Reacting to Ostracism: A Neuroscientific Investigation of Mindset and Autism

• In Event: AERA Graduate Student Research in Progress Roundtable Session Two
  In Roundtable Session: Critical Issues in Special Education (Table 2)

Abstract

Ostracism, or the perception of being ignored by others, is a phenomenon that is universal to the human species. As research investigating this phenomenon finds that individuals who are ostracized experience immediate and enduring detrimental effects like increased stress, risk for depression, and self-doubt, it is important to understand how individuals cope with these negative feelings. Further, individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at an increased risk for ostracism which increases negative mental health outcomes and avoidance of social interactions. Therefore, research specifically investigating how individuals with and without ASD comparatively cope with ostracism would help inform later interventions necessary for improving mental health and social outcomes. The relationship between potential moderators of coping responses (e.g., neural and motivational correlates) and social ostracism is one research avenue that has yet to be examined. While it has been demonstrated that neural functioning is differentiated between individuals with and without ASD after experiencing ostracism, it has yet to be examined how this predicts differentiated coping responses. Additionally, mindset theory is a motivational correlate that might prove informative for understanding different coping responses as personality mindset has been linked to responses to ostracism. Therefore, the current study sets out to contribute to the literature by examining how social and emotional mindset, neural functioning, and ASD symptomatology predict different coping responses to ostracism.

Authors

• Cailee M. Nelson, University of Alabama
  Presenting Author

• Laura Morett, University of Alabama
  Non-Presenting Author

• Stefanie A. Wind, University of Alabama
  Non-Presenting Author

• Susan Marie White, Central Michigan University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Hyemin Han, University of Alabama
  Non-Presenting Author