“Solitude is for me a fount of healing which makes my life worth living.”
Carl Jung
A study published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin found that people who had a higher preference for solitude were more likely to encounter social exclusion by others. People were also more inclined to isolate others who sought out solitude more than ones that did not.
This research was conducted by Dr. Dongning Ren and Dr. Anthony M. Evans both assistant professors at Tilburg University, Netherlands.
Some people find solitude productive while others find it pointless. Those who do appreciate solitude, however, don’t necessarily dislike social interactions. Rather, they simply enjoy having their alone time when needed.
Although sociability and extraversion are used interchangeably they aren’t the same. Extraversion also includes factors such as assertiveness and positive affect which are different from sociability.
The purpose of this study was to identify whether individuals who desire to be alone more often are more likely to endure negative experiences such as ostracism and unwanted isolation. This negative interactional experience is highlighted in this research as it reflects on evolutionary and developmental theories that suggest solitude seeking is exemplary of those who violate social norms.
This research tests these claims on the basis that solitude seeking individuals are ostracized for two reasons: The first being a self-interested concern, that people who prefer solitude may be undesirable to themselves. The next reason, regarding others, is that people predict that interactions and relationships with solitary people would be uninteresting and unpleasant.
Five different studies were conducted to examine the correlation between solitude preference and ostracism. The first two studies looked at participants’ self-reported experiences and their perception of others’ experiences.
The next two studies examined participants’ willingness to ostracize people with high and low solitude preferences.
In Study 1, participants completed surveys regarding dispositional preferences for solitude, ostracism experiences, and the Big Five personality traits. Using a regression model, a positive correlation between solitude preference and ostracism experience was noticed.
In Study 2, participants evaluated four targets: a family member, an acquaintance, a friend and themselves. Their task was to visualize the targets and evaluate their solitude preference and how often they were ostracized. Again, a positive association between ostracism experience and solitude preference was noticed.
Whilst the first two studies were correlational, studies 3 and 4 were experimental manipulations.
In study 3, participants were asked to complete individual studies on the computer. They received a description of a fellow student who either had a low or high solitude preference and were asked to rate their ostracism intentions towards the target.
The results were that the participants in the high solitude preference condition rated the target higher on solitude preference than those in the lower solitude preference condition. They also indicated robust ostracism intentions for the high solitude preference target.
In study 4, the participants received a target profile that contained the target’s solitude preference and a questionnaire completed by them. Participants reviewed these profiles and were asked to form their impressions and then complete the same measures in study 3 by rating their ostracism intentions.
The results were that as the target’s solitude preference rose from low to average, participants’ preferences for solitude grew as well. In terms of ostracism intentions, an associated increase was noted but not as significantly.
As a result, people tend to more strongly ostracize the individuals who have a higher solitude preference than not.
In study 5, participants received target profiles with completed questionnaires regarding their solitude preferences. Participants formed their impressions and then indicated their self- interested, and other-regarding concerns using a series of items.
Finally, they noted their ostracism intentions in ways similar to the above studies. Self-interested concerns proved to be a more robust predictor of ostracism intentions towards the target.
In conclusion, the studies have proven that seeking solitude, what should be just a simple individual preference, may come at the cost of reduced socialization.