Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Motivated gratitude and the need to belong: Social exclusion increases gratitude for people low in trait entitlement

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Motivation and Emotion Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Three studies examined effects of social exclusion on reactions to receiving an unexpected gift. Trait Psychological Entitlement was also measured as a potential moderator in all studies. In Study 1, participants wrote about a time they felt rejected, accepted, or something neutral. Compared to the control condition, social exclusion increased self-reported gratitude and observer-rated gratitude. These effects were found among people scoring low on narcissistic entitlement. For these participants also, social rejection increased perception of the benefactor’s warmth, and this increase in perceived warmth mediated the increase in gratitude. Study 2 measured trait need to belong (rather than manipulating it via social rejection) and found similar results: participants low in trait entitlement and high in trait need to belong had higher levels of gratitude than those low in trait need to belong. In Study 3 some participants underwent a peer rejection manipulation. Upon receiving a gift, rejected participants low in entitlement were more grateful (according to self and observer ratings) and engaged in more prosocial behavior than nonrejected participants. The main conclusion is that, among people low in entitlement, social rejection stimulates a heightened desire for social connection, which moves them to functionally project warm intentions onto a benefactor, which in turn makes them more grateful.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Algoe, S. B. (2012). Find, remind, and bind: The functions of gratitude in everyday relationships. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 6, 455–469.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Algoe, S. B., Fredrickson, B. L., & Gable, S. L. (2013). The social functions of the emotion of gratitude via expression. Emotion, 13, 605–609.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Algoe, S. B., Gable, S. L., & Maisel, N. C. (2010). It’s the little things: Everyday gratitude as a booster shot for romantic relationships. Personal Relationships, 17, 217–233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Algoe, S. B., Haidt, J., & Gable, S. L. (2008). Beyond reciprocity: Gratitude and relationships in everyday life. Emotion, 8, 425–429.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Aydin, N., Fischer, P., & Frey, D. (2010). Turning to god in the face of ostracism: Effects of social exclusion on religiousness. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36, 742–753.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bartlett, M. Y., Condon, P., Cruz, J., Baumann, J., & DeSteno, D. (2012). Gratitude: Prompting behaviors that build relationships. Cognition and Emotion, 26, 2–13.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bartlett, M. Y., & DeSteno, D. (2006). Gratitude and prosocial behavior: Helping when it costs you. Psychological Science, 17, 319–325.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

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

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bernstein, M. J., Young, S. G., Brown, C. M., Sacco, D. F., & Claypool, H. M. (2008). Adaptive responses to social exclusion: Social rejection improves detection of real and fake smiles. Psychological Science, 19, 981–983.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Blackhart, G. C., Nelson, B. C., Knowles, M. L., & Baumeister, R. F. (2009). Rejection elicits emotional reactions but neither causes immediate distress not lowers self-esteem: A meta-analytic review of 192 studies on social exclusion. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 13, 269–309.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, R. P., Budzek, K., & Tamborski, M. (2009). On the meaning and measure of narcissism. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35, 951–964.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Buhrmester, M., Kwang, T., & Gosling, S. D. (2011). Amazon’s mechanical turk: A new source of inexpensive, yet high-quality, data? Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6, 3–5.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Buss, D. M. (1990). The evolution of anxiety and social exclusion. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 9, 196–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, W. K., Bonacci, A. M., Shelton, J., Exline, J. J., & Bushman, B. J. (2004). Psychological entitlement: Interpersonal consequences and validation of a self-report measure. Journal of Personality Assessment, 83, 29–45.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chang, Y., Li, T., Teng, H. Y., Berki, A., & Chen, L. H. (2013). Living with gratitude: Spouse’s gratitude on one’s depression. Journal of Happiness Studies, 14, 1431–1442.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clore, G. L., & Storbeck, J. (2006). Affect as information about liking, efficacy, and importance. In J. Forgas (Ed.), Affect in social thinking and behavior (pp. 123–142). New York: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clore, G. L., Wyer, R. S., Dines, B., Gasper, K., Gohm, C., & Isbell, L. (2001). Affective feelings as feedback: Some cognitive consequences. In L. L. Martin & G. L. Clore (Eds.), Theories of mood and cognition: A user’s handbook (pp. 27–62). Mahwah: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11, 227–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeSteno, D., Bartlett, M. Y., Baumann, J., Williams, L. A., & Dickens, L. (2010). Gratitude as moral sentiment: Emotion-guided cooperation in economic exchange. Emotion, 10, 289–293.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • DeWall, C. N., & Bushman, B. J. (2011). Social acceptance and rejection: The sweet and the bitter. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 20, 256–260.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeWall, C. N., Maner, J. K., & Rouby, D. A. (2009). Social exclusion and early-stage interpersonal perception: Selective attention to signs of acceptance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 96, 729–741.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Emmons, R. A. (1984). Factor analysis and construct validity of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory. Journal of Personality Assessment, 48, 291–300.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Emmons, R. A. (1987). Narcissism: Theory and measurement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 11–17.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fiske, S. T., Cuddy, A. J. C., & Glick, P. (2007). Universal dimensions of social cognition: Warmth and competence. Trends in Cognitive Science, 11, 77–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freud, S. (1957). Instincts and their vicissitudes. In J. Strachey (Ed. & Trans.), The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud (Vol. 14, pp. 109–140). London: Hogarth Press. (Original work published 1915).

