Fear of death mediates ostracism distress and the moderating role of attachment internal working models

Ostracism is known to cause psychological distress; however, it remains unclear why ostracism evokes this response. Two experiments tested empirically whether fear of death mediates ostracism effects and whether attachment internal working models moderate this role. A total of 288 participants played Cyberball with two other ostensible players. After the game the accessibility of their death‐related thoughts was assessed by a word completion task, and the Needs Satisfaction Scale was used to measure their distress. Participants’ attachment orientation was measured using the Experiences in Close Relationship scale. Death anxiety fully mediated ostracism distress. However, this effect was stronger in low‐anxiety individuals. These studies contribute to the ostracism literature by providing further empirical support that death anxiety mediates ostracism distress, and to the attachment literature by documenting the moderation effect of attachment anxiety.