There is little empirical research to date that looks at how the deleterious effects of social exclusion can be mitigated. We examined how touching an inanimate object—a teddy bear—might impact the effect of social exclusion on prosocial behavior. Across two studies, we found that socially excluded individuals who touched a teddy bear acted more prosocially as compared to socially excluded individuals who just viewed the teddy bear from a distance. This effect was only observed for socially excluded participants and not for socially included (or control) participants. Overall, the findings suggest that touching a teddy bear mitigates the negative effects of social exclusion to increase prosocial behavior. In Study 2, positive emotion was found to mediate the relationship between touch and prosocial behavior. These results suggest a possible means to attenuate the unpleasant effects of social exclusion.

References

Allen, K. M., Blaskovich, J., Tomaka, J., Kelsey, R. M. ( 1991 ). Presence of human friends and pet dogs as moderators of autonomic responses to stress in women . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 582 – 589 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Barsalou, L. W. ( 1999 ). Perceptual symbol systems . Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 22, 577 – 660 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Barsalou, L. W., Niedenthal, P. M., Barbey, A. K., Ruppert, J. A. ( 2003 ). Social embodiment . In Ross, B. H. (Ed.), The psychology of learning and motivation (pp. 43 – 92 ). 43, San Diego, CA : Academic Press .

Google Scholar Crossref

Baumeister, R. F., DeWall, C. N., Ciarocco, N. J., Twenge, J. M. ( 2005 ). Social exclusion impairs self-regulation . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88, 589 – 604 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Baumeister, R. F., Leary, M. ( 1995 ). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation . Psychological Bulletin, 117, 497 – 529 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Blackhart, G. C., Eckel, L. A., Tice, D. M. ( 2007 ). Salivary cortisol in response to acute social rejection and acceptance by peers . Biological Psychology, 75, 267 – 276 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Blackhart, G. C., Nelson, B. C., Knowles, M. L., Baumeister, R. F. ( 2007 ). Rejection elicits emotional reactions but neither causes immediate distress nor lowers self-esteem: A meta-analytic review of 192 studies on social exclusion . Personality and Social Psychology, 13, 269 – 309 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Bowlby, J. ( 1973 ). Attachment and loss (Vol 2). New York, NY : Basic Books .

Google Scholar

Breazeal, C. ( 2011 ). The rise of personal robots. Retrieved February 16, 2011, from http://www.ted.com/talks/cynthia_breazeal_the_rise_of_personal_robots.html

Google Scholar

Bruehl, S., Carlson, C. R., McCubbin, J. A. ( 1992 ). The relationship between pain sensitivity and blood pressure in normotensives . Pain, 48, 463 – 467 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Burgoon, J. K., Buller, D. B., Woodall, W. G. ( 1996 ). Nonverbal communication: The unspoken dialogue. New York, NY : McGraw-Hill .

Google Scholar

Carlson, M., Charlin, V., Miller, N. ( 1988 ). Positive mood and helping behavior: A test of six hypotheses . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55, 211 – 229 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Carson, T. P., Adams, H. E. ( 1980 ). Activity valence as a function of mood change . Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 89, 368 – 377 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Clark, M. S., Isen, A. M. ( 1982 ). Toward understanding the relationship between feeling states and social behavior . In Hastorf, A., Isen, A. M. (Eds.), Cognitive social psychology. (pp. 73-108). . New York, NY : Elsevier .

Google Scholar

Derfler-Rozin, R., Pillutla, M., Thau, S. ( 2010 ). Social reconnection revisited: The effects of social exclusion risk on reciprocity, trust, and general risk-taking . Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 112, 140 – 150 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

DeWall, C. N., Baumeister, R. F. ( 2006 ). Alone but feeling no pain: Effects of social exclusion on physical pain tolerance and pain threshold, affective forecasting, and interpersonal empathy . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91, 1 – 15 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

