Vicarious ostracism

Ostracism—being ignored and excluded—causes distress and threatens psychological needs (i.e., belonging, selfesteem, control, and meaningful existence; Williams, 2009). Even subtle behaviors, such as withholding eye contact or staring through someone as if they did not exist, can induce feelings of ostracism (Wirth et al., 2010; Wesselmann et al., 2012). Most individuals experience ostracism at least once in their lives and some experience it daily (Williams, 2009; Nezlek et al., 2012). Empathy research suggests that individuals vicariously experience others’ pain. Most of this research has focused on vicarious physical pain, but might observers also experience vicarious social pain (i.e., ostracism)? We will review the emerging research on vicarious ostracism, highlighting the neural correlates of this phenomenon. Finally, we posit future research questions to strengthen the theoretical understanding of vicarious ostracism from social cognitive and evolutionary psychological perspectives.