When silence speaks louder than words: Explorations into the intrapsychic and interpersonal consequences of social ostracism

Respondents wrote 2 stories, 1 about a time they were given the silent trea tment and 1 about a time they used the silent treatment on another. Content analyses indicated that targets who were unable to attribute the ostracism to a specific cause suffered greater threats to belongingness and self-est eem than those who understood the reasons for their treatment. Targets who felt that others were oblivious to their presence reported stronger threats to belongingness, self-esteem, and meaningful existence and were more like ly to affiliate with others than were targets who generated alternative rea sons for their treatment. People high in self-esteem were more likely than those low in self-esteem to (a) use ostracism as a means of terminating the relationship and (b) terminate relationships with their ostracizing partne rs. People low in self-esteem, conversely, were more likely to ostracize ot hers in defense against criticism or rejection, ostracize others in general , and report being ostracized by others. Finally, perspective differences i ndicated that sources portrayed the ostracism as a useful interpersonal tac tic that ultimately led to conflict resolution, whereas targets emphasized feelings of withdrawal and resentment.