Bittersweet Rejection The Effects of Rejection on Levels of Empathy and Envy Alicia R. Ivanhoe, Cynthia L. Pickett, Yanine D. Hess University of California, Davis (United States of America)

Definitions of Empathy and Envy  Empathy Being able to understand and identify with another’s feelings or current situation Being able to understand and identify with another’s feelings or current situation Compassion for both positive and negative situations Compassion for both positive and negative situations Cognitive ability to engage in perspective taking Cognitive ability to engage in perspective taking  Envy When a person desires a superior quality of another and either aspires to achieve it or wishes the other lacked it. When a person desires a superior quality of another and either aspires to achieve it or wishes the other lacked it.

Question  Are rejected people more likely to show empathy or envy to positive/negative situations?  Baumeister & DeWall “Alone but feeling No Pain: Effects of Social Exclusion on Physical Pain Tolerance and Pain Threshold, Affective Forecasting and Interpersonal Empathy” Found that people become emotionally “numb” after being faced with rejection Found that people become emotionally “numb” after being faced with rejection Only used negative scenarios Only used negative scenarios Pickett, Gardner & Knowles “Getting a Cue: The Need to Belong and Enhanced Sensitivity to Social Cues.” Pickett, Gardner & Knowles “Getting a Cue: The Need to Belong and Enhanced Sensitivity to Social Cues.” Social exclusion increases sensitivity to social cues Social exclusion increases sensitivity to social cues

Hypothesis  Accepted Individuals Increased Envy for positive situation Increased Envy for positive situation  Rejected Individuals Increased Empathy for positive situation (Pickett) Increased Empathy for positive situation (Pickett) Little or no empathy for negative situation (Baumeister) Little or no empathy for negative situation (Baumeister)

To Sum up the Hypothesis AcceptedRejected Negative Vacation No Empathy No empathy (Baumeister) Positive Vacation Increased Envy Increased Empathy (Pickett)

Study Design  Rejected or Accepted via Cyberball  Demographics and Neutral Exchange (only from fake participant)  Inclusion of Others in Self (IOS)  Positive/Negative Winter Vacation Experience  Empathy/Envy questionnaires-participants rated how they felt on a 7 point scale Mood Mood Feelings towards the other participant Feelings towards the other participant Opinion of the other participant Opinion of the other participant

Cyberball Screen shot of Cyberball Screen shot of Cyberball  Rejected Condition Participants were thrown the ball once from each player on the screen and then excluded for the rest of the game. Participants were thrown the ball once from each player on the screen and then excluded for the rest of the game.  Accepted Condition Participants were included in the ball toss for the entirety of the game. Participants were included in the ball toss for the entirety of the game.

Neutral Exchange/Demographics  Demographics Age, sex, major, hometown, siblings Age, sex, major, hometown, siblings  Neutral Exchange Favorite food and why Favorite food and why

IOS: measures closeness to other individual based on overlap of circles

Positive/Negative Winter Vacation Experience  Positive Vacation Condition:  The participant read about another individual who experienced an exciting vacation in Europe and a pleasant New Years with friends at the beach.  Negative Vacation Condition: The participant read about another individual who experienced a disappointing end to their Europe vacation when they broke their leg. They were unable to see their friends because they were bed ridden at home. The participant read about another individual who experienced a disappointing end to their Europe vacation when they broke their leg. They were unable to see their friends because they were bed ridden at home.

Mood Questions-current state  I feel: Frustrated Frustrated Resentful Resentful Ungrateful Ungrateful Sad Sad Inferior Inferior Happy Happy Grateful Grateful Optimistic Optimistic Cheerful Cheerful Worthy Worthy

Feelings Towards the Other Participant  I feel sympathy towards the other participant  I feel warmth towards the other participant  I feel jealous of the other participant  I resent the other participant

Opinion of the Other Participant  I can imagine what it’s like to be in the other participant’s situation  I really liked learning about the other participant  I don’t think the other participant deserved their vacation  I want to work hard to make extra money so I can have a better vacation next year

Results - Interaction of Exclusion Condition and Vacation Type on Empathic Feelings Figure 1 Mean difference values representing feelings towards the other participant. There was a significant difference in mean value for the positive and negative vacation viewed by rejected individuals.

Results-Main Effects of Rejection Figure 2 Mean difference values representing feelings towards the other participant, empathetic opinion and envious opinion. Main effects of rejection shown on empathy feelings, empathy opinion and envious opinion.

Implications  Rejected individuals felt a decrease in empathy and increase in negative feelings toward the individual who experienced the positive vacation  Rejected individuals felt more empathy for the negative situation than accepted individuals  Rejected individual’s levels of empathy can be transformed closely after being rejected depending on the situation they’re exposed to.  Suggests an increase in sensitivity to social cues for the negative vacation condition.

Limitations  Only used college students from UC Davis  Run electronically on a computer (limits closeness)  Floor effect for envy in women

Future Directions  Introduce a normalizing effect for envy “It’s normal to experience feelings of frustration and envy, please be honest with your answers.” “It’s normal to experience feelings of frustration and envy, please be honest with your answers.”  Vary ways of rejecting individuals Control their bonding experience with the other individual Control their bonding experience with the other individual

Conclusion  Rejection lowers empathy for positive situations but increases it for negative situations  Depends on closeness to the other individual  Situation and relationship to the other individual determines emotional numbness, not only rejection