A sense of belonging is one of the most amazing things we can experience as human beings: being the social beings that we are, we often gain support and inspiration whenever we are surrounded by the people we love. This feeling of desire, companionship and brotherhood is part of our human genetics.
Thousands of years ago, human beings knew that if they wanted to survive, they had to live in tribes; and since human beings are naturally created for tribal life, it cannot be denied that we can be at our happiest and most satisfied state when we are part of a tribe. With this Psychology-Online article we will go deeper together What is a sense of belonging in psychology, with some examples.
What is the sense of belonging
The sense of belonging represents a fundamental need of the human being, an essential dimension to structure one’s own identity that is at the same time individual and social. Indeed, it would be unthinkable for us to describe our identity without anchoring it in the multiple groups to which we belong. Here you can see the .
When a person feels that they belong to a social group, a cognitive and motivational process occurs that takes the name identification. This process leads to perceive oneself as a member of the groupsuccessively the affective aspects of belonging happen, and finally the person deduces the evaluation of himself as positive or negative from the evaluation of the entire group.
The meaning of sense of belonging in systemic psychology
According to the systemic structural approach (Minuchin, 1976), the experience of human identity is based on two elements: a sense of belonging and a sense of identification. The laboratory where these ingredients are mixed and distributed is the family, or whoever replaces them. The family is considered the first matrix of identityand the feeling of belonging is formed with the child’s adaptation to family groups and with his or her appropriation of transactional models of the family structure, which in various life situations tend to be reproduced as relational schemes.
Today, Minuchin’s theory is a bit schematic: The sense of belonging is what makes the child (and the adult) feel safe. and, although this is structured from the primary nucleus of affective reference, it is also repeated in the different significant contexts in which the child will find himself living. The feeling of belonging then becomes a primary need that any human being tries to absolve in order to have a seismic base (Bowlby, 1989) and that warmth that gives the confidence to be able to move and express oneself.
The concept of sense of belonging in social psychology
With the theory of Social Identity, Tajfel and Turner (1978; 1981) precisely defined social identity as part of the self-image that derives from the awareness of belonging to a social group, along with the value and emotional meaning associated with it. said belonging. According to Tajfel, in fact, no matter how rich and complex the image that individuals have of themselves, some aspects of it are identified with the membership in certain groups or social categoriesattributing the social connotations that said groups or categories possess.
The sense of belonging plays a particular role in the formation and maintenance of the concept of identity at different levels. On the one hand, the group provides the reference for evaluation at the individual level and for the selection of significant others from an interpersonal point of view; On the other hand, the group plays an important role in the definition of identity which derives from the comparison between the characteristics shared between the members of the group and those of other groups, which represents the very essence of social identity theory.
Functions and importance of the sense of belonging
At the group level, the sense of belonging has three main functions:
- Create cohesion in the group. The feeling of belonging enriches the internal life of the group and to a certain extent generates it, as norms, values and culture produce forms of identification useful for recognition by individuals in the actions of the group itself and functional for the development of a common supra-individual identity.
- Define your limits with respect to other groups. The sense of belonging, creating feelings and bonds of internal cohesion, delineates the boundaries that separate the group from the environment and other social groups.
- Regulates relations with the outside. An equally important relationship with the outside corresponds to an internal life of the group. Indeed, social comparison, that is, the comparison of the characteristics of one’s own group with other groups, is a direct source for the formation of identity.
Examples of sense of belonging
To better understand what it is and how it affects the feeling of belonging, let’s look at a practical example. Changing countries implies a cultural change and, therefore, a transformation of our sense of belonging. When we change countryIn fact, we can feel:
- Belonging to the new country and the new social group.
- Not belonging to the new country and the new social group.
- Not belonging to the new one, but not to the original one either.
Those who manage to enter the new context identify with the models, values, common objectives, behaviors, norms, interests of the new country. They are also relatively active socially and feel close to others. On the other hand, those who do not feel they belong to the new, or neither the new nor the original, often feel ignored by others and by the community in general, they do not feel recognized, sometimes they feel rejected. Furthermore, they do not share many aspects of the reference culture. The opposite of a sense of belonging is, therefore, a sense of alienation, low self-esteem and little feeling of reciprocity.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to What is the sense of belonging in psychologywe recommend that you enter our category.
Bibliography
- Berani, B., Manetti, M. (et al.) (2007). Group psychology. Theory, answers and intervention methodology. Milan: Franco Angeli.
- Junger, S. (2018). Tribe. Return home and apartment. Gorizia: LEG Edizioni.
- Salerno, G. (2018). Il senso di appartenenza: what things and how it changes when it is transferred all’estero. Retrieved from: https://giuliasalerno.com/2018/05/29/il-senso-di-appartenenza-che-cose-e-come-cambia-quando-ci-si-trasferisce-allestero/
- Tortorelli, D. (2016). Prepare for the road. Systemic-relational sport psychology. Milan: Franco Angeli.