title: Are all ostracism experiences equal? A comparison of the autobiographical recall, Cyberball, and O-Cam paradigms.
abstract: In the present study, we aimed to compare the primary-need depletion elicited by three common ostracism paradigms: autobiographical recall (e.g., Zhong & Leonardelli in Psychological Science 19:838-842, 2008), Cyberball (Williams, Cheung, & Choi in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 79:748-762, 2000), and O-Cam (Goodacre & Zadro in Behavior Research Methods 42:768-774, 2010). A total of 152 participants (52 males) were randomly allocated to one of the three paradigms, and their subsequent primary needs were measured (belonging, control, self-esteem, and meaningful existence). O-Cam was found to induce greater total primary-need depletion than did Cyberball and recall, which did not differ significantly from each other. Moreover, when examining the pattern of individual need depletion elicited by each paradigm, O-Cam was found to induce significantly greater depletion of belonging, control, and meaningful existence than did the recall paradigm, and significantly greater depletion of control and self-esteem than did Cyberball. No other comparisons were found to be significant, including the comparisons between the recall and Cyberball paradigms for each individual primary need. Collectively, the findings will assist ostracism researchers in making informed choices regarding (a) which paradigm is appropriate to implement with respect to their research aims, and (b) whether the interchangeable use of paradigms within a program of research is appropriate practice.
authors.affiliation: University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Godwin
authors.forename: Georgia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: MacNevin
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zadro
authors.forename: Rose
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Iannuzzelli
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Weston
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gonsalkorale
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Devine
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D012107:Research Design; D012649:Self Concept; D012919:Social Behavior; D063508:Social Discrimination; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult