THE NEED TO BELONG Flashcards by Courtney Lynn

According to the auto-motive model, why might priming students with thoughts of their mother lead them to perceive an unfamiliar student as hard-working?

Thinking about their mother activates chronic relational goals, such as making her proud, which influences their perception of others

(possible projection)

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What is a The Fundamental Need to Belong?

Humans have a “pervasive drive to form and maintain at least a minimum quantity of lasting, positive, significant interpersonal relationships”

Seen in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

“A great deal of human behavior and thought is caused by this fundamental interpersonal motive”

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What are two ways we satisfy this need?

Frequent pleasant interactions
Long-lasting caring relationships

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If need to belong is a fundamental need, it should have these 5 characteristics:

1.Need satisfaction/ not met should influence emotions

2.Unmet need should motivate behaviour to satisfy it

3.Satiation and substitution

4.Chronic need satisfaction / frustration should be related to health outcomes

5.Universal

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How does the Status of Need to Belong Affects Emotions?

New relationships = positive feelings
E.g.Making a new friend, falling in love
Relationships ending = negative feelings
e.g. breaking up

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Unmet need should motivate behaviour to satisfy

What is the Social Reconnection Hypothesis?

Social rejection is one indicator of an unmet need to belong
*Associated with negative feelings

Social reconnection hypothesis: Feeling rejected motivates us to seek out new bonds and strengthen existing ones

*Thus, negative feelings associated with rejection are adaptive

We feel sad when rejected (sadness motivates us to seek out new bonds)

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How did they study the social reconnection hypothesis?

Does rejection lead to a desire for social contact?

*Method: *“Future alone” paradigm

*Participants complete personality test and receive fake feedback
- You will end up alone in life
- Or you will be surrounded by many ppl

Then asked: “To what extent would you prefer doing the next task with a few other people?”

FOUND:

“Rejected” participants showed strongest desire to work with other

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Evidence for Social Reconnection Hypothesis

What else did “Rejected” participants also show?

*Greater interest to meet and connect with new friends

*Greater desire to join student group to connect with others

*Rate others as more attractive and sociable
*i.e. perceive attributes in others that make them seem more approachable and are consistent with their own need

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People who are rejected also show a “mixed bag” of emotions. Explain this?

But rejection is also associated with withdrawal and even aggression sometimes
Ex. Majority of school shooters in the US had experienced chronic rejection

In the lab, rejected people:
*Evaluated another person more negatively
*Delivered longer and louder blasts of aversive noise to the rejector
*Gave rejector hot sauce knowing that they hate spicy foo

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How can we reconcile rejection as a “mixed bag”?

Does intensity of rejection moderate rejection-aggression link?

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Study:

Does intensity of rejection moderate rejection-aggression link

Manipulated intensity of rejection using Cyberball

Rejected by nobody

one person

two people

or all three

Measured aggression when asked to make food for unrelated participant (participant hates spicy food)

FOUND

Being accepted by even one person greatly reduces likelihood of rejected person lashing out

As more ppl accept u = less likely to lash out

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What is Rejection sensitivity?

disproportionate fear to being rejected

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What is high rejection sensitivity?

Individuals who are high in rejection sensitivity are so fearful and aversive of rejection that it impacts their daily lives

Strong emotional reaction

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What is low rejection sensitivity?

People with low rejection sensitivity often navigate social interactions with a more relaxed and confident approach.

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What is Rejection sensitivity associated with?

*Hypervigilance to signs of rejection

*Very accommodating of others when rejection is not perceived
*Attempt to prevent rejection

*Over-interpreting neutral, ambiguous cues as rejection

*Aggressive (especially passive aggressive) behaviour when rejection is perceived
*Attempt at self-protection

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How might rejection sensitivity influence cyberball results

If more rejection sensitive (might be more aggressive in hot sauce test)

Does degree of rejection sensitivity moderate reactions to rejection?

*Method: Study on “how people choose partners in dating services”

Email with someone
in one condition= rejected
in another = wifi crashed (so no response)

Then do hot sauce test

FOUND:
Rejection elicited aggression only in those high in rejection sensitivity
- When not rejected = ppl pleaser (to avoid being rejected)

Low rejection sensitivity = didn’t change much

What are the implications of the cyberball and dating email study?

