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Introduction
There are various different reasons as to why individuals desire to belong. When
individuals desire to belong, they tend to find value in creating meaningful social relationships.
Therefore, it is imperative to uncover and understand the overlooked factors that begin to explain
why individuals associate with others and what draws them to do so. As individuals create social
relationships, it is common that social comparison will come into play. Individuals tend to
compare what they have to offer with others, and how that may lift or eliminate their satisfaction
of belonging.
Overview of Social Psychology
The Need to Belong and Social Relationships
The need to belong is a universal feeling for individuals regardless of cultural or
environmental influences (Kassin et al., 2020). Even individualists and collectivists alike may
find themselves longing to belong to something or someone. Research shows that individuals are
typically drawn to those who appear to have similar goals, interests, or talents (Kassin et al.,
2020). According to Equity Theory, individuals may also decide to join a group, for example, to
maximize benefits and minimize losses (Kassin et al., 2020). Additionally, individuals may
decide to internalize doing something to increase the well-being of others as a whole, rather than
the self (Rand et al., 2016). This is another example of why individuals may decide to interact
and create social relationships in order to feel like they belong.
Helping Others and Attraction
The development of altruism is one of the main reasons that individuals may decide to
help others. Altruism is defined as individuals helping others in order to protect themselves
(Kassin et al., 2020). In the past decade, researchers have found that women are more likely than
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men to internalize and partake in altruistic behaviors (Rand et al., 2016). Attraction is a strong
predictor for helping others. For example, attractive individuals are more likely to receive help
from others, compared to those who are considered to be ‘less attractive’ (Kassin et al., 2020).
Social Comparison
As individuals begin to seek creating close social relationships, the likelihood of
comparison increases dramatically. Social comparison is defined as the comparison that takes
place between the self and others (Chadee, 2022). When a person gains information about
another group member, for example, it is likely that the person will always relate the information
to themselves in a positive or negative light (Leary et al., 2015). From this position, it is easy to
suggest the self is particularly ‘better’ or ‘worse’ than others depending on the given scenario.
The Social Comparison Theory ultimately guides researchers in understanding why individuals
consciously choose to engage in social comparisons, and how this may influence the self in result
of that choice (Leary et al., 2015).
Conclusion
As individuals begin to understand their need to belong, they will start to seek sharing a
piece of themselves with others. This sparks the interest of researchers because it is important to
know why we are hardwired to engage with others and naturally compare strengths and
weaknesses in order to reach a common goal, come to a conclusion, or create a higher sense of
belongingness for ourselves. Additionally, it is important to understand the intense emotions and
detrimental effects that social comparison can have on the self as well as others. There is a
connection between the need to belong and social comparison that should be considered in future
research. When individuals participate in social comparison, the need to belong may increase or
decrease.
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References
Chadee, D. (Ed.) (2022). Theories in Social Psychology (2nd ed.). Wiley Global Research.
Kassin, S., Fein, S., & Markus, H. R. (2020). Social Psychology (11th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Leary, M. R., Diebels, K. J., Jongman-Sereno, K. P., & Fernandez, X. D. (2015). Why seemingly
trivial events sometimes evoke strong emotional reactions: The role of social exchange
rule violations. The Journal of Social Psychology, 255(6), 559-575.
Rand, D. G., Brescoll, V. L., Everett, J. A. C., Capraro, V., & Barcelo, H. (2016) Social heuristics
and social roles: Intuition favors altruism for women but not for men. Journal of
Experimental Psychology: General, 145(4), 389-396.
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