Abstract

We examined 120 Cyberball studies (N=11,869) to determine the effect size of ostracism and conditions under which the effect may be reversed, eliminated, or small. Our analyses showed that (1) the average ostracism effect is large (d > |1.4|) and (2) generalizes across structural aspects (number of players, ostracism duration, number of tosses, type of needs scale), sampling aspects (gender, age, country), and types of dependent measure (interpersonal, intrapersonal, fundamental needs). Further, we test Williams's (2009) proposition that the immediate impact of ostracism is resistant to moderation, but that moderation is more likely to be observed in delayed measures. Our findings suggest that (3) both first and last measures are susceptible to moderation and (4) time passed since being ostracized does not predict effect sizes of the last measure. Thus, support for this proposition is tenuous and we suggest modifications to the temporal need-threat model of ostracism. © 2015 Hartgerink et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Comments

Hartgerink, C.H.J., Van Beest, I., Wicherts, J.M., Williams, K.D. The ordinal effects of ostracism: A meta-analysis of 120 cyberball studies. PLoS ONE Volume 10, Issue 5, 29 May 2015, Article number e0127002.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0127002

(CC BY 4.0)

Date of this Version

2015

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0127002

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