From “love actually” to love, actually: The sociometer takes every kind of fuel

Belongingness needs have generally been thought to be filled through traditional strategies, but recent research suggests that nontraditional strategies (e.g., parasocial relationship partners, TV shows) may work as well. No work has yet examined the comparative importance of these different social behaviors in contributing to social need fulfillment. The current work utilized a visual measure to assess frequency, variety, and degree of contribution to social fulfillment of 17 social behaviors. Overall, the conceptualization of the need to belong as flexible and able to be satisfied by a variety of social behaviors was supported; both traditional and nontraditional social strategies were related to positive outcomes. Results suggest that nontraditional strategies may contribute an added layer of vibrancy to our social lives.