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A business professor from John Hopkins Carey Business School reaffirms the idea of individualism in a study that claims social rejection can inspire imaginative thinking, particularly in individuals with a strong sense of their own independence.

Sharon Kim, the study's lead author tackles the already obvious claim that strong independence gain validation through social rejection.

 "Rejection 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."

Furthermore, such people believe that even if they did belong to a crowd or group, they would only trust their own decisions and opinions, because of a dominating sense of confidence and self-worth.

As predicted, social rejection has the opposite effect on people who value social acceptance, ultimately "inhibiting their cognitive ability."

While numerous psychological studies have confirmed this finding, Kim, along with her co-authors, Lynne Vincent and Jack Goncalo of Cornell University, consider the impact of rejection on people who take pride in being different from the norm or as the study calls them "independent self-concept(s)."

Taking into account the expanding social networking avenues and rudimentary concerns over bullying and social exclusion, Kim is interested in looking at the benefits of excommunicators, particular in the workplace.

Kim states that the paper "practical implications for business because of the desire among managers to employ imaginative thinkers who can maximize creativity. A company might want to take a second look at a job candidate whose unconventional personality might make him an easy target for rejection, but whose inventiveness would be a valuable asset to the organization."Your typical "nerd" or "outcast" has learned to thrive on personal bests. Not only does he or she see themselves as their best competitor but all outsiders assume that role automatically. In the long term, such an individual can thrive on rejection and could later, says Kim, have a "successful career trajectory, in contrast with the person who is inhibited by social rejection."