Social exclusion inflicts psychological pains, just as physical damage inflicts physical pains. Experiments have shown that psychological and physiological pains are highly intertwined, hence social exclusion is similar to physical damage to the body in terms of the pains it causes. Indeed, neural science has demonstrated that our brains treat social threats as seriously as physical threats.
Pains are not necessarily bad. I mean, pains make us feel bad, but they serve good functions. They keep us from objects and environment that can cause damage to us. It has been shown that people do not have the physical sense of pain live significantly shorter than normal. It is not exaggerating to say that feeling pains in the environment that is harmful for us is important for our survival.
People literally feel pains when they get rejected by others. From an evolutionary point of view, we can understand why this is the case. During our evolution as a species, it is vital for survival to have a good relationship with other members in the group. Being excluded from the group in the environment can be considered as the end of future. An individual who doesn't care about social inclusion and exclusion is likely to be eliminated by the evolutionary process. The pains caused by social exclusion serve as the signal that reminds the individual something is wrong and needs to be changed, and these pains teach the individual to strive for a good social relationship with others and try not to be excluded from a group.
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