Belongingness is the human emotional need to be an accepted
member of a group. Whether it is family, friends, co-workers, or a sports team,
humans tend to have an 'inherent' desire to belong and be an important part of
something greater than themselves. This implies a relationship that is greater
than simple acquaintance or familiarity. The need to belong is the need to
give, and receive attention to, and from, others.
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| EVERY CHILD IS UNIQUE&THE APPLE OF EYE TO THEIR PARENTS |
Belonging is a strong and inevitable feeling that exists in
human nature. To belong or not to belong can occur due to choices of one's
self, or the choices of others. Not everyone has the same life and interests,
hence not everyone belongs to the same thing or person. Without belonging, one
cannot identify themselves as clearly, thus having difficulties communicating
with and relating to their surroundings.
By building relations we create a source of love and
personal pride and belonging that makes living in a chaotic world easier. People
enjoy the interaction on the Internet, and the feeling of belonging to a group
that does something interesting: that's how some software projects are born.
Being an INDIAN is a
state of mind, and to be in a family is to feel the power of belonging, the
power of our roots. Family is a tree, the strength of a tree, the roots, the
leaves, the past and the present, the future, the fruits, the seeds.
The needs for power, intimacy, approval, achievement and
affiliation, are all driven by the need to belong. Human culture is compelled
and conditioned by pressure to belong. The need to belong and form attachments
is universal among humans. The need to belong is the major psychological drive
also believe that humans are naturally driven toward establishing and
sustaining relationships and belongingness. For example, interactions with
strangers are possible first steps toward non-hostile and more long-term
interactions with strangers that can satisfy the need for attachments.
The belongingness hypothesis proposes two main features.
First, people need constant, positive, personal interactions with other people.
Second, people need to know that the bond is stable, there is mutual concern
for one another, and that there will be a continuation of that attachment into
the future. This means that the need to belong is not just a need for intimate
attachments or a need for connections, but that the perception of the bond is
just as important as the bond itself. They need to know that the other person
cares about his or her well-being and loves him or her.
Belongingness is such a fundamental human motivation that we
feel severe consequences of not belonging. If it wasn’t so fundamental, then
lack of belonging wouldn’t have such dire consequences on us. This desire is so
universal that the need to belong is found across all cultures and different
types of people.
Segregated programs and classrooms have failed to teach
students appropriate behaviour and skills. Environments where students model,
learn, and practice inappropriate or meaningless behaviours have not been
successful in preparing individuals for community life. Successful mastery of
school work in the inclusive education movement is expected to foster the
children's sense of self-worth, which in turn will enable them to join the
community as "responsible citizens." Children are required, as it
were, to learn their right to belong.
In the field of education that an effective way to bolster
student self-esteem is to provide students with opportunities to experience a
great deal of success. Consequently, efforts are made to ensure that the school
work is easy enough so students have little difficulty completing the work
correctly, thereby fostering trust in their own abilities. As expected,
students do begin to develop self-worth. But in the process, they also learn
that their worth as individuals is contingent upon being able to jump through
the prescribed academic, physical, or personal hoops.
Changes to the original five-stage model are indented and
include a seven-stage model and a eight-stage model, both developed during the
1960's and 1970s.
1. Biological and Physiological needs - air, food, drink,
shelter, warmth, sex, sleep, etc.
2. Safety needs - protection from elements, security, order,
law, stability, etc.
3. Love and belongingness needs - friendship, intimacy,
affection and love, - from work group, family, friends, romantic relationships.
4. Esteem needs - self-esteem, achievement, mastery,
independence, status, dominance, prestige, managerial responsibility, etc.
5. Cognitive needs - knowledge, meaning, etc.
6. Aesthetic needs - appreciation and search for beauty,
balance, form, etc.
7. Self-Actualization needs - realizing personal potential,
self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences.
8. Transcendence needs - helping others to achieve self
actualization.