    Google Scholar 

  • Gardner, W. L., Pickett, C. L., & Brewer, M. B. (2000). Social exclusion and selective memory: How the need to belong influences memory for social events. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26, 486–496.

    Article  Google Scholar 

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

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gordon, A. M., Impett, E. A., Kogan, A., Oveis, C., & Keltner, D. (2012). To have and to hold: Gratitude promotes relationship maintenance in intimate bonds. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 103, 257–274.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gordon, C. L., Arnette, R. A. M., & Smith, R. E. (2011). Have you thanked your spouse today?: Felt an expressed gratitude among married couples. Personality and Individual Differences, 50, 339–343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gouldner, A. W. (1960). The norm of reciprocity: A preliminary statement. American Sociological Review, 25, 161–178.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grant, A. M., & Gino, F. (2010). A little thanks goes a long way: Explaining why gratitude expressions motivate prosocial behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98, 946–955.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Grubbs, J. B., Exline, J. J., & Campbell, W. K. (2013). I deserve better and god knows it! Psychological entitlement as a robust predictor of anger at God. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 5, 192–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haselton, M. G., & Ketelaar, T. (2006). Irrational emotions or emotional wisdom? The evolutionary psychology of emotions and behavior. In J. P. Forgas (Ed.), Hearts and minds: Affective influences on social cognition and behavior (pp. 21–39). New York: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, A. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis. A regression-based approach. New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jia, L., Tong, E. M. W., & Lee, L. N. (2014). Psychological “gel” to bind individuals’ goal pursuit: Gratitude facilitates goal contagion. Emotion, 14, 748–760.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kawamoto, T., Nittono, H., & Ura, M. (2014). Social exclusion induces early-stage perceptual and behavioral changes in response to social cues. Social Neuroscience, 9, 174–185.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Keltner, D., Haidt, J., & Shiota, M. N. (2006). Social functionalism and the evolution of emotions. In M. Schaller, J. A. Simpson & D. T. Kenrick (Eds.), Evolution and social psychology (pp. 115–142). New York: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kendrick, D. T., Griskevicius, V., Neuberg, S. L., & Schaller, M. (2010). Renovating the pyramid of needs: Contemporary extensions built upon ancient foundations. Perspective on Psychological Science, 5, 292–314.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kosslyn, S. M., Pascual-Leone, A., Felician, O., Camposano, S., Keenan, J. P., Thompson, W. L., … Alpert, N. M. (1999). The role of area 17 in visual imagery: Convergent evidence from PET and rTMS. Science, 284, 167–170.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kubacka, K. E., Finkenauer, C., Rusbult, C. E., & Keilsers, L. (2011). Maintaining close relationships: Gratitude as a motivator and a detector of maintenance behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37, 1362–1375.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kubarych, T., Deary, I., & Austin, E. (2004). The Narcissistic Personality Inventory: Factor structure in a non-clinical sample. Personality and Individual Differences, 36, 857–872.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lambert, N. M., Clark, M. S., Durtschi, J., Fincham, F. D., & Graham, S. M. (2010). Benefits of expressing gratitude: Expressing gratitude to a partner changes one’s view of the relationship. Psychological Science, 21, 574–580.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lambert, N. M., & Fincham, F. D. (2011). Expressing gratitude to a partner leads to more relationship maintenance behavior. Emotion, 11, 52–60.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Leary, M. R., Kelly, K. M., Cottrell, C. A., & Schreindorfer, L. S. (2013). Construct validity of the need to belong scale: Mapping the Nomological network. Journal of Personality Assessment, 95(6), 610–624.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • 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(3), 518–530.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

