1. Recent research has shown that some rejected individuals will try to forge social connections with new individuals, which may serve to replenish a sense of belonging (Maner, DeWall, Baumeister, & Schaller, 2007). Individuals high in Fear of Negative Evaluation (FNE) do not exhibit reconnection-oriented responses with interaction partners following a rejection experience, whereas those low in FNE do (Maner, et al., 2007). In an online environment negative evaluation may be less, and the possibility for strategic self-presentation may be greater than in a face-to-face interaction. As a result, high FNE individuals may respond with reconnection attempts via online communication after ostracism. Consistent with the proposed benefit of online communication for high FNE individuals, Pierce (2009) reported a positive relationship between social anxiety and choosing online networks and text-based mediums by which to communicate. Hypothesis: Following an ostracizing experience, high FNE individuals will report a greater degree of belonging after engaging in online communication compared to when online communication does not occur. Drawing from Maner and colleagues’ work, online communication is not expected to restore belongingness needs among high FNE individuals when accompanied by the expectation of face-to-face interaction. Participants and Design 135 undergraduate students participated in exchange for course credit. A 2 (chat: chat present vs. absent) x 2 (face-to-face expectation: face-to-face interaction expected vs. not expected) x FNE (continuous) between participants design was employed. Procedure Participants were first assessed on FNE. They then played Cyberball (Williams, Cheung, & Choi, 2000) where all participants received the ball twice before being ignored for the rest of the 5 minute game, and then completed the Basic Needs Assessment, which included a measure of pre-manipulation belongingness. Participants were then assigned to 1 of 4 communication conditions: No Chat/No FTF, No Chat/FTF, Chat/No FTF, or Chat/FTF where they participated in that interaction condition. Finally, participants completed a second Basic Needs Assessment, which included a post-manipulation assessment of belongingness. Measures Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (Leary, 1983): Twelve items on a 5- point scale (1 = Not at all characteristic of me, 5 = Extremely characteristic of me) (e.g., I am afraid others would not approve of me) (α =.91). Belongingness (Williams et al., 2002): Four items on a 5-point scale (1 = Not at all, 5 = Extremely) “I feel disconnected” (R), “I feel rejected” (R), “I feel like an outsider.”(R) and “I feel I belong.” Responses were averaged such that higher numbers reflect greater belongingness. (αs =.89 and.83 for pre and post manipulation belongingness respectively) Maner and colleagues (2007) demonstrated that high FNE individuals do not engage in reconnection-oriented behavior toward an anticipated interaction partner following an exclusion experience. We found that a particular form of reconnection behavior (engaging in online communication) restored a sense of belonging among high FNE individuals following an ostracism experience. Such restorative effects were not present when high FNE individuals anticipated meeting a person face-to-face. Communicating in an online environment may afford less possibility of negative evaluation and more possibility for strategic self-presentation, which may be especially important for individuals who fear negative evaluation in face-to-face interactions. Maner et al. demonstrated that individuals low in FNE engage in reconnection- oriented behavior when face-to-face interaction is expected. Mirroring this pattern, we found that low FNE individuals experienced increased belongingness after chatting with a person they expected to meet. Together, these findings provide evidence for the psychological benefits of social reconnection (i.e., increased belongingness). We demonstrated that high FNE individuals experience such benefits upon engaging in online communication absent an expectation of face-to-face interaction. INTRODUCTION METHODCONCLUSIONS The Role of Online Communication in Restoring Belongingness Needs V. Skye Wingate 1 & David A. Butz 2 1 Department of Communication 2 Department of Psychology University of California at Davis Morehead State University RESULTSCOMMUNICATION CONDITIONS RESULTS Participants were assigned to one of 4 communication conditions: 1. No Chat/No Face-To-Face Interaction Expected Experimenter gave participants a word search to work on for 5 minutes, which occupied the same amount of time as the online chats in other conditions 2. No Chat/Face-To-Face Interaction Expected Required no online chat but the experimenter did instill in the participants the expectation of a face-to-face interaction with a person not involved in the ostracizing experience. Therefore, these participants were given a word search to work on for 5 minutes and then told they would be meeting another person face-to-face. 3. Chat/No Face-To-Face Interaction Expected Required an online chat for 5 minutes via gchat with a confederate who used a script, but no expectation of a face-to-face interaction. Participants chatted online with a confederate for 5 minutes. 4. Chat/Face-To-Face Interaction Expected Required participants to chat online for 5 minutes via gchat with a confederate who used a script and also to expect to meet this person face-to- face. β = -.01, p =.967 β =.59, p =.001 β =.24, p =.146 β =.35, p =.037 Significant FNE x Chat Interaction: t(62) = 2.63, p =.011, β =.39. FNE x Chat interaction not significant: t(65) = -0.48, p =.636, β = -.07. Note: this pattern was also present when controlling for pre-manipulation belongingness scores. Significant FNE x Chat x Face-to-Face Expectation interaction, t(127) = - 2.14, p =.034, β = -.33. Followed up by exploring two-way FNE x Chat interactions in each interaction expectation condition