A broad body of studies have shown that exclusion in the context of “Cyberball,” a virtual ball-tossing game in which one person is excluded from the game by the other players, results in significantly lowered self-esteem and feelings of belonging ( Gerber & Wheeler, 2009 Williams, Cheung, & Choi, 2000). As such, even minimal cues of exclusion, including those that are abstract and do not require in-person contact, may lead to negative consequences.

It has been suggested that because of the importance of social ties to human survival, responses to the social threat of ostracism are subject to the same evolutionary “hard wiring” as responses to physical threats ( MacDonald & Leary, 2005). Since the late 1960’s, when a sense of belonging was first identified as a fundamental need ( Bowlby, 1969), social scientists have documented a variety of detrimental effects of social exclusion ranging from negative affect ( Baumeister & Leary, 1995) and reduced cognitive speed and accuracy ( Baumeister, Twenge, & Nuss, 2002) to the experience of physical pain ( Eisenberger, Jarcho, Lieberman, & Naliboff, 2006) and even suicide attempts ( Williams & Zadro, 2001). To this end, the present study examined age differences in susceptibility to social exclusion and explored a range of theoretically implicated mechanisms that might account for the observed age effects. A better understanding of such developmental differences could facilitate the design of appropriate interventions. Little is known about possible age-related shifts in responses to ostracism. However, social integration matters for well being throughout the life span, as illustrated by the dire health consequences of social isolation in late life ( Shankar, McMunn, Banks, & Steptoe, 2011). The detrimental consequences of ostracism have been well documented in student samples (see meta-analysis by Gerber & Wheeler, 2009). As a species, humans depend on social bonds for their survival, and the severance of such bonds threatens fundamental needs and elicits powerful emotional responses (for a review see Gerber & Wheeler, 2009). Social contacts are generally beneficial for well being, but interactions entailing ostracism, the experience of being disregarded, excluded, or rejected by others ( Williams & Zadro, 2001), can leave people feeling worse off. Aging, Cyberball, Social exclusion, Social ostracism

Creating a likert scale in eprime