Influence of Social Factors on the Group Belongingness of Residents in Small Towns and Its Underlying Neural Base

Abstract

Group belongingness is an emotion that individuals consciously belong to a participating group, which is usually influenced by social factors. Cultivation and development of residents' belongingness is an important factor affecting the sustainable development of small towns. According to the results of the field investigation, we analyze the correlation with the sense of group belonging from the aspects of neighborhood relations, organization construction, cultural construction and mass participation. At the same time, we find that the residents' sense of belonging of the small towns is generally in a low level. A low sense of belonging can lead to changes in the residents’ psychological state, manifested as anxiety, depression, loneliness, or even disgust, and the changes involved in the neural basis mainly occur in regions such as the amygdala, prefrontal lobe, cingulate gyrus, and temporo-parietal junction. The research on the social factors that affect the sense of belonging of residents and the discussion on the neural basis will help reveal the intricate connections between different aspects and fully display the internal and external factors and their interactions, so as to effectively guide the spiritual development of small cities and towns.