A Brief Essay on Social Rejection By *Eyob Milkias, ©2018.
What is social knockback? What factor initiates it? What will happen if a person faces social rejection? What will be done to solve the problems created by social rejection? These are the key questions addressed in this essay. Abraham Maslow (1954), an American Human Psychologist, proposed that all human beings are motivated to fulfill hierarchical pyramids of needs such as physiological needs, safety needs, the needs for love and belongingness, the needs for self-esteem and self-actualization. In his hierarchy of human needs, Maslow explained that the needs for belongingness as a sense of comfortable and connected to others that results from gaining respect, acceptance and
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Feelings of social rejection may lead individuals to become more aggressive, demonstrate low self-control, more depression, anxiety, and anger, feelings of loneliness, jealousy and sadness in their personal life and may also damage a person’s self-confidence and self-esteem (Fisher, 2015; Steinhilber, 2016). Social rejection can invite individuals to cheat, procrastinate, and choose dishonest social behaviors. Physical consequences of social rejection include negative effects on sleep quality and immune system of a person. Experiencing social rejection may lead individuals to have an immediate decrease in reasoning by 30% and in Intelligence Quotient (IQ) by 25% and reduces the performances of individuals on difficult intellectual tasks (Western Reserve University cited in Fisher, 2015).
In contrary to the above point of view of Western Reserve University, an exposure to social rejection can benefit a person positively in terms of increasing creativity and creative outcomes. A study conducted by Kim, Vincent and Goncalo (2012) about the linkage between social rejection and creativity, find out that individuals who possessed an independent self-concept performed more creatively following social exclusion relative to
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This will result in considering rejection as a constant and something that can make you better. The more aware and mindful we are of how we react to situations will give us options on how to respond differently.
Change Your Perspective
Re-define how you define about yourself and your relations with others carefully. Don’t let one circumstance change your entire mindset. One instance of rejection isn’t indicative of your entire social sphere or relationship map. Make an effort to reach out to friends, family, and any other support system you have to reaffirm your positive relationships. Rejections aren’t the end of the world, but sometimes we can react as if they are. Being turned away from one opportunity makes you available for another. Conclusions
To conclude this essay on the concepts, causes, effects and solutions for social rejection, no one likes to be excluded and rejected by his/her friends, co-workers, family members and community members. Maslow argued that all people want to be accepted and included socially. But, every individual may face at least once a time throughout his/her life regardless of his or her age level, educational qualifications, ethnic backgrounds, socio-economic status and etc. Lack of social acceptance has direct impact on person both negatively and positively. This problem can be solved and reduced by being independent person, by purposefully
... losing the acceptance of a social group, listening to the heart will leave individuals with a feeling of fulfillment and happiness. The socially unacceptable is only unacceptable because there are new ideas society is not use to: “Society opposes the good idea when it is not an accepted routine” (Growth Online). Individuals who listen to their heart have something extra than people who listen to their conscience, which is true self-respect: “The individual’s trust in himself [or herself] is superior in his [or her] trust in the society” (Growth Online).
...society as a whole. When one is taunted or ostracized, the pain they feel is not only emotional but physical as well. The notion “sticks and stones” has been shown to be untrue. Sian Beilock, Ph.D. spoke about research which shows that, “intense social rejection really does share a lot in common with physical pain”. People that are abandoned, teased, rejected, taunted, or ridiculed by their peers may at first seek to do good things, as the monster in Frankenstein attempted. Should this not result in acceptance, these same seemingly weak people can strike out with devastating consequences. This leaves us to wonder, “How could we have stopped the tragedy “? As Shelly’s novel Frankenstein demonstrates, if society treats a person as an outcast simply because of their physical appearance, the end results can be catastrophic for the victims and for the perpetrators.
First, the power of this quotation overwhelms me with the exact same hurt I always felt when rejected by peers and/or abandoned by a trusted adult (whose gender and role also hold significance, as I will show shortly) in the face of that rejection.
The desire for positive social relationships is one of the most fundamental and universal human needs. This need has a deep root in evolutionary history in relation to mating and natural selection and this can exert a powerful impact on contemporary human psychological processes (Baumeister & Leary 1995). Failure to satisfy these needs can bear devastating consequences on the psychological well being of an individual. These needs might not be satisfied as rejection, isolation, and ostracism occurs on a daily basis to people. Although being ignored and excluded is a pervasive circumstance present throughout history across species, and humans of all ages and cultures i.e the use of Ostracism (the feeling of isolation and exclusion) has been observed in modern cultures (Woods 1978) Schools and academic institutions (Heron 1987) and interpersonal relationships (Williams 2000). Although ostracism can be seen as a social norm the effect this can have on an individual has the potential of being detrimental to individuals including extreme feelings of hurt. Individuals can respond to rejection in different ways ranging from psychologically to behaviourally. Both psychological and behavioural responses to interpersonal rejection posit theories based on the various paradigms used to stimulate ostracism in experimental settings resulting in s the creation of models by the likes of Williams (2007) and Leary (2009).
