Timely and relevant I wrote this article for a campus publication Summer session 2014 in the wake of the Ferguson travesty. If this post could have a theme song, it would be, "All We Need is Love" by the Beatles. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.
The need to belong is commonly described as an innate, fundamental, and powerful social need for individuals and communities. Since Baumeister and Leary’s (1995) review of empirical evidence supporting the need to belong, brain imaging technology now allows researchers to indicate areas of the brain engaged in processing information salient to the need to belong. The same areas of the brain are also engaged in the processing of physical pain affect-meaning individuals experiencing a thwarted need to belong suffer painfully. When an individual experiences a threat to belongingness and has a perception of having no chance to reconnect or belong, he or she might tend to react to in ways that are aggressive, antisocial, and impulsive. Some researchers go as far as to say that dysfunctional social interests predict multiple mental illnesses including schizophrenia and even criminal or retaliative behavior (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Curlette & Kern, 2010; DeWall, Deckman, Pond, Bonser, 2011; Ferguson, 2010; Gere & MacDonald, 2012; Grietemeyer, 2012; Shifron, 2010; Silvia & Kwapil, 2011; Steger & Kashdan, 2009).
The need to belong is commonly described as an innate, fundamental, and powerful social need for individuals and communities. Since Baumeister and Leary’s (1995) review of empirical evidence supporting the need to belong, brain imaging technology now allows researchers to indicate areas of the brain engaged in processing information salient to the need to belong. The same areas of the brain are also engaged in the processing of physical pain affect-meaning individuals experiencing a thwarted need to belong suffer painfully. When an individual experiences a threat to belongingness and has a perception of having no chance to reconnect or belong, he or she might tend to react to in ways that are aggressive, antisocial, and impulsive. Some researchers go as far as to say that dysfunctional social interests predict multiple mental illnesses including schizophrenia and even criminal or retaliative behavior (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Curlette & Kern, 2010; DeWall, Deckman, Pond, Bonser, 2011; Ferguson, 2010; Gere & MacDonald, 2012; Grietemeyer, 2012; Shifron, 2010; Silvia & Kwapil, 2011; Steger & Kashdan, 2009).
Neuroscience researchers
support Alfred Adler’s belief that dysfunctional social interest contribute to
criminal practices. Adler believed that
after experiencing rejection a person might act in a retaliatory fashion rather
than with helpful social interest (prosocial behavior) and retreat to an
in-group. Researchers present evidence
that a thwarted need to belong encourages in-group identification and can
increase aggression (Adler, 1932/2010; Curlette & Kern, 2010; Gere, &
MacDonald, 2012; Silvia & Kwapil, 2011; Steger & Kashdan, 2009). For example, in multiple American school
shootings, the shooters were described as individuals who experienced “acute
and chronic rejection” (DeWall, Deckman, Pond, & Posner, 2011, p. 981).
Researchers found changing focus of attention can alter
threat bias-providing support for the Adlerian idea that individuals can learn
how to decrease anxiety by changing their perception and reduce negative
impacts of stress (Adler, 1932/2010; Eldar & Bar-Haim, 2010). Adler believed that individuals have innate
creativity to overcome feelings of inferiority in their strivings to
belong. Aligning with Adler’s ideas of
community wellness, there is a growing movement to integrate mindful techniques
into schools to empower students to enhance social skills, develop empathy for
others, and increase coping skills (Shifron, 2010; Tadlock-Marlow, 2011). Integrating mindfulness techniques into
schools by modeling mindfulness techniques (breathing techniques, body
sensation awareness, etc.) in school counseling sessions and teaching them to
teachers and administrators are important components. The benefits of school counselors modeling
mindfulness behavior include awareness, self-acceptance, and empowerment. The
overarching goal is to help students change their relationship to their perception of the issue rather
than trying to change the issue. In
summary, Adler’s notion of social interest and the importance of need to belong
is supported in modern research, particularly in thwarted need to belong studies.
Neuroscience researchers relate thwarted need to belong to negative
neuroplasticity-highlighting the need to integrate neurobiologically informed
interventions to enhance coping and increase well-being for individuals and
their communities.
References
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