Surely many of you have heard the fashionable word “affiliation” at least once. This term comes from the English affiliation, which means "attachment", "connection". This word is used in psychology to determine the level of a person's need for communication, friendship, emotional contacts, love. Affiliation is the desire to have friends, provide someone with support, help, accept them from others, interact with others. The need for communication depends on the style of upbringing, it is formed in relationships with peers and parents and intensifies in situations that generate anxiety, stress, and self-doubt. In such cases, interacting with other people helps to alleviate negative experiences. If the affiliation motivation is blocked, there is a feeling of powerlessness, a feeling of loneliness, a state of frustration. Scientists have proven that human he alth is directly related to his need for communication.
Motivation
Our life is hard to imaginewithout any social motives: the desire to achieve success, position in society, power, the desire to help others and the need for communication - they all determine the attitude of a person to those around him. Let's look at what constitutes one of the most significant - the affiliation motive. This is:
- the need for occasional conversations (even if just empty chatter);
- establishing contacts, relationships (the desire to feel connected with other people);
- the need to share our problems with others (we all sometimes need a “vest” to cry on).
This motive, by the way, manifests itself not only in people, but also in animals, however, in the former it is much more pronounced, because a person, due to the development of the mind, is able to plan his relationships, put himself in the place of another, and so on.
Affiliation is…
In psychology, the social needs of people have been studied for a very long time. Over many years of research, scientists have come to a consensus: close relationships between individuals improve he alth. People who have weak social ties throughout their lives are more prone to premature death than those who maintain close relationships with family and friends and are members of close-knit social or religious associations. Finnish researchers studying cases of the loss of one of the spouses of their other half found that a week after the death of a husband / wife, a widow / widower doubles the risk of sudden death. Therefore, in a romanticthe formula "they lived happily ever after and died on the same day" is an order of magnitude more true than fiction.
Why does he alth depend on affiliation?
There are a lot of assumptions about this. Perhaps those in close relationships eat better, lead more orderly lives, are better organized, and have fewer addictions. After all, the attention of loved ones encourages us to take care of our own he alth more carefully, and left to ourselves, we often do not attach due importance to it. In addition, the community that supports us allows us to better assess the ongoing events and helps to overcome stressful situations. Relatives and friends support our self-respect, their friendly advice, consolation, encouragement are the best medicines in moments when we find ourselves hurt by someone's hostility, incorrect criticism, denial of claims. Native people give us the feeling that we are loved, accepted and respected. And those who carry their problems alone and cannot speak out have a greater risk of developing he alth problems, because they have to keep all the experiences in themselves, and, as you know, all diseases are from nerves.
The need for communication is different for everyone
Technology is an amazing thing, isn't it? Today, if we want to contact someone, we can call them on the phone or send an email, write a message on a social network or see each other using a webcam. But humans have an innate need foraffiliations, the need to communicate face to face, eye to eye, the need to get together, hug, shake hands, pat on the back, whisper something in your ear. Did you know that there are areas in the human brain specifically designed to distinguish between faces: when we see a familiar face, part of the brain seems to come alive.
And yet everyone needs communication in different ways. Surely among your acquaintances there are people who never sit at home, but constantly attend parties and various events … they cannot be found alone, they are always in society, with colleagues, friends, clients, with anyone, but not alone. And, most likely, you also have friends who lead a secluded lifestyle. Such people do not like increased attention to themselves, prefer to spend time with their loved ones and hardly make new acquaintances. These are the two extremes, the two poles of a complex category called "affiliation". This term defines the level of how much you enjoy being around people, how much it inspires you.
People with low social needs
They like being alone because that's how they get the best results. It's not that they lack the social skills to communicate, it's just that they don't want to let anyone into their personal space. Such people are devastated by long-term communication, after which there is a need to restore strength, to be alone with themselves. A person with a low affiliation often avoids meeting new acquaintances, it is more pleasant for him to be closecommunicate with a small number of people than "flutter" among an endless string of new faces. Such individuals are independent and self-sufficient, they are not too interested in what other people are doing, they are rarely distracted by idle conversations or gossip, but prefer to focus on their own lives.
People with a high need for communication
Affiliation is not an easy category. Some avoid superficial communication, while others are drawn to people, just like a moth is attracted to fire, and there is nothing they can do about it. Such individuals can easily strike up a conversation with a complete stranger on a train, plane, even in line. When they communicate, they feel that they live. Surrounding consider them the soul of the company, the ringleaders. A real hell for such people is working alone, only surrounded by colleagues can they achieve good results, because they constantly need to exchange ideas, share opinions, discuss any details. In social situations, individuals with a dominant affiliation motive perceive other people positively, so they begin to communicate with them on a good note. This creates a positive communication cycle that creates a feeling of comfort and trust even when interacting with strangers.
