The desire to bond with others is inherent in all humans.  Indeed, when people lack this basic desire they’re typically looked on as sociopathic and strange. You can see this manifest desire in situations like the recent Apple iPhone 5 launch, with shoppers flocking to buy the phone and be part of the crowd.  For people who so crave the sense of belonging that being with like minded people brings, being outcast from that group can be particularly traumatic.

Yet there remains a significant number of people who are quite happy to be different from the rest, that are happy to think and act independently and sit on the outside.  How does social rejection influence these people?

New research suggests it actually proves as energising to them as being a part of the in-crowd does to the rest.

“For people who already feel separate from the crowd, social rejection can be a form of validation,” says the study’s lead co-author Sharon Kim, an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins University’s Carey Business School

“Rejection,” she says, “confirms for independent people what they already feel about themselves, that they’re not like others. For such people, that distinction is a positive one leading them to greater creativity.”

That negative consequence however is only present in those for whom group approval is important.  For those that pride themselves on being different, rejection can be a life affirming moment.

“We’re seeing in society a growing concern about the negative consequences of social rejection, thanks largely to media reports about bullying that occurs at school, in the workplace, and online,” Kim says.

“Obviously, bullying is reprehensible and produces nothing good,” she says. “What we tried to show in our paper is that exclusion from a group can sometimes lead to a positive outcome when independently minded people are the ones being excluded.”

The researchers found that after rejection, the independent sorts were actually at their most creative.  This could have serious implications for employers that are striving to tap into the innovative potential of their employees.  For these individuals, being part of a Skunk Works type project away from the rest could be a source of pride and energise their creativity.

With online communities of course it is easier than ever before for the ‘outcasts’ to find other people with a similar sense of pride in their uniqueness.  How that might influence their creativity could be an interesting follow up to this study to test whether such individualists still crave belonging, but are more particular about the kind of people they want to share that with, or whether they really are happier being lone wolves.