DeWall, C. N., MacDonald, G., Webster, G. D., Masten, C. L., Baumeister, R. F., Powell, C., Eisenberger, N. I. ( 2010 ). Acetaminophen reduces social pain: Behavioral and neural evidence. . Psychological Science, 21, 931 – 937 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Einsberger, N. L., Lieberman, M. D., Williams, K. D. ( 2003 ). Does rejection hurt? An fMRI study of social exclusion . Science, 302, 290 – 292 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Epley, N., Akalis, S., Waytz, A., Cacioppo, J. T. ( 2008 ). Creating social connection through inferential reproduction: Loneliness and perceived agency in gadgets, gods, and greyhounds . Psychological Science, 19, 114 – 120 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Epley, N., Waytz, A., Cacioppo, J. T. ( 2007 ). On seeing human: A three-factor theory of anthropomorphism . Psychological Review, 114, 864 – 886 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Fein, G. G. ( 1981 ). Pretend play in childhood: An integrative review . Child Development, 52, 1095 – 1118 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Fisher, J. D., Ryutting, M., Heslin, R. ( 1976 ). Hands touching hands: Affective and evaluative effects of an interpersonal touch . Sociometry, 39, 416 – 421 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline

Forsythe, R., Horowitz, J. L., Savin, N. E., Sefton, M. ( 1994 ). Fairness in simple bargaining experiments . Games and Economic Behavior, 6, 347 – 369 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Gallese, V., Lakoff, G. ( 2005 ). The brain’s concepts: The role of the sensory-motor system in conceptual knowledge . Cognitive Neuropsychology, 22, 455 – 479 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Garvey, C. ( 1984 ). Children’s talk. Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press .

Google Scholar

George, J. M. ( 1991 ). State of trait: Effects of positive mood on prosocial behaviors at work . Journal of Applied Psychology, 76, 299 – 307 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Gerber, J., Wheeler, L. ( 2009 ). On being rejected: A meta-analysis of experimental research on rejection . Perspectives on Psychological Science, 4, 468 – 488 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Harlow, H. F. ( 1958 ). The nature of love . American Psychologist, 13, 673 – 685 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Hertenstein, M. J., Verkamp, J. M., Kerestes, A. M., Holmes, R. M. ( 2006 ). The communicative functions of touch in humans, nonhuman primates, and rats: A review and synthesis of the empirical research . Genetic, Social, and General Psychological Monographs, 132, 5 – 94 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline

Hinden, R. A., Barden, L. A. ( 1985 ). The evolution of the teddy bear . Animal Behavior, 33, 1371 – 1373 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Hoffman, E., McCabe, K., Shachat, K., Smith, V. ( 1994 ). Preferences, property rights and anonymity in bargaining games . Games and Economic Behavior, 7, 346 – 380 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Horowitz, A. C., Bekoff, M. ( 2007 ). Naturalizing anthropomorphism: Behavioral prompts to our humanizing of animals . Anthrozoös, 20, 23 – 35 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

House, J. S., Landis, K. R., Umberson, D. ( 1988 ). Social relationships and health . Science, 241, 540 – 545 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Isen, A. M. ( 1970 ). Success, failure, attention, and reaction to others: The warm glow of success . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 15, 249 – 301 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Kahn, J. H., Tobin, R. M., Massey, A. E., Anderson, J. A. ( 2007 ). Measuring emotional expression with the linguistic inquiry and word count . American Journal of Psychology, 120, 263 – 286 .

Google Scholar Medline | ISI

Kosfeld, M., Heinrich, M., Zak, P. J., Fischbacher, U., Fehr, E. ( 2005 ). Oxytocin increases trust in humans . Nature, 435, 673 – 676 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Latz, S., Abraham, W., Lozoff, B. ( 1999 ). Cosleeping in context: Sleep practices and problems in young children in Japan and the United States . Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 153, 339 – 346 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline

Leary, M. R., Tambor, E. S., Terdal, S. K., Downs, D. L. ( 1995 ). Self-esteem as an interpersonal monitor: The sociometer hypothesis . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 518 – 530 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Leary, M. R., Twenge, J. M., Quinlivan, E. ( 2006 ). Interpersonal rejection as a determinant of anger and aggression . Personality and Social Psychology Review, 10, 111 – 132 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Lee, H. J., Macbeth, A. H., Pagani, J. H., Young, W. S. ( 2009 ). Oxytocin: The great facilitator of life . Progress in Neurobiology, 88, 127 – 151 .

