kipling D.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.618
H-Index - 122
eISSN - 1540-4560
pISSN - 0022-4537
DOI - 10.1111/josi.12257
Subject(s) - ostracism , openness to experience , social psychology , feeling , psychology , social identity theory , negotiation , identity (music) , social exclusion , social group , sociology , political science , social science , physics , acoustics , law
Does the experience of being socially ostracized increase interest in extreme groups? Drawing from the temporal need‐threat model of ostracism, and uncertainty‐identity theory, we conducted two experiments testing the hypothesis that compared to included individuals, ostracized individuals will show greater interest in extreme groups. In Study 1, following a recruitment attempt, ostracized participants expressed greater willingness to attend a meeting of an activist campus organization advocating reducing tuition. In Study 2, ostracized participants expressed greater openness towards gang membership. These findings emphasize the importance of leaders creating environments that minimize feelings of social exclusion, and suggest that approaches to international policy that exclude/marginalize (i.e., refusing to meet for negotiations) may produce greater extremity.