Society has become known for turning people who are not physically attractive into social outcasts. Movies, television shows, and even books portray the popular and well-liked characters as attractive and the smart and unattractive as the socially awkward. This problem has not just appeared out of nowhere, it has been included in novels dating back to the 1800s. In 1818 Mary Shelley, wrote Frankenstein a gothic novel that discusses rejection due to appearance. In Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, the theme of rejection is portrayed throughout the book in numerous elements such as setting, tone, allusion.
We all question our beliefs, whether it be religious, or just simply how evolution has evolved. And in the book Uninvited by Lysa TerKeurst, she takes you through her beliefs and journey of finding and meeting God. All throughout this book she helps us understand that rejection is going to be our biggest enemy. Rejection is going to be there when you're trying to move closer to God, rejection is going to follow you all through life, rejection is going to be in all of your relationships, rejection is going to ruin opportunities and rejection is going to make you feel less than, left out and lonely. But all you can do is thrive to live loved. She also explains that rejection is just going to get you where you are supposed to be and that it’s
Maslow believed that there was a hierarchy of five innate needs that influence people’s behaviors (Schultz & Schultz, 2013, p.246-247). In a pyramid fashion, at the base are physiological needs, followed by safety needs, then belonginess and love needs, succeeded by esteem needs, and finally the need for self-actualization. Maslow claimed that lower order needs must be at least partially satisfied before higher level needs are addressed. Furthermore, behavior is dominated by solely one need
She was rejecting towards her children’s emotions, not giving them the emotional support they needed. Maggie now has disdain for her mother, whereas Milo still seemed hopeful for his Mother’s love and support. People who have lack of social support are more likely to be vulnerable to major depressive disorder, (Butcher, Mineka, & Hooley, 2014). The twin’s mother’s behavior clearly worsened the twin’s problems with depression during her visit. Excessive reassurance seeking can result when one experiences social rejection, especially if the person experiences the rejection frequently, (Butcher, Mineka, & Hooley, 2014). The interpersonal difficulties that their mother caused as children follow them into adulthood, (Barbour, n.d.). This becomes a cycle, the interpersonal difficulties that have become chronic continue to worsen depression and continuing the interpersonal difficulties, (Barbour, n.d.). This is Beck’s cognitive theory at play here. Early experiences form dysfunctional beliefs, critical incidents activate these beliefs, and the negative thoughts become automatic, (Butcher, Mineka, & Hooley, 2014). Social support is a critical variable in depression, (Barbour, n.d.). This is because the extent a person likes someone is directly correlated with how much one is willing to help and support that person, (Barbour, n.d.). Milo and
Most people have experienced rejection at some point in their lives. Certainly, some cases are worse than others, but generally rejection is an unfortunate life experience that leaves people feeling isolated, bitter, and sometimes resentful. This rejection, which is a product of our external environment, can lead to an internal rejection where we choose to accept the external decision as valid and we reject ourselves. The rejection of self is dangerous because it can lead to self harm or the harm of others. Both Dante and the Monster struggle with these consequences in their own way and some end up being fatal. Is it inevitable that the rejected would act out destructively some later point in life, or are has their character been altered by
Most of the time, avoidants reject people who would have never rejected them in the first place. A victim of this personality disorder is usually affected in one of three ways. First, some avoidants put considerable time and effort into making themselves attractive to others. They do this so they will at least be liked for their looks, if not for themselves. Second, make sure that their appearance drives others away.
The desire to be accepted and belong to a group is an undeniable human need. But how does this need affect an individual? Social psychologists have conducted numerous experiments and concluded that, through various forms of social influence, groups can change their members’ thoughts, feelings, and behavior.
Every clap, every smile from our parents told us we were doing something right and egged us on to do better. “Since the need for approval, love and acceptance from our parents is strong, we become conditioned over time to seek approval from others as well. Whenever we don’t receive approval, there is an automatic trigger and desire to win it back”. We concentrate all our school years and careers on trying to fit in, fearing criticism, and doing whatever it takes to be accepted. We spend our whole lives waiting
Glasser believes that humans are genetically social creatures and need other people. He suggests that the cause of almost all psychological symptoms is an inability to get along with the important peopl...
Many of the rejected children tend to be aggressive, hyperactive, socially unskilled, and unable to regulate their emotion (Kail and Cavanaugh, 2013). While the smaller group of popular children is aggressive, the rejected children tend to be more hostile in their aggressiveness. Peers dislike these rejected children because their hostility appears to be done for the fun of it. They get a rise out of being cruel to others. The other rejected children that are not aggressive may tend to be shy, withdrawn, timid, and lonely (Kail and Cavanaugh, 2013).
When the rejected teenager reaches the limit of patience and tolerance, he or she lashes out -- rejecting the family, the school, the church, the s...