Stand By Me: The Presence Of A Close Friend Helps Against The Negative Effects Of Social Exclusion

Abstract

Individuals are highly attuned to cues of exclusion, even when it is not caused by an actual social threat. To date there is little evidence identifying the situational factors that could buffer individuals from the detrimental consequences of exclusion. Our study investigated how the presence of a close friend, a potential attachment figure, affects the perception and experience of one-person exclusion. Participants played Cyberball either in the presence of a friend or alone. They were either included by both players or excluded by one player while the other remained fair. Although all excluded participants detected, participants who were excluded in the presence of their friends reported significantly better mood-and-need levels compared to those who participated alone. Individual differences did not moderate the effects. These findings suggest that although it does not affect the perception of social exclusion, the presence of a friend could buffer against the negative effects of exclusion.