I read an interesting piece about social acceptance and rejection and how the two directly cause positive and negative externalities on society. The paper postulates that the feeling of “acceptance” makes us feel safe, protected and needed, which in turn lends itself to positive actions by individuals. And then it made an argument that there is the nasty twin of acceptance that is rejection. The study questions whether the toll of “rejection” on individuals has a direct affect on society. Being rejected is bad for overall health according to Dewall. “People who feel isolated and lonely and excluded tend to have poor physical health,” He argues that people who fall in this category, such as the homeless, tend to not sleep well, have poor performing immune systems, and they even die sooner than those who are surrounded by love and attention. The study is Current Directions in Psychological Science by Nathan Dewall.
