Revenge of the nerds: Social rejection can 'lead to imaginative thinking and strong independence'
It worked for Mark Zuckerberg: The Facebook founder has been portrayed as socially awkward - but had a very successful career trajectory
Most people experience social rejection at some time in their life, some of us more than others
But a study by a business professor at Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, found that social rejection can inspire imaginative thinking, particularly in individuals with a strong sense of their own independence.
Lead author Sharon Kim concluded that, for independent people, social rejection can be 'a form of validation' to their own beliefs - and spur them on to greater productivity.
Kim said: 'Rejection confirms for independent people what they already feel about themselves, that they're not like others.
'For people who already feel separate from the crowd, social rejection can be a form of validation - that distinction is a positive one leading them to greater creativity.'
However she added that social rejection has the opposite effect on people who value belonging to a group: It inhibits their cognitive ability.
With her co-authors, Lynne Vincent and Jack Goncalo of Cornell University, she decided to consider the impact of rejection on people who take pride in being different from the norm. Such individuals, in a term from the study, are described as possessing an 'independent self-concept'.
'We're seeing in society a growing
concern about the negative consequences of social rejection thanks
largely to media reports about bullying that occurs at school, in the
workplace, and online.
'Obviously, bullying is reprehensible and produces nothing good. What we tried to show in our paper is that exclusion from a group can sometimes lead to a positive outcome when independently minded people are the ones being excluded.'
Kim states that the paper has practical implications for business because of the desire among managers to employ imaginative thinkers who can maximize creativity.
Rejected by your peers? Some people can take validation for this - and become more creative off the back of it
A company might want to take a second look at a job candidate whose unconventional personality might make him an easy target for rejection, but whose inventiveness would be a valuable asset to the organisation.
In the long term, Kim adds, the creative person with an independent self-concept might even be said to thrive on rejection.
While repeated rebuffs would discourage someone who longs for inclusion, such slights could continually recharge the creativity of an independent person. The latter type, says Kim, 'could see a successful career trajectory, in contrast with the person who is inhibited by social rejection.'
- Lightning struck Jim Beam factory leak causes 'firenado'
- Irate customer at kebab shop melts down over order
- The annual West Point pillow fight turns very nasty
- Rough justice: Street robber caught by victim and choked
- Tyler Perry's touching tribute video for Bobbi Kristina
- The moment Trump security guard hits protester in face
- Nick Kyrgios and Eugenie Bouchard on-court chemistry
- College student drives pink Barbie Jeep after DWI charge
- Harry Styles corrects grammar on a fan's sign from the stage
- 'Move your lazy butt!': Stroppy cat whines like a child
- Moment aggressive driver SLAMS instructor's elbow in door
- Tragic moment policeman recovers the body of Aylan Kurdi
- Hillary fumes at Trump for attacking her closest aide Huma...
- Is El Chapo hiding in Costa Rica? Net closes on the world's...
- Firenado! 800,000 gallons of Jim Beam accidentally released...
- Broken bones, dislocated shoulders and cadets taken away in...
- Woman arrested in the murder of pediatric dentist, 35, who...
- Angelina McJolie! Star has Scottish lookalike who has turned...
- Why did Chrissie Hynde date one of the Hells Angels who...
- Just desserts! Woman throws a tantrum in take-away...
- Al Roker's 'Wake Up With Al' Weather Channel show cancelled...
- Second mistress of Josh Duggar claims she suffered a...
- Tiger Woods' former mistress to have her brain lifted off...
- EXCLUSIVE: New York 2015 - FOUR THOUSAND sleeping on the...