This book focuses on the ubiquitous and powerful effects of ostracism, social exclusion, rejection, and bullying. Human beings are an intrinsically gregarious species. Most of our evolutionary success is no doubt due to our highly developed ability to cooperate and interact with each other. It is thus not surprising that instances of interpersonal rejection and social exclusion would have an enormously detrimental impact on the individual. Until 10 years ago, however, social psychology regarded ostracism, rejection and social exclusion as merely outcomes to be avoided, but we knew very little...

Essays by leading international researchers on the psychology of social judgments discuss the role of evolutionary, neuropsychological and developmental influences on social judgments, in addition to the role of high-level reasoning processes. The delicate interplay between conscious, rational and unconscious automatic mechanisms is emphasized in determining judgmental outcomes. The implications of recent advances in understanding everyday social judgments in people's personal and working lives are stressed.