Psychology and Community Building
Building a community through the understanding of human needs.
After the events of 2020, it’s hard to argue the impact that community can have for brands and individuals. With a global population stuck at home, our ability to connect and communicate has shifted more than it ever has before. Groups of like-minded people have found each other online, on social, and connected with complete strangers.
Remember when our parents warned us not to talk to strangers? Those are now our closest friends.
We want to belong, be seen, and be understood.
Belongingness
We want to belong. We need to belong.
Multiple papers address the need to belong as a key driver in human behavior. The concept of the belongingness hypothesis becomes a significant argument in how we behave even as children. What we do so we can feel a sense of belonging with others — parents, family, and potential friends.
Anyone who has walked into a school lunchroom knows what it’s like to seek your place. You immediately survey the room to find your people. To find where you fit and feel welcome.
They look like (and are) cliques in a lunchroom — small groups of people that come together based on shared…
