Investigations into differences between social- and cyberostracism.

Williams, Kipling D., Govan, Cassandra L., Croker, Vanessa, Tynan, Daniel, Cruickshank, Maggie, Lam, Albert·2002·Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice

Abstract

This article presents 4 studies examining the impact of being ignored and excluded via computer-mediated communication (CMC). The focus is the differences between social- and cyberostracism. Study 1 replicated K. D. Williams, C. K. T. Cheung, and W. Choi's (2000) cyberostracism experiment, which showed negative consequences of being ostracized in a virtual ball toss game. Studies 2 and 3 examined ostracism in a chat room environment, again showing negative consequences of ostracism, even when compared with negatively charged inclusion. Study 4 directly compared responses to CMC with face-to-face (or social) ostracism. Results suggest that whereas both modes of ostracism are aversive, aspects of CMC provide targets with “virtual bravado” that might buffer negative effects of cyberostracism.

Cites (2)

  1. Internet paradox: A social technology that reduces social involvement and psychological well-being?
    Kraut, Robert, Patterson, Michael, Lundmark, Vicki, Kiesler, Sara, Mukophadhyay, Tridas, Scherlis, William · 1998 · American Psychologist
  2. Cyberostracism: effects of being ignored over the Internet
    Williams, Kipling D., Cheung, Christopher K. T., Choi, Wilma · 2000 · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Show all 2 references

Cited by (32)

  1. Ostracism
    Williams, Kipling D. · 2007 · Annual Review of Psychology
  2. How low can you go? Ostracism by a computer is sufficient to lower self-reported levels of belonging, control, self-esteem, and meaningful existence
    Zadro, Lisa, Williams, Kipling D, Richardson, Rick · 2004 · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
  3. Reactions to discrimination, stigmatization, ostracism, and other forms of interpersonal rejection: A multimotive model
    Smart Richman, Laura, Leary, Mark R. · 2009 · Psychological Review
  4. Chapter 6 Ostracism
    Williams, Kipling D. · 2009 · Advances in Experimental Social Psychology
  5. Social Exclusion and the Deconstructed State: Time Perception, Meaninglessness, Lethargy, Lack of Emotion, and Self-Awareness.
    Twenge, Jean M., Catanese, Kathleen R., Baumeister, Roy F. · 2003 · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

See all 262

How to cite

Cite CoChat for the checks on this page, and the paper for its own findings.

This page
CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Investigations into differences between social- and cyberostracism. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1037//1089-2699.6.1.65
The paper
Williams, K. D., Govan, C. L., Croker, V., Tynan, D., Cruickshank, M., & Lam, A. (2002). Investigations into differences between social- and cyberostracism. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice. https://doi.org/10.1037//1089-2699.6.1.65

Data sources

Bibliographic data: Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, Crossref.

Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).

Semantic Scholar’s data is described in: Kinney, R., et al. (2023). The Semantic Scholar Open Data Platform. arXiv:2301.10140.