Having a Cyberball: Using a ball-throwing game as an experimental social stressor to examine the relationship between neuroticism and coping

Research examining the relationship between neuroticism and coping has been limited by reliance on dispositional and retrospective methodologies. The current experiments evaluated the utility of a ball-throwing game used in ostracism research, as an experimental stressor with which to examine neurot...

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Main Authors: Boyes, Mark, French, D.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Elsevier Sciences Ltd 2009
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/8405
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author Boyes, Mark
French, D.
author_facet Boyes, Mark
French, D.
author_sort Boyes, Mark
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Research examining the relationship between neuroticism and coping has been limited by reliance on dispositional and retrospective methodologies. The current experiments evaluated the utility of a ball-throwing game used in ostracism research, as an experimental stressor with which to examine neuroticism-related differences in coping. Experiment 1 revealed that being excluded during Cyberball is associated with lowered mood and self-esteem, even when widely-used measures are employed. Being ostracised also evoked an emotion-focused coping response. Experiment 2 increased the sensitivity of response-scales and introduced an ambiguous Cyberball condition. When exclusion was ambiguous, high-neuroticism participants perceived themselves as having less control during the game. Being excluded evoked emotion-focused and avoidance coping responses. Consistent with previous research high-neuroticism participants engaged in more emotion-focused coping. Future research should consider the utility of ambiguous conditions in examining experimental manipulations, as well as individual differences in sensitivity to social ostracism.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-84052017-09-13T14:37:01Z Having a Cyberball: Using a ball-throwing game as an experimental social stressor to examine the relationship between neuroticism and coping Boyes, Mark French, D. Research examining the relationship between neuroticism and coping has been limited by reliance on dispositional and retrospective methodologies. The current experiments evaluated the utility of a ball-throwing game used in ostracism research, as an experimental stressor with which to examine neuroticism-related differences in coping. Experiment 1 revealed that being excluded during Cyberball is associated with lowered mood and self-esteem, even when widely-used measures are employed. Being ostracised also evoked an emotion-focused coping response. Experiment 2 increased the sensitivity of response-scales and introduced an ambiguous Cyberball condition. When exclusion was ambiguous, high-neuroticism participants perceived themselves as having less control during the game. Being excluded evoked emotion-focused and avoidance coping responses. Consistent with previous research high-neuroticism participants engaged in more emotion-focused coping. Future research should consider the utility of ambiguous conditions in examining experimental manipulations, as well as individual differences in sensitivity to social ostracism. 2009 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/8405 10.1016/j.paid.2009.04.005 Elsevier Sciences Ltd restricted
spellingShingle Boyes, Mark
French, D.
Having a Cyberball: Using a ball-throwing game as an experimental social stressor to examine the relationship between neuroticism and coping
title Having a Cyberball: Using a ball-throwing game as an experimental social stressor to examine the relationship between neuroticism and coping
title_full Having a Cyberball: Using a ball-throwing game as an experimental social stressor to examine the relationship between neuroticism and coping
title_fullStr Having a Cyberball: Using a ball-throwing game as an experimental social stressor to examine the relationship between neuroticism and coping
title_full_unstemmed Having a Cyberball: Using a ball-throwing game as an experimental social stressor to examine the relationship between neuroticism and coping
title_short Having a Cyberball: Using a ball-throwing game as an experimental social stressor to examine the relationship between neuroticism and coping
title_sort having a cyberball: using a ball-throwing game as an experimental social stressor to examine the relationship between neuroticism and coping
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/8405