The Impact Of Social Exclusion On Intertemporal Decision-making: The Chain Mediating Effects Of Sadness And Uncertainty-uncontrollability

Intertemporal decision-making is the process of weighing and choosing between gains or losses that occur at different points in time,and previous research has often described this concept as a process in which individuals choose between a near-term smaller option and a distant larger option.Social exclusion is a phenomenon in which an individual is rejected or ostracized by others or a group,and the rejected individuals are hindered in their need to belong and their need for relationships.The phenomenon of social exclusion,such as school bullying and work exclusion,is very common in life.Human beings are social animals,and social exclusion seriously threatens the individual’s need to establish and maintain social connections with others.Few research has examined the impact of social exclusion on intertemporal decision-making,but it is important to help excluded individuals resist the temptation of instant gratification and make rational choices.In this paper,we explore the effects of social exclusion on intertemporal decision-making through two experiences and explore the chain mediating role of sadness and uncertainty-uncontrollability.Research I used a single factor between-subjects design to explore the effects of social exclusion on intertemporal decision-making.Different degree of social exclusion was initiated in subjects through a contextual imagery paradigm.Results showed that subjects in the experimental group had a higher rate of temporal discounting in intertemporal decision-making compared to the control group,which means that individuals who suffered from social exclusion were more inclined to choose the smaller and immediate option in intertemporal decision-making.Research II-a used a questionnaire to explore the role of sadness and uncertainty-uncontrollable feelings in mediating the chain between social exclusion and intertemporal decision making.An autobiographical recall task was manipulated to initiate different degree of social exclusion in the subjects.The results revealed a positive relationship between the four variables and a significant chain mediating effect of sadness and uncertainty-uncontrollability between social exclusion and intertemporal decision making,which means that social exclusion can act on individuals’ intertemporal decision-making tasks through the chain mediation of sadness and uncertainty-uncontrollability.Research II-b and Research II-c used an experimental causal chain design to provide causal evidence for the chain mediating role of Research II-a sadness and uncertainty-uncontrollability between social exclusion and intertemporal decision-making.Research II-b initiated subjects’ different degree of sadness through an autobiographical recall task.The findings revealed that subjects in the experimental group experienced significantly higher levels of uncertainty-uncontrollability than the control group,which means that individuals in a sad mood were able to experience stronger levels of uncertainty-uncontrollability;secondly,subjects in the experimental group had higher rates of temporal discounting compared to the control group,which means that the more intense the sad mood experience,the more individuals favored smaller and immediate options.Research II-c initiated different degrees of uncertainty-uncontrollability in subjects through an autobiographical recall task.It was found that the time discount rate of intertemporal decision-making was significantly higher for the experimental group subjects than for the control group,meaning that the stronger the experienced sense of uncertainty-uncontrollability,the higher the time discount rate of intertemporal decision-making,and the more individuals preferred the smaller and immediate option.In a word,this study explores the influence of social exclusion on intertemporal decision-making and its mechanism of action,and the following conclusions are obtained:(1)Social exclusion can positively affect the time discount rate in intertemporal decision-making.(2)Sadness and uncertainty-uncontrollability play a chain mediating role between social exclusion and intertemporal decision-making.