The Oxford Handbook of Social Exclusion

Abstract This volume offers the most comprehensive body of social exclusion research ever assembled. It is comprised of eight sections. The first section provides a fundamental overview and introduction to the field of social exclusion—why people have a need to belong, why people exclude others, and how people respond to various forms of social exclusion. The second section catalogs basic and historical perspectives, including evolutionary perspectives on interpersonal acceptance and rejection, ostracism, and motives behind social exclusion. The third section focuses on exclusion at the group level, followed by a fourth section on exclusion within the family and romantic relationships, touching on divorce, perceived value in romantic relationships, and peer rejection among children and adolescents. The fifth and sixth sections examine individual exclusion through the lenses of behavioral, cognitive, physiological, neural, and emotional responses. The seventh section deals with exclusion across individuals, including chapters on depression and suicide and individual differences in responses to social exclusion. Finally, the book concludes by putting forth ways to combat social exclusion.