Interpersonal Belonging

It is a fundamental human experience to long for interpersonal intimacy. Longing for interpersonal intimacy stays with all of us throughout life starting from infancy (Fromm-Reichmann, 1959). Human phenomena evolve around interaction with others. People are influenced by the real or imagined interpersonal relationship and how others respond to them. Their motivation for seeking a connection with other is an important theme in social psychology (Leary, 2010). This brief literature review presents the significance of a sense of belonging to human experience as well as general well-being.

Definition

Belonging is a distinct type of interpersonal relationship that involves social support and acceptance by a group. Nonetheless, there are multiple

Being accepted and belong to a group has been an evolutionary necessity for survival in human history. Rejection would compromise a change of continuous existence and reproduction (Leary, 2010). An individual’s ability to socialize well has been important for achieving a certain level of success in a society (Cacioppo, Cacioppo, & Boomsma, 2013). Consequently, human (social) behaviors tend to gearing towards protecting individual membership to a group. People often constrict certain behaviors that would lead to being rejected. Such behaviors include considerations for how much to as well as what to disclose about themselves. Self-presentation involves efforts to being perceived friendly, likeable, intelligent, reliable, helpless, and threatening. These projected self-images affect relational values (Leary,

This system operates outside of our awareness until detection of a relational value decline. People are highly sensitive to self-relevant stimuli and information relevant to images other people possess about themselves. People pre-consciously and quickly process other people’s judgement of them relating to acceptance and rejection. A subtle social cue of rejection is enough to activate a past memory of rejection and/or self-judgement. Sociometer theory indicates that individuals’ experience reflects state of self-esteem, which alters with changes in perceived relational value. Hence, their perceptions color their thoughts and feelings about whether other people would accept or reject them (Leary,