abstract
Article history:
Received 8 May 2015
Revised 20 January 2016
Accepted 23 February 2016
Available online 26 February 2016
Social exclusion, or ostracism, has been investigated primarily for its (typically negative) consequences for those
subjected to it. Although the negative effects of exclusion on its recipients are undisputed, we suggest that it may
have unrecognized benefits for those who perpetuate it. The present research investigated the possibility that social
exclusion acts as a signal to others – either within or outside of an exclusive interaction – that a selected relationship
is particularly cohesive. Participants interacted in triads in which one individual was or was not singled
out for exclusion. Perpetrators of exclusion were perceived (by themselves and by the excluded person) as closer
and more similar to each other, and were more likely to be subject to source memory confusions. These findings
suggest that social exclusion has not only harmful consequences for its targets, but may have relational benefits
for those who enact it.