Need for affiliation

Most people could probably be described as having a moderate need for affiliation, but some people have an extremely low need and others have an extremely high need.
Murray used the term need to describe a kind of force within a person that organizes a person’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior.
A person with a high need for affiliation is so motivated to build and maintain relationships with other people that many of his or her thoughts, emotions, and actions are directed toward fulfilling this motivation.

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2. Need for Affiliation Definition Human beings differ from each other in how much they like to associate with other people. Some people Avoid being alone, Put a high priority on their friendships, and Try hard to please other people. Others are just the opposite: They are content to be alone, They don’t put much effort into their relationships with other people, and They aren’t very concerned about making other people happy. People with high need for affiliation are generally Friendly, Outgoing, Cooperative, and Eager to join groups People with low need for affiliation are Unfriendly, Reserved, and Aloof .

3. Need for Affiliation Definition Most people could probably be described as having a moderate need for affiliation, but some people have an extremely low need and others have an extremely high need. Murray used the term need to describe a kind of force within a person that organizes a person’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior. A person with a high need for affiliation is so motivated to build and maintain relationships with other people that many of his or her thoughts, emotions, and actions are directed toward fulfilling this motivation .

4. Nature of the Need for Affiliation Apparently people would like to have high need for affiliation as an important part of a desirable personality as we would rather think of themselves as being friendly than as cold or standoffish. Advantages of High Need of Affiliation Try hard to make other people happy, which probably helps them build and maintain strong relationships. Disadvantages of High Need of Affiliation Tend to be conforming and may even go along with unwise choices made by people around them. Under some circumstances may also have trouble getting their work done. They may put such a high priority on socializing that they neglect some of their other goals. Hues of Need for Affiliation changes depending on the way people express their need on other aspects of their personality. A person who is high in the need for affiliation and also high in need for nurturance might be extremely kind, A person who is high in the need for affiliation and high in the need for deference might be extremely compliant. In other words, a group of people who are all high in the need for affiliation might consist of people who are all outgoing, but they would differ in other ways according to their unique need profiles .

5. Nature of the Need for Affiliation Need to Belong and Need for affiliation The need to belong is considered a universal human drive to establish and maintain lasting, positive relationships with other people. Most researchers describe the need to belong as a component of human nature, or something that all normal human beings possess. Much research suggests that if people do not maintain at least a minimum quantity of enduring, healthy relationships, their well-being will suffer . The need for affiliation is used to describe people’s personalities . People vary in how motivated they are to socialize and establish new contacts, hence individual differences in the need for affiliation . People who are high in the need for affiliation are more motivated to form relationships than other people are, and as a result, they may be more successful at fulfilling their need to belong .

6. Need for Affiliation Research Developments Tests for Need of affiliation Thematic Apperception Test(TAT) , which requires respondents to interpret a number of ambiguous pictures, to identify the strength of people’s need for affiliation Personality Research Form( Need for Affiliation Scale) designed by Douglas Jackson as part of his comprehensive measure of personality The Interpersonal Orientation Scale developed by Craig Hill , a self-report questionnaire that measures several specific components of affiliation motivation . Thes e and other tests have made it possible for researchers to find out how the need for affiliation shapes people’s experiences. Research on the need for affiliation confirmed Murray’s description of the need . Relative to people with a low need for affiliation, people with a high need for affiliation are More concerned about others’ acceptance, Feel more empathy for others , More likely to initiate contacts and friendships, and More likely to conform to the wishes of experts who pressure them into a decision .

7. Need for Affiliation Research Developments Other research has made discoveries that Murray might not have anticipated. For example, Hill’s research shows that in some ways women have a higher need for affiliation than men do . Compared with men, women report that they get more pleasure from interacting with other people and are more likely to seek out others’ company when they are upset . People with a high need for affiliation can be discriminating when they choose a conversational partner: They prefer people who are warm and friendly to more than reserved people. This is in line with social psychological research that shows that people tend to like others who are similar to themselves. People with a high need for affiliation may also be better leaders than people with a low need for affiliation . Successful leaders are both ambitious and sociable meaning they are high in both the need for achievement and the need for affiliation . References: Hill, C. A. (1987). Affiliation motivation: People who need people…but in different ways. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 1008-1018. Murray, H. A. (1938). Explorations in personality: A clinical and experimental study of fifty men of college age. New York: Oxford University Press.