Have you ever looked on social media and saw a picture of all your friends together at a party, but were not invited? Have you ever felt sad and confused because people were not acknowledging you during a conversation? Have you ever been pushed out or silenced by an organization because you spoke up about an issue? These are all examples of ostracism, which is a universal human phenomenon. There is a wealth of research from the past three decades showing that being ostracized is hurtful, but many questions still remain about how people are able to determine that they are being ostracized and the process they go through to make sense of the messages they receive.

In this book, Communication researcher and professor Lukas Pelliccio, PhD uses real-life examples of ostracism to help readers understand the wide variety of ways that ostracism is communicated, how interpersonal ostracism messages (IOMs) are interpreted, and how communication can be used to overcome the hurt of being ostracized. With this communication focus, Pelliccio is able to reveal key features of the lived experience of being ostracized and how meaning is given to silence or ignoring. Through a review of seminal research, previous communication studies, and his own research, Pelliccio discusses the full communication timeline of ostracism and the specific phases that targets will go through when receiving and making sense of IOMs. He explores the nuances of ostracism across contexts like the workplace and social media, and gives insight into the most effective means of ostracism support seeking. Overall, this text gives academics novel directions for future research while also offering readers insights into common human experience.

Lukas Pelliccio is currently an Associate Professor of Communication at Lincoln University of PA, the first degree granting HBCU in the US. He received his PhD in Communication from Wayne State University in Detroit MI, specializing in Interpersonal Communication and his MA and BA in Communication Studies from West Chester University of PA.