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

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MacKenzie, M. J., Vohs, K. D., & Baumeister, R. F. (2014). You didn’t have to do that: Belief in free will promotes gratitude. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 40, 1423–1434.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maner, J. K., DeWall, C. 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.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maner, J. K., Kenrick, D. T., Becker, D. V., Robertson, T., Hofer, B., Neuberg, S. L., … Schaller, M. (2005). Functional projection: How fundamental social motives can bias interpersonal perception. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88, 63–78.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maner, J. K., Miller, S. L., Moss, J. H., Leo, J. L., & Plant, E. A. (2012). Motivated social categorization: Fundamental motives enhances people’s sensitivity to basic social categories. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 103, 70–83.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maslow, A. H. (1968). Toward a psychology of being. New York: D. Van Nostrand Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, J. D., & Gaschke, Y. N. (1988). The experience and meta-experience of mood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55, 102–111.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McCullough, M. E., Emmons, R. A., & Tsang, J. (2002). The grateful disposition: A conceptual and empirical topography. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 112–127.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McCullough, M. E., Kilpatrick, S. D., Emmons, R. A., & Larson, D. B. (2001). Is gratitude a moral affect? Psychological Bulletin, 127, 249–266.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McCullough, M. E., Kimeldorf, M. B., & Cohen, A. D. (2008). An adaptation for altruism? the social causes, social effects, and social evolution of gratitude. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17, 281–284.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCullough, M. E., & Tsang, J. (2004). Parent of the virtues? The prosocial contours of gratitude. In R. A. Emmons & M. E. McCullough (Eds.), The psychology of gratitude (pp. 123–141). New York: Oxford.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • McGuire, P. K., Shah, G. M., & Murray, R. M. (1993). Increased blood flow in Broca’s area during auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia. The Lancet, 342, 703–706.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mead, N. L., Baumeister, R. F., Stillman, T. F., Rawn, C. D., & Vohs, K. D. (2011). Social exclusion causes people to spend and consume strategically in the service of affiliation. Journal of Consumer Research, 37, 902–919.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, S. L., & Maner, J. K. (2012). Overperceiving disease cues: The basic cognition of the behavioral immune system. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102, 1198–1213.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moeller, S. J., Crocker, J., & Bushman, B. J. (2009). Creating hostility and conflict: Effects of entitlement and self-image goals. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45, 448–452.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Nesse, R. M. (1990). Evolutionary explanations of emotions. Human Nature, 1, 261–289.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Newman, L. S., Duff, K. J., & Baumeister, R. F. (1997). A new look at defensive projection: Thought suppression, accessibility, and biased person perception. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 980–1001.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ng, J. W. X., Tong, E. M. W., Sim, D. L. Y., Teo, S. W. Y., Loy, X., & Giesbrecht, T. (2017). Gratitude facilitates private conformity: A test of the social alignment hypothesis. Emotion, 17, 379–387.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nowak, M. A., & Roch, S. (2007). Upstream reciprocity and the evolution of gratitude. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 274, 605–609.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • O’Brien, E. H., Anastasio, P. A., & Bushman, B. J. (2011). Time crawls when you’re not having fun: Feeling entitled makes dull tasks drag on. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37, 1287–1296.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pickett, C. L., Gardner, W. L., & Knowles, M. (2004). Getting a cue: The need to belong and enhanced sensitivity to social cues. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30, 1095–1107.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pitts, S., Wilson, J. P., & Hugenberg, K. (2014). When one is ostracized, other loom: Social rejection makes other people appear closer. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 5, 550–557.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poon, K., Chen, Z., & DeWall, C. N. (2013). Feeling entitled to more: Ostracism increases dishonest behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 39, 1227–1239.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Raskin, R., & Terry, H. (1988). A principal-components analysis of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory and further evidence of its construct validation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 890–902.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sacco, D. F., Wirth, J. H., Hugenberg, K., Chen, Z., & Williams, K. D. (2011). The world in black and white: Ostracism enhances the categorical perception of social information. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 47, 836–842.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwarz, N. (2012). Feelings-as-information theory. In P. A. M. Van Lange, A. W. Kruglanski & E. T. Higgins (Eds.), Handbook of theories of social psychology: Volume one (pp. 289–308). London: SAGE.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Sedikides, C., Campbell, W. K., Reeder, G. D., & Elliot, A. J. (1998). The self-serving bias in relational context. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(2), 378–386.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suddendorf, T. (2014). The gap: The science of what separates us from other animals. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tesser, A., Gatewood, R., & Driver, M. (1968). Some determinants of gratitude. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 9, 233–236.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tomasello, M. (2014). A natural history of human thinking. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Tooby, J., & Cosmides, L. (1990). The past explains the present: Emotional adaptations and the structure of ancestral environments. Ethology and Sociobiology, 11, 375–424.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tooby, J., & Cosmides, L. (2008). The evolutionary psychology of the emotions and their relationship to internal regulatory variables. In M. Lewis, J. M. Haviland-Jones & L. F. Barrett (Eds.), Handbook of emotions (pp. 114–137). New York: The Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trivers, R. L. (1971). The evolution of reciprocal altruism. Quartely Review of Biology, 46, 35–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsang, J. (2006). Gratitude and prosocial behavior: An experimental test of gratitude. Cognition and Emotion, 20, 138–148.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsang, J. (2007). Gratitude for small and large favors: A behavioral test. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 2, 157–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

