Social exclusion and selective memory: How the need to belong influences memory for social events

The need to belong has been forwarded as a pervasive human motive, influenc ing a range of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses. The current research explored the influence of belongingness needs on the selective ret ention of social information. Just as physical hunger results in selective memory for food-relevant stimuli, it was hypothesized that social hunger, a roused when belongingness needs were unmet, would result in selective memor y for socially relevant stimuli. In two studies, the authors used a simulat ed computer chat room to present brief acceptance err rejection experiences to participants. Participants then read a diary containing both social and individual events. In both, rejection experiences resulted in selective me mory for the explicitly social events of the diary. The implications of the se results for the existence and consequences of a basic need to belong an discussed.