Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs X Political Behavior

                           


In the journal Beyond Membership: A Sense of Community & Political Behavior, the author, Mary R. Anderson analyzed how people's perceptions about their importance in a given community may have big effects on how communities impact politics. In this case, how sense of community impact two types of political behavior: participating in local elections, and political discussion.

Community has been known to influence different type of behaviors and attitudes, particularly in the local level. Experiences that result from interactions that one has in the community leads people to become either less or more politically engaged. Reason for this being that social interaction provides information. Essentially, a person's involvement in their community may increase their exposure to political information while sparking political discussion and or action.

Regarding Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, when individuals come together and are part of a group where they gain a sense of community, belongingness and love needs are met. This sense of community can be found anywhere one feels accepted, and comfortable. These can be, but not limited to a church, at work, or with people that live in the same neighborhood. Having the sense of belonging and loved in these places encourages individuals to be involved in their community. As a result, these individuals tend to participate more when it comes to making decisions in their community. We can see this in local elections, city council meetings, etc. because they care about the group of individuals they closely interact with and or place. They feel that they belong somewhere.

For an individual to have a sense of community they need to feel some sort of attachment to the neighborhood where they also feel pride to be part of. Sense of community can also be formed in a work place where people begin to treat each other like family. These social forces encourages one to be more involved in the community, and contribute positively which play a central role in one's accounts of political behavior.

In addition, the feeling of one having a voice in the community, and ensuring that one feels comfortable in these places, fulfills the safety and esteem needs in Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs by feeling accomplished for being actively involved in their community.

In conclusion, sense of community impacts greatly the way individuals interact with politics. People care more about what can potentially effect them whether it's positive or negative when they feel that they belong somewhere. This promotes their involvement in politics and increase of political behavior. As a result, people feel more encouraged to participate in important local elections and political discussions.