From its beginning, the field of psychology emphasized the importance of social connections. Whether it was monkeys who preferred terrycloth mothers to wired ones, therapists who gave their clients unconditional positive regard, or establishing social relationships as a means of enabling self-actualizing, dominant psychological theories highlighted the need to have few positive and lasting relationships. Yet systematic research on the need to belong remained sparse over several decades. The past 15 years have seen the most active period of research on the need to belong in the history of...

From its beginning, the field of psychology emphasized the importance of social connections. Whether it was monkeys who preferred terrycloth mothers to wired ones, therapists who gave their clients unconditional positive regard, or establishing social relationships as a means of enabling self-actualizing, dominant psychological theories highlighted the need to have few positive and lasting relationships. Yet systematic research on the need to belong remained sparse over several decades. The past 15 years have seen the most active period of research on the need to belong in the history of psychology. This chapter outlines emerging perspectives from this pioneering period.