NO ONE likes to feel left out. But when we perceive that the rejection is based on something non-personal – such as skin colour – it can be less painful.
In 1989 a pair of US psychologists found that insults are easier to bear when attributable to prejudice – an attack on group identity rather than the self. However, other studies have found conflicting evidence, and some psychologists argue that group identity is too fundamental to be separated from the sense of self, and that the chronic nature of racism wears down self-esteem.
To test this, Naomi Eisenberger at the University of California,…
