Abstract
Past research has shown that adolescents justify social exclusion based on concerns for group functioning, and yet, to date, no study has evaluated whether group functioning justifications shift or remain stable across different exclusion contexts. In this study, we systematically manipulated exclusion context (i.e., competitive or noncompetitive soccer groups) and individual characteristics of the target of exclusion to test the nature of the interaction between these factors during exclusion judgments. Adolescents’ (N = 201; 61 % Female) exclusion judgments differed across contexts only when an individual’s ability was under consideration. Intergroup (i.e., gender, nationality) and interpersonal (i.e., aggression, shyness) characteristics overwhelmed contextual considerations. Results indicate the complexity of factors weighed by adolescents when making exclusion judgments, and suggest the need for extension of the present findings to understand more fully the interaction between the context of exclusion and individual characteristics in exclusion judgments.
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Acknowledgments
This research was funded by a Support Program for Advancing Research and Collaboration (SPARC) grant from the University of Maryland’s College of Education. The authors wish to acknowledge the thoughtful contributions of the research assistants who supported this project. The research assistants involved in different stages of this project include: Megan Runion, Jayme Proctorstein, Caprice Retterer, Naomi Heilweil, Lauren Rudin, Jamie Ott, Kaye Schacter, and Rachel Hoffman.
Author Contributions
C.R. conceived of the study, participated in its design, participated in the coordination of the study, performed the measurement, performed the statistical analysis, participated in the interpretation of the data, and participated in the coordination and drafting of the manuscript; A.H. participated in the statistical analysis, participated in the interpretation of the data, and participated in the drafting of the manuscript; K.L.M. participated in data collection, participated in the statistical analysis, participated in the interpretation of the data, and participated in the drafting of the manuscript; M.K. participated in the conception, design and interpretation of the data, providing critical revisions to the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Richardson, C.B., Hitti, A., Mulvey, K.L. et al. Social Exclusion: The Interplay of Group Goals and Individual Characteristics. J Youth Adolescence 43, 1281–1294 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-013-9967-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-013-9967-8