Google Scholar Medline | ISI

Levav, J., Argo, J. J. ( 2010 ). Physical contact and financial risk-taking . Psychological Science, 21, 804 – 810 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

MacDonald, G., Leary, M. R. ( 2005 ). Why does social exclusion hurt? The relationship between social and physical pain . Psychological Bulletin, 131, 202 – 223 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Maner, J. K., DeWall, N., Baumeister, R. F., Schaller, M. ( 2007 ). Does social exclusion motivate interpersonal reconnection? Resolving the “porcupine problem.” . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92, 42 – 55 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Markt, C., Johnson, M. ( 1993 ). Transitional objects, pre-sleep rituals, and psychopathology . Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 23, 161 – 173 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Morhenn, V. B., Park, J. W., Piper, E., Zak, P. J. ( 2008 ). Monetary sacrifice among strangers is mediated by endogenous oxytocin release after physical contact . Evolution and Human Behavior, 29, 375 – 383 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Morris, P. H., Reddy, V., Bunting, R. C. ( 1995 ). The survival of the cutest: Who’s responsible for the evolution of the teddy bear? . Animal Behavior, 50, 1697 – 1700 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Nagasawa, M., Kikusui, T., Onaka, T., Ohta, M. ( 2009 ). Dog’s gaze at its owner increases owner’s urinary oxytocin during social interaction . Hormones and Behavior, 55, 434 – 441 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Newcomer, J. W., Selke, G., Melson, A. K., Hershey, T., Craft, S., Richards, K., Alderson, A. L. ( 1999 ). Decreased memory performance in healthy humans induced by stress-level cortisol treatment . Archives of General Psychiatry, 56, 527 – 533 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline

Panksepp, J. ( 1998 ). Affective neuroscience: The foundations of human and animal emotions. London : Oxford University Press .

Google Scholar

Pennebaker, J. W., Booth, R. J., Francis, M. E. ( 2007 ). Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count: LIWC [Computer software]. Austin, TX : LIWC.net .

Google Scholar

Pillutla, M., Murnighan, J. K. ( 1996 ). Unfairness, anger, and spite: Emotional rejections of ultimatum offers . Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 68, 208 – 224 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Preacher, K. J., Hayes, A. F. ( 2008 ). Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models . Behavioral Research Methods, 40, 879 – 891 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Ross, N., Medin, D. L., Coley, J. D., Atran, S. ( 2003 ). Cultural and experiential differences in the development of biological induction . Cognitive Development, 18, 25 – 47 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

So, P. S., Jiang, Y., Qin, Y. ( 2008 ). Touch therapies for pain relief in adults . Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 4, 1 – 46 .

Google Scholar

Stroud, L. R., Tanofsky-Kraff, M., Wilfley, D. E., Salovey, P. ( 2000 ). The Yale Interpersonal Stressor (YIPS): Affective, physiological, behavioral responses to a novel interpersonal rejection paradigm . Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 22, 204 – 213 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Twenge, J. M., Baumeister, R. F., DeWall, C. N., Ciarocco, N. J., Bartels, J. M. ( 2007 ). Social exclusion decreases pro-social behavior . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92, 56 – 66 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Twenge, J. M., Baumeister, R. F., Tice, D. M., Stucke, T. S. ( 2001 ). If you can’t join them, beat them: Effects of social exclusion on aggressive behavior . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 1058 – 1069 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Vormbrock, J. K., Grossberg, J. M. ( 1988 ). Cardiovascular effects of human-pet dog interactions . Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 11, 509 – 517 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Wastell, D. G. ( 1999 ). Learning dysfunctions in information systems development: Overcoming the social defenses with transitional objects . MIS Quarterly, 23, 581 – 600 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Way, B. M., Taylor, S. E., Eisenberger, N. I. ( 2009 ). Variation in the mu-opioid receptor gene (OPRM1) is associated with dispositional and neural sensitivity to social rejection . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA , 106, 15079 – 15084 .

Google Scholar

Waytz, A., Cacioppo, J., Epley, N. ( 2010 ). Who sees human? The stability and importance of individual differences in anthropomorphism . Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5, 219 – 232 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Whitcher, S. J., Fisher, J. D. ( 1979 ). Multidimensional reaction to therapeutic touch in a hospital setting . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 87 – 96 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Williams, L. E., Bargh, J. ( 2008 ). Experiencing physical warmth promotes interpersonal warmth . Science, 322, 606 – 607 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI