Why didn't you tag me?!: Social exclusion from Instagram posts hurts, especially those with a high need to belong

Humans are highly sensitive to ostracism experiences and thus, even very short occurrences of being excluded and ignored can threaten fundamental needs and lower mood. We investigated whether not being tagged causes similar negative responses as being excluded in real life. Using a multi-method approach, we show across five studies (total N = 1149) that not being tagged in a posted photo strongly threatens fundamental needs. This effect is moderated by individuals' need to belong, such that individuals with a higher need to belong experience not being tagged as more aversive. Results replicate across vignette studies in which participants imagine not being tagged on Instagram (Studies 2 and 3) and across studies using an alleged group task paradigm that mimicked the psychological mechanism of not being tagged outside of Instagram (Studies 4a and 4b). All experimental studies were pre-registered and we freely share all materials, code and data. Extending ostracism effects to the social media phenomenon tagging, the present research bridges real-world and digital social interactions. The results add to theoretical knowledge on social media, ostracism, and digital well-being and have practical implications for social media app design, social media interventions and our everyday interactions that increasingly happen online

Showing with whom I belong: The desire to belong publicly on social media

Despite a plethora of social media use research, surprisingly little is known about what social media users post about, and, more importantly, why . In three studies ( N = 1,140), we present novel evidence for a disposition describing individual differences in the desire to display belonging on social media: the desire to belong publicly (DTBP). We validate an eight-item DTBP scale, encompassing the desire to display both a high quantity (e.g., having many friends) and a high quality of belonging (e.g., having close friends) on social media. The scale shows good internal consistency and test-retest reliability over two weeks. DTBP is related to, but conceptually distinct from neighboring constructs such as need to belong and need for popularity, as well as other personality dimensions known to drive social media behaviors such as extraversion, public self-consciousness, and social comparison propensity. DTBP is related to indicators of active and passive social media use, daily use of social media, frequency of posting about belonging, and social media addiction, above and beyond other constructs, and on different social media platforms (i.e., Instagram and Facebook). In sum, DTBP is a reliable and valid construct that aids the understanding of why and how individuals use social media

Depressed and excluded: Do depressive symptoms moderate recovery from ostracism?

Background. Prior studies show that depressed individuals react with more immediate reflexive need threat to ostracism than healthy controls. However, it remains unclear whether the observed difference between depressed individuals and healthy controls is caused by ostracism. To find out, the exclusion condition needs to be compared to a baseline condition: inclusion. Methods. We assessed depressive symptoms in N = 426 participants in an experimental study. Participants were included or excluded in Cyberball and indicated both their immediate reflexive need satisfaction level and their reflective need satisfaction level several minutes later to assess recovery. Results. Being excluded decreased reflexive need satisfaction levels for all participants. At the same time, the strength of depressive symptoms negatively predicted reflexive and reflective need satisfaction and was associated with slower recovery. Importantly, no moderation was observed: individuals with more depressive symptoms reported reduced need satisfaction levels regardless of being included or excluded in Cyberball. Limitations. The present findings were obtained with one paradigm only, albeit the most commonly used one: Cyberball. Depressive symptoms were assessed as self-report; future studies may wish to replicate the effects using structured clinical interviews. Conclusions. Depressive symptoms come with lowered need satisfaction levels, irrespective of whether individuals are socially excluded or included. Clinical practitioners should be aware of the relationship between chronic need threat and depression in order to help their patients overcome it

Growth of donor-derived dendritic cells from the bone marrow of murine liver auograft recipients in response to granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor

Allografts of the liver, which has a comparatively heavy leukocyte content compared with other vascularized organs, are accepted permanently across major histocompatibility complex barriers in many murine strain combinations without immunosuppressive therapy. It has been postulated that this inherent tolerogenicity of the liver may be a consequence of the migration and perpetuation within host lymphoid tissues of potentially tolerogenic donor-derived ("chimeric") leukocytes, in particular, the precursors of chimeric dendritic cells (DC). In this study, we have used granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor to induce the propagation of progenitors that give rise to DC (CD45+, CDllc+, 33D1+, nonlymphoid dendritic cell 145 +, major histocompatibility complex class II+, B7-1+) in li-tuid cultures of murine bone marrow cells. Using this technique, together with immunocytochemical and molecular methods, we show that, in addition to cells expressing female host (C3H) phenotype (H-2Kk+; I-E+; Y chromosome-), a minor population of male donor (B10)-derived cells (H-2Kb+; I-A+; Y chromosome+) can also be grown in 10-d DC cultures from the bone marrow of liver allograft recipients 14 d after transplant. Highly purified nonlymphoid dendritic cell 145+ DC sorted from these bone marrow-derived cell cultures were shown to comprise ~1-10% cells of donor origin (Y chromosome +) by polymerase chain reaction analysis. In addition, sorted DC stimulated naive, recipient strain T lymphocytes in primary mixed leukocyte cultures. Evidence was also obtained for the growth of donor-derived cells from the spleen but not the thymus. In contrast, donor ceils could not be propagated from the bone marrow or other lymphoid tissues of nonimmunosuppressed C3H mice rejecting cardiac allografrs from the same donor strain (B10). These findings provide a basis for the establishment and perpetuation of cell chimerism after organ transplantation. © 1995, Rockefeller University Press., All rights reserved

Cell migration and chimerism after whole‐organ transplantation: The basis of graft acceptance

Improvements in the prevention or control of rejection of the kidney and liver have been largely interchangeable (1, 2) and then applicable, with very little modification, to thoracic and other organs. However, the mechanism by which anti rejection treatment permits any of these grafts to be “accepted” has been an immunological enigma (3, 4). We have proposed recently that the exchange of migratory leukocytes between the transplant and the recipient with consequent long-term cellular chimerism in both is the basis for acceptance of all whole-organ allografts and xenografts (5). Although such chimerism was demonstrated only a few months ago, the observations have increased our insight into transplantation immunology and have encouraged the development of alternative therapeutic strategies (6)

Baboon-to-human liver transplantation

Our ability to control both the cellular and humoral components of xenograft rejection in laboratory experiments, together with an organ shortage that has placed limits on clinical transplantation services, prompted us to undertake a liver transplantation from a baboon to a 35-year-old man with B virus-associated chronic active hepatitis and human immunodeficiency virus infection. Liver replacement was performed according to conventional surgical techniques. Immunosuppression was with the FK 506-prednisone-prostaglandin regimen used routinely for hepatic allotransplantation, to which a daily non-myelotoxic dose of cyclophosphamide was added. During 70 days of survival, there was little evidence of hepatic rejection by biochemical monitoring or histopathological examination. Products of hepatic synthesis, including clotting factors, became those of the baboon liver with no obvious adverse effects. Death followed a cerebral and subarachnoid haemorrhage that was caused by an angioinvasive aspergillus infection. However, the underlying cause of death was widespread biliary sludge that formed in the biliary tree despite a seemingly satisfactory choledochojejunostomy. During life and in necropsy samples, there was evidence of the chimerism that we believe is integral to the acceptance of both xenografts and allografts. Our experience has shown the feasibility of controlling the rejection of the baboon liver xenograft in a human recipient. The biliary stasis that was the beginning of lethal infectious complications may be correctable by modifications of surgical technique. In further trials, the error of over-immunosuppression should be avoidable. © 1993

Characterization of Murine Carcinoembryonic Antigen Gene Family Members

The carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is a human tumor marker whose gene belongs to a family with more than 20 members. This gene family codes for a group of proteins with in vitro cell adhesion properties and for a group of abundantly expressed pregnancy-specific glycoproteins (PSG) with unknown functions. As a basis for in vivo functional studies, we have started to analyze the murine CEA gene family and have identified five new members (Cea-2 to Cea-6). cDNA clones were isolated for Cea-2, Cea-3, and Cea-6. The deduced amino acid sequences of Cea-2 and Cea-6 indicate three IgV-like (N), followed by one IgC-like (A) domain (N1-N2-N3-A). We have also partially characterized the Cea-2 gene and two additional ones, Cea-4 and Cea-5. Cea-2 and Cea-4 are separated by only 16 kb, suggesting a close linkage of murine CEA-related genes, as found for the human CEA gene family. Cea-5 was located to the proximal region of mouse Chromosome (Chr) 7, which is syntenic to part of human Chr 19, containing the human CEA gene family cluster. Cea-2, Cea-3, and a Cea-4-like gene are differentially transcribed in the placenta during pregnancy, but not in other organs tested. This expression pattern strongly suggests that they represent counterparts of the human PSG subgroup members, despite the presence of multiple IgV-like domains, a feature not found for human PSGs. The more distantly related Cea-5 seems to be ubiquitously expressed. The putative promoter region of Cea-2 lacks typical TATA-or CAAT-boxes, but contains other conserved motifs that could play a role in the initiation of transcription