Effects of social exclusion on time perception and consequent behavioral decisions

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic caused social exclusion for most people. However, research on the impact of social exclusion on people's perceptions, especially on time perception, is lacking. This study examined how social exclusion influenced people's time perception, which ultimately affected their behavioral decisions. Methods: This research consisted of four experiments, and a total of 368 people participated online (43.75% women, Mage = 40.16, SD = 10.75). People who participated in each experiment were randomly assigned to a group. Participant-identifying information was not collected, and SPSS 24.0 was used to test the hypotheses. Results: Studies showed that those who experienced social exclusion perceived the same period of time as longer than those who did not (Study 1), and the number of event markers moderated this effect (Study 2). In addition, the effect of social exclusion on time perception depended on what needs social exclusion threatened (Study 3), and when related needs were satisfied, the effect disappeared (Study 4). Discussion: Prior research related to social exclusion mainly focused on the effect on pro-social or antisocial behavior. Beyond this, our study examined the impact of social exclusion on people's perception of time, ultimately influencing people's daily life behavior. The current research also found that this effect disappeared when threatened needs were fulfilled, since this effect depended on the needs threatened by social exclusion.