Belonging, Need for

Evidence for the Need for Belonging

Several theoretical approaches have addressed the fact that humans are motivated to form and maintain social connections. Many early approaches did not afford any special status to belongingness motives, listing them among sometimes lengthy catalogs of other motives. In contrast, more recent approaches have argued that belongingness is not merely one motive among many, but rather that it is a fundamental motivation and a basic psychological need. Although definitions of psychological need differ between theories, there is wide agreement on several criteria.

Basic needs are believed to involve strong emotional responses that alert an individual when a need is not being met and motivate behavior to meet the need. In addition, basic psychological needs are believed to lead more generally to overall well-being when satisfied and to severe negative consequences (beyond momentary psychological distress) when thwarted. Some theories argue that basic psychological needs are essential for optimal functioning, just as certain nutrients are necessary for the optimal growth of plants and animals. Consistent with these theories, research shows that fulfillment of the need for belonging is associated with greater subjective well-being, positive affect, life satisfaction, and physical health. Even on a day-to-day basis, individuals tend to report greater well-being on days characterized by close interactions with others. Conversely, when the need for belonging is blocked through rejection, isolation, loss, or unsatisfying social relationships, individuals are likely to experience greater negative emotions such as anxiety, sadness, and hurt feelings. Some negative emotions, such as shame, guilt, loneliness, and embarrassment, seem to be uniquely social in nature and may have evolved primarily to alert individuals about threats to social bonds and motivate socially adaptive responses, presumably in service of the need for belonging. In addition to negative emotions, social isolation is associated with greater stress and psychopathology, lowered self-esteem, diminished self-regulation, and impaired immune system function. Over time, isolation may lead to loneliness and depression and is associated with an increased risk of suicide.

Further evidence that belongingness is a fundamental need comes from the powerful effects of relationship concerns on cognitive processing. Much of most individuals' thoughts and conversations revolve around their social relationships. There are also specific cognitive processes that focus on making sense of the social world, such as forming attributions and inferences about others' behavior. For example, people spontaneously use social relationships to classify information about individuals and tend to store information about relationship partners (e.g., a married couple) together in memory. Evidence also suggests that people process information about others in different ways depending on their relationship with the target. Many of the cognitive biases that normally favor the self are extended to close relationship partners. For instance, people tend to give more favorable explanations for the successes and failures of close relationship partners than they would for strangers.

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