Affiliation as a need for social contacts

Warm relations and involvement, friendship and love are all components of such a phenomenon as affiliation. A person comes to this world with his tasks, and because he will be fully accepted by his relatives, how well he will manage to build relationships with friends and others depends on his well-being and health.

What is affiliation?

In ancient sources (in Latin - ad and - fillis ), affiliation is adoption, in the European version, the term means joining. People by their nature are social beings, and without the support of others they become deeply unhappy, it is difficult to unravel the individual and realize his potential alone. The concept of affiliation includes such needs as:

• communication;
• involvement;
• emotional contacts;
• friendship;
• confidence;
• Adoption;
• love;
• cohesion;
• security;
• Attention.

Affiliation in Psychology

Affiliation and attachment are similar concepts expressing a strong emotional connection that a child has in the family, which is the source of the first meaningful relationship for him. The style of education lays the foundation for the perception of others. A rigid authoritarian - implies punishment, and a child raised in such a family will avoid close friendships. Adopting a child, fostering in him a sense of dignity , and the development of such qualities as the desire to be sympathetic and sensitive, creates a high need for him to build harmonious relations with people.

Affiliation in psychology is a motive that the words of the American psychologist Henry Murray means:

• rejoice with others;
• to experience affection;
• make friendships;
• cooperate with people;
• join different groups.

Social affiliation

Affiliation as a need for social contacts has its origins, when people rallied in difficult life situations, whether it be war, starvation or death. Joy and the achievements of society: the flight of man into space, the end of the war - were also an occasion for unity. Why does a person so need social involvement or affiliation? There are several reasons for this:

1. Evaluation - the correctness or inaccuracy of the activities undertaken in society. A person needs a teacher interested in him in order to help develop success in the chosen type of activity.
2. Instrumental support - receiving various assistance, support from society.
3. Information support - the experience of society, accumulated by generations, concluded in information how to relate to one or another phenomenon.

Affiliation - Reasons

In the movie "Let's Dance!" Heroine Susan Sarandon utters a monologue about why people tend to be together. This is due to the fact that everyone needs a witness of his life who observes everything that happens and gives meaning to existence, a witness who says: "I see you!" The desire for affiliation is caused by the reasons:

• need for positive emotions through warm living communication;
• receiving attention and assessing their achievements;
• getting rid of self-doubt when comparing yourself with others;
• the situation of emotional anxiety - a person strive to be with those who are less excited and can provide support;
• loneliness as a social isolation is hard to perceive, can lead to serious illnesses up to mental and premature death.

Motivation for achievement and affiliation

The desire for success in society is necessary for people to self-realization. Motivation of affiliation and achievements are interrelated and depend on the individual's need to become successful through establishing contacts and ties. Psychologists have allocated 3 degrees or the motive of affiliation:

1. High affiliation is the motive for being accepted high, and the fear of being outcast is low. It prevails in people with an extraverted orientation, with a demonstrative or hysterical character, temperament of the sanguine people. Such persons need a lot of attention from others, loneliness for them is unacceptable, all achievements occur only in close cooperation with people.
2. The middle (intermediate) affiliation is characterized by low levels of aspiration to be accepted and fear of being rejected. These people feel equally at ease in a big company and alone.
3. Low affiliation is a high fear of being rejected. The motive for affiliation is low. In childhood, the individual experienced a sad experience of rejection by parents or relatives, traumatization. Not always low affiliation is an alarming indicator, there are introverted people for whom loneliness is comfortable - they are self-sufficient and productive in creativity: writers, scientists, artists.

Affiliation and altruism

The need for affiliation can manifest itself in disinterested service and caring for others. Altruism - helping behavior, is an innate motive of a person and can be traced already in a 3-year-old child, but only a strong love for people helps to develop it as a strong personality quality. Altruism is characteristic of a person with a high sense of empathy and involvement.