Ostracism as a Manifestation of Xenophobia

Abstract

The aim of the article is to explore the features of the concept of social isolation
as a manifestation of xenophobia, which, due to their own characterological
identities, carry a greater threat to society than open aggression.
The author used the method of synthesis to make an attempt to analyze
personality’s emotional, cognitive and behavioral structures that had influence
on characteristics of ostracization’s processes. The cognitive form includes selfawareness,
self-observation, self-imagination, introspection, self-criticism and
other signs of the destructive image of «Me» in a situation of social isolation. The
cognitive component is characterized by the presence of irrational personality’s
constructs, the emotional one – by the phenomena of well-being, pride, which
are also affected by social exile or neglect as the most common forms of
ostracization in the social field.

In the article the author analyzed the psychological characteristics of
individuals exposed to the phenomenon of social rejection. The main scientific
views on the problem of ostracism, its role in the formation of xenophobic
tendencies, emotional reactions and conditions that ostracize lives on, the role
of psychological protective mechanisms, a sense of fear as the basic emotion
of rejection of «alien» individuals are highlighted. The results of the research
indicate the interdependence of socio-psychological environmental factors and
the formation of trends of personal rejection.
The author made conclusions that are drawn in a system of considering
the concept of ostracism as xenophobic manifestations, at a deep cognitiveemotional
level, it affects the course of personality formation.
We see the further research of this problem in a more detailed study of the
main criteria of xenophobic forms and ostracized reactions that arise when there
is a threat of belonging, the alleged devaluation and denial of relations, as well
as a study of the interdependence of open aggression and ostracized tendencies
in the context of xenophobic manifestations of society.