Investigating Social Optimism Biases with Überball

This project aims to examine how being the subject of specific social inclusion, while another individual is excluded, impacts optimistic and pessimistic beliefs towards both the group targeting you with inclusion and the excluded individual. Additionally, the study will investigate how specific inclusion affects perceptions of warmth and competence towards both the included group and excluded individual. Social optimism and pessimism biases have been studied pertaining to stereotyping (Aue et al., 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022). In-group members, individuals you perceive as similar to you, may be viewed as more likely to experience positive events and less likely to experience negative events than the average person. Follows is the belief that out-group members, individuals you perceive as dissimilar to you, may experience more negative events and less positive events than the average person. In-group enhancement and out-group diminution corresponds with high ratings of warmth and competence for the in-group and low ratings for the out-group. Simard and Dandeneau’s (2018) Uberball paradigm is a method of fortifying fundamental needs through inclusion in a group ball-tossing game at the expense of another player who is excluded. Through specific inclusion, Uberball creates an in-group between the participant and the included players as well as an out-group between the participant and the excluded player. Cyberball, Uberball’s counterpart, is a validated control and does not include special inclusion. Its procedure is otherwise identical. We ask: How does participation in Uberball impact optimism and pessimism ratings for other players who are included in the game and for the player who is excluded? How does participation in Uberball also impact warmth and competence ratings for those players? We hypothesize that: Note: players refer to computer players with whom the participants play the ball-tossing game. The participant is either included (Cyberball Inclusion condition) or target of special inclusion while ONE other player is excluded (Uberball). Included players will be rated as more and less likely than our control to experience positive and negative events respectively. Our excluded player will be rated as less and more likely than our control to experience positive and negative events respectively. Included players will be rated as warmer and more competent than our control. Our excluded player will be rated as colder and less competent than our control.