Rejection can promote connection with others if we see this as a realistic option

(if we are accepted by even one person, we will be more motivated)
- Less likely to be aggressive if know there are other people they can turn to

And ppl shouldn’t be too sensitive to rejection (expecting others to hurt us)

instead try have = Low rejection sensitivity

According to the social reconnection hypothesis, who would be LEAST likely to seek social connection?

a. Emily, who was mildly excluded from a causal group chat

b. David, who was harshly rejected by his longtime friend group and has low rejection sensitivity

c. Sophia, who was subtly left out of a weekend trip planned by her coworkers and has high rejection sensitivity

d. James, who was publicly rejected by a romantic partner in front of mutual friends and has high rejection sensitivity

Satiation and substitution

What is Satiation?

People seek out new relationships until their need to belong is met
*Less motivated to seek out relationships once they feel like they have a sufficient number of satisfying relationships

Satiation and substitution

What is the evidence for satiation?

*Average student’s meaningful interactions happen with same 6 people

*People generally prioritize having a few close friends over having many, less close friends

Satiation and substitution

What is substitution?

Need to belong can be satisfied by different relationships (not just one type)

Satiation and substitution

What evidence is there for substitution?

*As a romantic relationship develops, people generally spend less time with other people, including old friends

*People are more likely to cheat in relationships in which they feel lonely/ rejected
*Indication that need to belong is not met

*We replace relationships that have ended with new one

Satiation and substitution

What if we’re “hungry” for belonging and there’s no one to connect with?

When no one for u IRL

*Look to para-social relationships

*Ascribing human characteristics to non-humans (anthropomorphism)
*Pets
*Technology
*Objects

Explain this study? Does unmet need to belong make us willing to lower bar for what we accept as social connection? "Future alone task"

Judge if doll or person (Animate or inanimate task) FOUND: Feelings of social disconnection (future alone) associated with lower animacy threshold (see more animate in doll images)

What does the doll study show?

Suggests that social disconnection makes us lower the bar for acceptable social contact

Which of the following best illustrates the principle of satiation in the need to belong? a. After starting a new job, Maria actively seeks out as many social interactions as possible to feel connected b. After spending a fulfilling weekend with close friends, Jake feels less motivated to reach out to acquaintances the following week c. Despite having a strong support system, Sarah constantly worries about social rejection and seeks reassurance from others d. Tom, who has been socially isolated for months, now prefers solitude over reconnecting with others

b. After spending a fulfilling weekend with close friends, Jake feels less motivated to reach out to acquaintances the following week

4. Chronic need satisfaction/ frustration should be related to health outcomes Consequences of Chronic Belonging Deprivation: (3)

1. Poorer mental health *Lack of adequate supportive relationships associated with increased stress *Children who grew up not receiving adequate emotional attention from caregivers have poorer mental health 2. Poorer physical health and immune response *Lonely people tend to take longer to recover from stress, illness, injury 3. Earlier mortality

How does Belonging Lower Mortality Risk? Study: Meta-analysis of 148 studies (308,849 participants) looking at effects of social connection on physical health What did they find?

Results: People who have stronger social relationships are 50% more likely to survive in a given time frame than those who have weaker relationships *Controlling for age, sex, initial health status, cause of death, and follow-up period

on mortality is comparable, and even exceeds....

the effect of well-established risk factors for mortality (Ex. Smoking, weight, physical activity)

5. Universal What is the Evolutionary Basis of Need to Belong?

Social connection critical for survival *Attachment system’s function is to ensure infants’ proximity to caregivers so that they survive *Connection to group has implications for our survival (if abandoned = will die) -Fend off predators -Share labor, food, care for young

Where do we feel pain in our brain?

Activation in dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) associated with emotional aspect of physical pain

Why might social and physical pain be realated?

Shared Vocabulary Between Physical and Social Pain Ex. *“They hurt my feelings” *“She broke my heart” *“I’m cut to the core” *“Emotionally scarred” *“He ripped out my heart” *“Like a slap in the face”

Is there a biological universal mechanism to seek belonging to social groups and lasting relationships Study: Is social pain also processed in dACC?

Participants played Cyberball while undergoing fMRI scan *Either included or excluded in game *Assessed degree of distress *** Results: dACC activity associated with feelings of distress *Evidence that physical and social pain are processed in the same brain region

What does the physical pain sensitivity (results in DACC) correlate with?

Physical pain sensitivity associated with sensitivity to social exclusion (reported feelings of distress in Cyberball Higher reaction in brain = more distressed they are

If social pain is physical can we treat it with Advil?

Study: ppl take Advil or sugar pill daily for 3 weeks - Daily diary - And cyberball with FMRI after 3 weeks FOUND: Tylenol group reported fewer hurt feelings (vs. placebo group) *Tylenol group showed less dACC activation after exclusion in Cyberball game