Premise:
Human beings lie in the continuum from being relatively sociable to being relatively asocial.
Theoretical Constructs
David Mc Celland’s three factor theory implies that being sociocentric is to have the need for affiliation. A person with a high sociocentric personality values building strong relationships, belonging to groups or organizations, is sensitive to the needs of others and wants to be a team player and be respected and liked.
Abraham Maslow’s belongingness needs is defined as the need, want and desire for friendship, companionship, social interaction and acceptance.
Clayton Alderfer defines sociocentric as a Relatedness need – The need for social relationship and to be connected to family, friends, and co-workers.
Henry Murray in his theory of psychogenic needs implies that sociocentric need is the need for affection that centers on the desire to love and be loved. High sociocentric personality have a high need for affiliation, nurturance, and to establish relationships and connections with others. On the other hand low sociocentric personality tends to reject and turn people away.
Definition
Bernard combines the compatible views of the above psychologists and defines the sociocentric dimension as the need, want and desire for love, care, affiliation, comradeship, relationship, social interactions and acceptance.
Description of the High, In-between and Low Sociocentric Personality.
High Sociocentric or Sociable Type of Personality
People with High Sociocentric Personality have a high need for love, care, belongingness, affiliation and social interaction. They have a deep well for feelings. They are emotional, sensitive and can be easily hurt. They can burst into tears when sharing their joys and sorrows. Their lives are centered on love and affection. They need love and can give love to others. They are sentimental, passionate and romantic.
They are interested in people and are attracted to crowds and parties. They make friends easily and are good at networking. They share their interests with their friends. They enjoy the fun of being together sharing hobbies, cracking jokes or having a casual discussions on some current issues.
They prefer working in groups. They believe that more heads are better than one. They feel that alone they cannot do much but with friends they can do more things together. They enjoy instilling a sense of belonging. They want to be a part of an organization.
They like to collaborate with others by scratching each other’s back. When their friends are in need they will be there to offer their assistance and support. They expect others to help them in times of need. They need to be liked. They can feel hurt when others do not accept them.
In between Sociocentric also known as Sociable-Asocial Type of Personality
An in-Between or Average Sociocentric Type of Personality has a moderate need for affection, care and affiliation. They are neutral in their emotional make-up. They can live with or without love. If love comes by so be it. If not, they can still live happily by focusing on other things. They take a neutral stand in showing care and concern for others’ well-being. They will only give their support and assistance when there is an urgent need. They are not too excited about things. They seldom generate enthusiasm and seldom inspire others. They are lukewarm in expressing their feelings and affections. They are quite careful when expressing their feelings of likes and dislikes. Their relationship with others is neither intimate nor superficial. It is just nice and lukewarm. They have no preference working alone or in groups. They are comfortable working alone or in teams. They do not deliberately seek companionship. They make friends as it comes long in their lives. They are neither an introvert nor an extrovert at social functions. It does not matter to them who makes the first move for social interaction. They let things go by naturally
Low sociocentric or Asocial Type of Personality
People with a Low Sociocentric Type of Personality have a low need for love, care and companionship. They put this need in their low priorities by focusing more on other needs. They want more space for themselves and are uncomfortable at parties and crowded places. They have no interest in understanding people and would shy away from attending social gatherings and functions. They enjoy doing solitary activities and do things on their own. They are aloof, quiet and reserved. They like to spend time alone to sort things out in their minds. They have a shallow well for feelings and are not easily excited about things. They tend to withdraw their feelings when they interact with others and keep things inside their hearts. They find difficulty in demonstrating their affection and are not likely to give hugs and kisses to their loved ones. They seldom pat people on the backs. They find it uncomfortable to put their feelings into words and communicating them to others. They are protective of their inner selves. They are rather guarded and are uncomfortable with self-disclosure. They do not share their interests and hobbies with others. Neither would they share the joys and sorrows, nor their difficulties and problems and their likes and dislikes. They are indifferent about peoples’ welfare and well-being. They are not interested in knowing about the problems and difficulties of others. They find difficulty to give warm and support. As a result they can be misunderstood as lacking understanding and sensitivity in their relationship with others. They are uncomfortable working in groups. They do not want to depend on others to get the job done. Hence they do not enjoy doing things together. They are not well-equipped to meet the emotional needs of others. They may have problems in fulfilling the needs for intimacy of others and giving them the level of intimacy that is needed.