Behavioral, psychological, and emotional effects of ostracism are well documented, however little is known about the effects of ostracism on aspects of higher order cognition. Executive functioning is an aspect of higher order cognition that may be temporarily disrupted by ostracism. Therefore, interventions designed to enhance executive functioning, such as an acute bout of physical activity, may counteract cognitive disruption. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to test the effects of ostracism on executive functioning following an acute bout of physical activity. Using a within-subjects design, participants (N = 48, 24 female) completed three counterbalanced testing sessions where they received exercise and inclusion, exercise and exclusion, and rest and exclusion. Participants completed a total of three flanker tasks in each session as a measure of executive functioning. Results showed that exercise was beneficial for overall accuracy, t(47) = -3.58, p < .05, d = 0.32, and performance monitoring, t(47) = -2.53, p < .05, d = 0.34. Participants performed the same as baseline following exclusion or inclusion. Thus, despite finding an effect for exercise on executive functioning as well as psychological and emotional effects of ostracism, an effect of ostracism on executive functioning was not observed. It remains unclear if and precisely how ostracism affects executive functioning in college-aged young adults, and the role of exercise in any such relationship. However, the findings of this thesis point to important next research steps for exploring the connection of exercise, ostracism and executive functioning in college-aged young adults.
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