Social Pain: Neuropsychological and Health Implications of Loss and Exclusion

Edited by Geoff MacDonald, Ph.D. and Lauri A. Jensen-Campbell, Ph.D.

Social pain is the experience of pain as a result of interpersonal rejection or loss, such as rejection from a social group, bullying, or the loss of a loved one.

Research now shows that social pain results from the activation of certain components in physical pain systems.

Although social, clinical, health, and developmental psychologists have each explored aspects of social pain, recent work from the neurosciences provides a coherent, unifying framework for integrative research.

This edited volume provides the first comprehensive, multidisciplinary exploration of social pain.

Part I examines the subject from a neuroscience perspective, outlining the evolutionary basis of social pain and tracing the genetic, neurological, and physiological underpinnings of the phenomenon.

Part II explores the implications of social pain for functioning in interpersonal relationships; contributions examine the influence of painkillers on social emotions, the ability to relive past social hurts, and the relation of social pain to experiences of intimacy.

Part III examines social pain from a biopsychosocial perspective in its consideration of the health implications of social pain, outlining the role of stress in social pain and the potential long-term health consequences of bullying.

The book concludes with an integrative review of these diverse perspectives.