Abstract
Previous studies have demonstrated the negative impacts of ostracism on
primary needs and moods, particularly children and adolescents. Given
children’s early exposure to the Internet, online ostracism could
potentially affect their primary needs and moods at an earlier age. To
investigate this, the present study utilized the Cyberball paradigm to
manipulate the exclusion and re-inclusion and examined the threats to
primary needs (sense of belonging, self-esteem, control, meaningful
existence) and emotions (happiness, sadness, anger) in school-aged
children (163 children aged 6-8, 8-10, and 10-11) following social
exclusion and subsequent inclusion. The findings revealed that the
threats to the four primary needs due to ostracism began to emerge
around the age of 8-10 years and persisted until the age of 10-12 years.
Regarding moods, the negative effects of ostracism appeared from the age
of 6-8 years and worsened with age. This suggests the existence of a
critical period during which ostracism poses a threat to children’s
primary needs and has adverse effects on their moods. Moreover, the
study demonstrated that brief inclusion following exclusion effectively
restores the primary needs and moods of ostracized children. These
findings provide insights into how to support children in recovering
from the negative effects of ostracism.