Exploring the Effects of Ostracism on Performance and Intrinsic Motivation

Two experiments investigated the effects of ostracism on performance and intrinsic motivation. Participants were either included or ostracized via an online ball-tossing game and then completed two trials of an interesting word-search task. Later, they engaged in a free-choice trial designed to assess their intrinsic motivation for the word-search task. Results indicated that ostracized participants performed more poorly and experienced lower positive mood and relatedness than included participants. Although no direct effects of ostracism on intrinsic motivation were found, in both studies ostracism indirectly affected intrinsic motivation through positive mood, such that ostracism led to poorer mood and, in turn, lower intrinsic motivation. Implications for future research on ostracism in organizations are discussed.