Bridging the gap between different psychological approaches to understanding and reducing the impact of social exclusion

The omnipresence of social exclusion in everyday life and its negative impact on human functioning underscore the relevance of this topic as a field of research. Not surprisingly, social exclusion has been investigated across psychological subdisciplines. This volume is dedicated to bringing together the psychological subdisciplines’ different approaches to the topic in order to further advance our understanding of this phenomenon. In this concluding chapter, we want to look back to the theories, methods, and findings reviewed in this volume, point out similarities and differences between them, and provide starting points to bridge the gap between different psychological approaches to the topic of social exclusion. Specifically, we discuss the importance of using a consistent terminology for different types of social exclusion experiences across psychological subdisciplines, and relevant issues with regard to methods for investigating social exclusion effects. We also discuss similarities and differences of theoretical models developed within different psychological approaches. Finally, we discuss the reviewed research on interventions aimed at reducing either the occurrence of social exclusion or its negative impact on individuals’ thoughts, feelings, and behavior.