Hostile Cognitions and Aggressive Responses Toward Excluders in Young Children

Abstract

Social exclusion heightens hostile cognition and aggressive responses toward excluders. However, its direct causal effects and relationship with self-construal are unclear in early childhood. This study experimentally investigated the effects of social exclusion on later hostile cognition and aggressive responses toward excluders (vs. includers) in Japanese 5- to 6-year-old preschoolers (N = 35; M_age = 70.51 months; 18 females) and explored the role of caregivers’ independent selves on those children’s responses. The results showed that regardless of the caregivers’ independent selves, exclusion increased children’s later hostile cognition and aggressive responses toward excluders, particularly in a context related to previous exclusive situations. However, hostile cognition did not mediate the relationship between exclusion and aggressive responses, suggesting that preschoolers’ aggressive responses toward excluders not be substantially influenced by their hostility. These findings support existing developmental findings and expand knowledge of retaliative behaviors in young children, highlighting the need for further developmental and cultural research.