Maslow's hierarchy of needs not only reminds us how
essential it is for people to live within the context of a community, but it
also shows us that the need for self-actualization necessary implies that every
person has abilities that warrant specific development within themselves. In
our education system, however, it is often assumed that only a minority of
students are gifted or have an individual calling and are capable of self-
actualization. Yet this minority has been artificially created to a large
degree by the fact that most schools only see those students with exceptional
academic, athletic, and artistic abilities as being deserving of the
opportunity to develop their talents. Students with gifts in areas other than
these typically are relegated to the world of the normal and mediocre: their
wishes to have special considerations so that they may pursue their unique
gifts (whether it be auto mechanics, the ability to nurture, or a fascination with
nature) are seen as self-indulgent fantasies. Consequently, it is only a few
privileged students who are granted the luxury to work and concentrate in areas
in which they naturally excel. Ironically, because of the prevailing paradigm
of our education system, the pursuits of children identified as "gifted
and talented" often occur in segregated programs that can have a negative
impact upon the child's sense of belonging. Thus, even when we grant children
the opportunity to meet their need for "self-actualization," it is
usually done at the expense of their sense of belonging.
People experience a range of both positive and negative
emotions; the strongest emotions linked to attachment and belongingness.
Empirical evidence suggests that when individuals are accepted, welcomed, or
included it leads those individuals to feel positive emotions such as
happiness, elation, calm, and satisfaction. However, when individuals are
rejected or excluded, they feel strong negative emotions such as anxiety,
jealousy, depression, and grief. In fact, the psychological pain caused by
social rejection is so intense that it involves the same brain regions involved
in the experience of physical pain.
A sense of belongingness increases a person’s willingness to
assist others in the group by the group rules. Belongingness and group
membership encourages social groups with motivation to comply, cooperate, and
help. Cohesive work groups show more consideration, report positive
relationships within the group and elicits more organizational citizenship
behaviors. . People are more receptive to a leader who provides a clear sense
of direction and inspiration with the promise of a better future.
Tragically, a growing number of adolescents find that the
endless demand to be "good enough to belong" is beyond them and they
end the struggle by taking their own lives. As we begin to recognize the
process of living in a world of conditional belonging, We can better understand
why students who commit suicide frequently are those we least expect. While
Maslow's hierarchy of needs may not provide a complete framework for
understanding and dealing with this issue, the absence of belonging in our
schools is a contributing factor to teenage suicide.
In all cultures, the need to belong is prevalent. Collectivist countries are also more likely to conform and comply with the majority group than members in individualistic societies. Stigmas can create a global uncertainty about the quality of an individual’s social bonds in academically and professional areas. There is growing evidence that the interpersonal factor of belongingness is strongly associated with depressive symptoms. The impression of low relational value is consciously experienced as reduced self-esteem. Reduced self-esteem is a fundamental element of depressive symptoms. According to these views, belongingness perceptions have a direct impact upon depressive symptoms due to innate neurological mechanisms.Hate crimes are different from other crimes. They strike at the heart of one's identity - they strike at our sense of self, our sense of belonging. The end result is loss - loss of trust, loss of dignity, and in the worst case, loss of life.
Just as protein is needed in the diet for the health of the body, so belongingness is a basic need for the mind and soul--THE NEED OF THE HOUR. In the early years of the study of depth psychology, different innovators explored our “basic” motivations. Freud suggested sex and aggression as two key drives, Alfred Adler noted the seeking of the sense of superiority to counter inferiority feelings, and Jung noted a wide range of archetypal sources of motivation.
People inside of belonging systems are very threatened by those who are not within that group. They are threatened by anyone who has found their citizenship in places they cannot control. Certain people who are socially deprived can exhibit physical, behavioral, and psychological problems, such as stress or instability.
Lack of constant, positive relationships has been linked to
a large range of consequences. People who lack belongingness are more prone to
behavioral problems such as criminality and suicide and suffer from increasing
mental and physical illness. Based on this evidence, multiple and diverse problems
are caused by the lack of belongingness and attachments. It therefore seems
appropriate to regard belongingness and attachments as a need rather than
simply a want.
