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Abstract
Research and current events have illustrated the importance of teaching students about the consequences of being ostracised—excluded and ignored—by others. But how can the importance of ostracism be conveyed in a meaningful and engaging fashion? We designed a role‐play train ride demonstration (the “O” train) to teach high‐school and university students how it feels to be ostracised and to ostracise others. Students are assigned the roles of sources or targets of ostracism during a simulated train ride. Targets are initially included in spirited discussion, then ostracised by the sources for the remaining 4 minutes. A survey of students and teachers indicated that the train ride provides genuine insights into the power of ostracism above other teaching methods.
To conduct the evaluation of the train ride for purposes of reporting results in a publication, we submitted an application to, and received permission from, Macquarie University’s Institutional Review Board.We would like to thank Tim Bates, Trevor Case, Sue Ferguson, Joe Forgas and Cassie Govan, for their assistance in collecting data and evaluations.
Notes
To conduct the evaluation of the train ride for purposes of reporting results in a publication, we submitted an application to, and received permission from, Macquarie University’s Institutional Review Board.We would like to thank Tim Bates, Trevor Case, Sue Ferguson, Joe Forgas and Cassie Govan, for their assistance in collecting data and evaluations.
1. Although ostracism does result in immediate aversive effects of ostracism on targets, these tend to dissipate very quickly (Zadro, Boland, & Richardson, Citationin press).
2. Ideally, we would have assigned one teaching method per class (i.e., one class would have received only the “O” train, another class would have received only the ostracism lecture, etc.) and then compared the effectiveness of each method on an independent measure (e.g., an exam). However, because ostracism was an assessable component of the course, it would not have been ethical to allocate students to a less effective teaching method; hence students received all four methods.