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

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Twenge, J. M., & Campbell, W. K. (2003). “Isn’t it fun to get the respect that we’re going to deserve?” Narcissism, social rejection, and aggression. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29, 261–272.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegan, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(6), 1063–1070.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Weinstein, N., DeHaan, C. R., & Ryan, R. M. (2010). Attributing autonomous versus introjected motivation to helpers and the recipient experience: Effects on gratitude, attitudes, and well-being. Motivation and Emotion, 34, 418–431.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, L. A., & Bartlett, M. Y. (2015). Warm thanks: Gratitude expression facilitates social affiliation in new relationships via perceived warmth. Emotion, 15, 1–5.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wood, A. M., Maltby, J., Stewart, N., Linley, P. A., & Joseph, S. (2008). A social-cognitive model of trait and state levels of gratitude. Emotion, 8, 281–290.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA

    Michael J. MacKenzie & Roy F. Baumeister

  2. Department of Psychology, Florida State University, 1107 West Call Street, Tallahassee, FL, 32036, USA

    Michael J. MacKenzie

Authors
  1. Michael J. MacKenzie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Roy F. Baumeister
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael J. MacKenzie.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

MacKenzie, M.J., Baumeister, R.F. Motivated gratitude and the need to belong: Social exclusion increases gratitude for people low in trait entitlement. Motiv Emot 43, 412–433 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-018-09749-3

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-018-09749-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation