1

THE EFFECTS OF REJECTION ON COLLEGE STUDENTS

The Effects of Rejection on College Students

An Interview Study

By: Paula Padron

Valencia College
 2
THE EFFECTS OF REJECTION ON COLLEGE STUDENTS

Abstract

This study aims to see how deeply rejection affects a person’s life, specifically a College

Student’s life. Previous researchers have shown the immense possibilities in which a person can

be rejected and its effects, but the field hasn’t had advances in rejection among developing young

adults. The absence of this side of rejection inspired us to create our research question “What are

the effects of rejection on developing young adults like college students?”.

Keywords: rejection, research, effect, and young adults.

 3
THE EFFECTS OF REJECTION ON COLLEGE STUDENTS

Introduction

Ever since the beginning of time human interaction has played a crucial role in human

development and how it affects relationships throughout their lives. During one of the many

interactions a person can have during their lifespan, rejection is one of the most common

occurrences. Rejection has existed since the beginning of human civilization as we know it,

which makes it less relevant to the world because they see it as something normal. Being rejected

and being told “No” can deeply affect how a person will behave after that type of interaction.

The human nature of having to create connections with other people can be affected by

the way friends or partners choose to behave in a relationship and the mental state of each person

(Giovazolias and Paschalidi, 2022). Mental health plays an important part in how a person

portrays their emotions; that is where rejection comes into place because it can affect a person’s

mental health by changing the stability of their feelings about themselves. According to

Giovazolias and Paschalidi (2022, pp. 1), “Rejection sensitivity seems to have an effect on the

development of fear of intimacy through increasing interpersonal anxiety, especially in females.”

Showing a clear example of how different emotions can create a sense of fear of not belonging,

which causes a person to ultimately start to push or to be pushed away from that relationship.

Having rejection sensitivity can end up in undesired situations where the person that is being

rejected feels like their chance of being accepted by society is very low (Böckler, et al., 2021).

One of the studies about rejection that have been done by psychologists shows how “The

rejection tendency varied somewhat by country but the researchers interpreted these small

differences cautiously (Wesselmann, et al., 2014, pp. 164). This dives deeper into the part of

rejection where factors like racism, xenophobia, and homophobia come into place because these
 4
THE EFFECTS OF REJECTION ON COLLEGE STUDENTS

specific groups of people are mistreated by the community that is supposed to help them when

instead they are often overlooked and undermined like their feelings are not important. All these

actions start to create insecurities that can later be dangerous for their mental health (Farquhar-

Leicester, et al., 2022). In other words, “the accumulation of interpersonally stressful situations,

in combination with a communication process may erode interpersonal processes and constitute a

vulnerability to mental disorders such as anxiety or depression” (Richter, Schoebi, 2021).

This literature review will explore the early research on rejection and how it has evolved

to what is known nowadays, while also reviewing the different causes and consequences of

rejection among different situations and communities in life.

 5
THE EFFECTS OF REJECTION ON COLLEGE STUDENTS

Review of Literature

Early Rejection Studies. Psychologist Stanley Schachter was one of the first to start

researching the topic of Rejection. Back in 1951, Schachter’s study on Rejection, Deviance, and

Communication changed a lot of theories in the social psychology community for the years to

come (Wesselmann, et al., 2014). His idea of testing the connection between rejection and

deviance started to create more awareness when it came to studying interactions and how they

developed based on each individual. Schachter found that groups affected the decision-making of

each of the individuals in the group, this is because he believed that the need for communication

altered their predisposed idea. But not all the individuals in this group were drawn to unanimity;

one of them was a Confederate and he didn’t change his idea. In fact, “after it became clear to

participants that he would not change his opinion, they stopped communicating with him

entirely” (Wesselmann, et al., 2014, pp.164). Showing how a person’s response can easily alter

the balance of a situation. When the other participants saw that the Confederate had a different

opinion they succumbed to the easy way, rejection.

Wesselmann, et al. mimicked the study but they meticulously changed some procedures

due to the likelihood of errors. One of them was the end effect size compared to Schachter’s.

Nonetheless, there have been several confirmations of the results of his initial research on the

patterns of communication in the revisit. One of them is the urge of the participants to have an

even group vote. Compared to Schachter’s group the revision group was more open-minded with

those that had different ideas (Wesselmann, et al., 2014).

Online and Offline Social Rejection. With the addition of social media people have

become much more vulnerable to the common act of rejection since it can now affect a person
 6
THE EFFECTS OF REJECTION ON COLLEGE STUDENTS

anywhere at any point in their day. Having this constant threat people suffer the risk of damage

to their mental health (Andrews, et al., 2022). Psychologists believe that one of the consequences

of rejection is created due to having the simple fear of being rejected in a social environment is

developing a slight chance of depression now that rejection can happen anywhere one of the

most common places are apps like Instagram, TikTok, and online videogames (Andrews, et al.,

2022). According to Allen and Badcock, “individuals at-risk for and those experiencing

depression view their “social investment potential” as critically low” (Andrews, et al., 2022, pp.

742).

At the same time, when a person does not seem to care about being part of society it is

usually due to the fact that they have been rejected or excluded before by a friend or group,

which can now be cause enough to “develop the disorder earlier or maintain it for longer”

(Andrews, et al., 2022, pp. 743).

Andrews et al. understood that with today’s technological advances social rejection, it’s at

its boom moment targeting kids and you adults because they are the ones that spend most of their

time online on their phones or computers. This can affect their development because they are in

that crucial part of their lives where everything can affect them. In fact, they point out that in the

case of kids and teenagers, the use of social media has become their greatest threat, even if they

don’t see it, because they suffer from the risks of being exposed at any point in their lives. This

type of exposure to rejection by being different can develop negative thoughts causing emotional

distress (Andrews, et al., 2022).

Even though, “social rejection sensitivity was proposed to decrease with age from

adolescence and throughout adulthood” (Andrews, et al., 2022, pp. 743). The study concluded
 7
THE EFFECTS OF REJECTION ON COLLEGE STUDENTS

that the social factor that affects rejection sensitivity among individuals can happen both offline

and online with progressive symptoms of depression with repetitive negative thoughts. This

proves the fact that the power of rejection and social media have a powerful relationship with

interactions with young individuals. While rejection sensitivity had a decreased chance of

happening between individuals from 12 to 89 years old, it didn’t mean that individuals would

stop having a constant worry about future rejection. Inviting other psychologists to do further

research about the age effect on rejection (Andrews, et al., 2022).

Rejection Among Minorities. Rejection among diverse groups of people can cause

stress and low self-esteem due to the constant feeling that they don’t belong. In the case of

rejection among college students, researchers have found that even though colleges and

universities have become more diverse and supportive of those that come from a different culture

or have a different sexual orientation, that doesn’t mean distress is not a part of those

misunderstood by society (Farquhar-Leicester, et al., 2022). In fact, “students with disabilities

experience heightened levels of negative mental health outcomes, less academic success, and

bias and stigma from instructors and peers” (Farquhar-Leicester, et al., 2022, pp. 1). Pointing out

that rejection is for everyone even for those who shouldn’t have to go through moments like that

in the places where they should be protected. Being treated as different is one of the challenges

individuals that are part of the LGBTQ+ community go through since they are the ones that

usually get the least attention on college campuses (Farquhar-Leicester, et al., 2022).

The researchers of this study examined the connections between rejection and judgment

among LGBTQ+ community individuals (TGD) 1 and those with a learning disability (ND) 2 that

go to a college or university. Pointing out facts like the psychological effects of those who are

already considered less similar to the ideal of a perfect person. This affects the way individuals
 8
THE EFFECTS OF REJECTION ON COLLEGE STUDENTS

think of themselves, making them feel bad about what they look like in the eyes of those around

them. For example, “the degree to which a person expects to be negatively perceived on the basis

of their identity” (Farquhar-Leicester, et al., 2022, pp. 2). Usually, in the case of those rejected

individuals, being able to tell themselves that others’ opinions don’t matter helps them to

overcome the constant judgment (Farquhar-Leicester, et al., 2022). But most of the time that’s

not the case because instead of fighting it they can think that they deserve to be rejected, causing

mental health disorders like depression and anxiety about judgment (Farquhar-Leicester, et al.,

2022).

Based on those negative interactions and comments, TGD and ND individuals have more

depressive thoughts that lead them to start contemplating suicide (Farquhar-Leicester, et al.,

2022). Sometimes, these individuals look for help to overcome those intrusive thoughts, but they

have reported that “staff and faculty are often uneducated about gender-diverse issues and that

campuses lack TGD-specific programming” (Farquhar-Leicester, et al., 2022, pp. 2). The

researchers point out that the Latent Profile analysis can be of greater use when it comes to

researching the differences in the experiences of those who are rejected and/or judged to those

who are not (Farquhar-Leicester, et al., 2022). In addition, doing further research about minority

groups can help determine the factor that creates negative situations that end up in high levels of

distress (Farquhar-Leicester, et al., 2022).

 9
THE EFFECTS OF REJECTION ON COLLEGE STUDENTS
1
TDG: Transgender and gender-diverse individuals.
2
ND: Neurodiverse individuals; more specifically those diagnosed with a learning disability and/or
neurodevelopmental disorder.
Rejection Among Relationships. When it comes to rejection in a social environment,

usually a person used to feel safe in, the pain is much more significant. That pain can lead to

creating a self-protective mechanism that will keep that person safe from being rejected or

judged by their loved ones (Richter and Schoebi, 2021). In fact, “high levels of anxiety about

others’ acceptance can become an important vulnerability that can undermine mental health”

(Richter and Schoebi, 2021, pp. 165). This can become a threat to individuals who suffer from

rejection sensitivity because it can affect their social relationships skills to create friends and

have partners in their life. This can also explain why “individuals who suffer from anxiety

disorders and depression often fail to maintain satisfactory relationships” (Richter and Schoebi,

2021, pp. 165). These individuals usually overthink any major or minor situation, tricking

themselves into believing that there is something wrong and that most likely they are going to be

rejected or judged by their loved one.

This study proves that most of the time rejection among couples and friendships comes

when one of the two individuals has had a situation where they suffered from being rejected and

now tend to have a protective mechanism to fly out of a situation where they feel they are going

to be hurt. This is because there is “a close association between perceptions of rejection and

reduced partner responsiveness, the finding that participants were also perceived as less

responsive when they reported feeling rejected further emphasizes the dyadic nature of the

effects” (Richter and Schoebi, 2021, pp. 168). This makes those previously rejected individuals

become less open by lacking empathy and emotions toward their loved ones or those who are

coming into their lives, which ends up affecting their communication and relationship abilities

(Richter and Schoebi, 2021).

 10
THE EFFECTS OF REJECTION ON COLLEGE STUDENTS

No One is Immune to the Pain of Rejection. Social exclusion in any situation can cause

many issues in a person’s life. Social exclusion can happen at any point in life. Nowadays there

is more awareness about its risk, but it doesn’t seem to cease (Böckler, et al., 2021). In this case,

“social exclusion still increases the risk of depression and suicidal behavior as well as aggression

and violence in the affected individuals” (Böckler, et al., 2021, pp. 173). Humans yearn for

attention and that feeling of belonging and when a person gets the opposite their self-esteem

changes in a second by starting to consider that there must be something wrong with them

(Böckler, et al., 2021). When someone feels rejected a change in their mood can usually let

others around them know that something is wrong, but this is not the case for everybody, and

when they internalize their feelings without talking to someone it can lead to depression

(Böckler, et al., 2021).

In this study, researchers used previous findings to test the likelihood of rejection by

“manipulating whether a stranger, a friend, or their romantic partner excluded participants in a

virtual ball-tossing game” (Böckler, et al., 2021, pp. 174). This specific study was meant to apply

in a real-life situation. In addition, they took into consideration the fact that rejection could

happen no matter the relationship. For example, “the difference between exclusion by a stranger

and by a close other might be more pronounced when participants play with their partners than

with their friends” (Böckler, et al., 2021, pp. 174).

Their findings suggested how today’s generation has become more aware of when

someone is being mistreated or excluded, even if it doesn’t mean rejection has ceased, however,

“sensitivity to the degree of exclusion may help to infer the urgency of a particular situation as
 11
THE EFFECTS OF REJECTION ON COLLEGE STUDENTS

well as selecting adequate actions to foster inclusion” (Böckler, et al., 2021, pp. 181). There must

be more awareness because a person can go through so much without finally breaking at a point.

Even though the amount of rejection given to the participants in this study affected them, it

seems to not matter if it was from a friend, partner, or stranger (Böckler, et al., 2021). In the end,

researchers suggest that “Future studies could provide more comprehensive investigations of the

temporal need threat model by assessing the modulatory effects of relationship manipulations on

reflexive and reflective consequences in the same sample” (Böckler, et al., 2021, pp. 182).
 12
THE EFFECTS OF REJECTION ON COLLEGE STUDENTS

Proposal

To answer the proposed research question, I would use an interview questionary study to

record the data to have qualitative results. This is because the interviews that will be done rely on

questions that will make the participants talk about their experiences and feelings about rejection.

The interviews will be held by a specific person who does not have a bias toward any of the

participants, making them more valid and accurate for future research on the topic. The

participants will have to be College Students ranging from 18-30 years old.

They will be divided into different groups based on their age range, which can take up to

50 or more participants because the questions are not simply based on one. Interviews would

consist of discussion-based questions that will end up with the participant remembering a bad

experience with rejection and the effects of that experience. The questions will not only be about

rejection in their college community, but about relationships in their lives and their gender

identity and sexual orientation.

Those are all factors that can cause rejection and the point of this study is to record and

process those answers to compare and explain the different situations of rejection and its effect

on college students. Because college students already have an immense amount of stress in their

life by trying to get a degree.

 13
THE EFFECTS OF REJECTION ON COLLEGE STUDENTS

References

Andrews, J. L., Khin, A. C., Crayn, T., Humphreys, K., & Schweizer, S. (2022). Measuring

online

and offline social rejection sensitivity in the digital age. Psychological Assessment, 34(8),

742–751. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0001136.supp (Supplemental)

Böckler, A., Rennert, A., & Raettig, T. (2021). Stranger, lover, friend? The pain of rejection does

not depend. Social Psychology, 52(3), 173–184.

https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335/a000446 (Supplemental)

Farquhar-Leicester, A. L., Tebbe, E., & Scheel, M. (2022). The intersection of transgender and

gender-diverse identity and neurodiversity among college students: An exploration of

minority stress. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity.

https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000603.supp (Supplemental)

Giovazolias, T., & Paschalidi, E. (2022). The effect of rejection sensitivity on fear of intimacy in

emerging adulthood: A moderated-mediation model. European Journal of Psychology

Open, 81(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1024/2673-8627/a000019

Richter, M., & Schoebi, D. (2021). Rejection sensitivity in intimate relationships: Implications

for

perceived partner responsiveness. Zeitschrift Für Psychologie, 229(3), 165–170.

https://doi.org/10.1027/2151-2604/a000448
 14
THE EFFECTS OF REJECTION ON COLLEGE STUDENTS

Weir, K. (2012). The pain of social rejection. Monitor on Psychology. Vol 43, No. 4. Retrieved

April 26, 2023, from https://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/04/rejection

Wesselmann, E. D., Williams, K. D., Pryor, J. B., Eichler, F. A., Gill, D. M., & Hogue, J. D.

(2014).

Revisiting Schachter’s research on rejection, deviance, and communication

(1951). Social Psychology, 45(3), 164–169. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335/a000180