Social recognition: what it is and how it influences our self-esteem

Social recognition is a fundamental aspect for our well-being, especially the psychological. It is not simply the fact that we are accepted by others, but also that our strengths are recognized, strengths which are the basis of our self-esteem.

In addition to giving us personal self-esteem, social recognition is an important ally of productivity, especially in the workplace. A worker who feels that he fits in with other employees and is valued is a more motivated professional, willing to put more effort into those tasks that have been entrusted to him.

Next, we are going to look at social recognition in depth from a psychological perspective, both in terms of health and organizational, in addition to commenting on the benefits of being a person who feels that others value and accept her in their community.

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What is social recognition?

From a psychological perspective, social recognition is a factor that contributes to our having high motivation, self-esteem and greater performance in all kinds of daily tasks

. A person who feels that society values ​​her positive characteristics is a person who is well aware that she is worth, that she is useful for the rest of society.

To a large extent, our self-esteem and well-being depend very much on the degree to which we feel that significant others of our environment value and accept us, so it is not surprising that high social recognition makes us enjoy greater Health.

Since social recognition is so important for our psychological well-being and performance, both psychology clinics and organizations are very aware of the importance of the group on the life of the person.

It is for this reason that both in a psychotherapy context and in the management of a company everything possible should be done so that the person feels that they are valued socially, since the more social recognition you perceive, the faster the therapeutic effects of the therapy will come and the more productive you will be at work.

Types of social recognition

The history of social recognition research is long, both taking a more pure social and clinical perspective. Likewise, it is known that not all samples of social recognition are the same and, in fact, we could speak of two types: recognition for conformity and recognition for difference. Both are very important for the mental health of the person, although they have different implications depending on the area in which they appear. Ideally, the person manages to have an adequate balance between the two.

Acknowledgment for conformity

Recognition for conformity is the need that human beings have to feel that we fit within our reference group. In order to fit in, what we do is share values, ideas and lifestyles of those people that matter to us, in order to be more like them and feel like part of the group.

Evolutionary psychology has tried to explain why human beings behave in this way, in fact, he considers this to be a pattern of behavior that was especially important in times prehistoric.

Although we are a fairly intelligent species, human beings are very weak and alone we can hardly survive in nature. For this reason, in order to overcome adversity, it was necessary for people to form tribes, trying to fit into them, creating a feeling of belonging and forming group cohesion.

Those prehistoric men and women who did not feel the need to gain recognition of others, that is, who did not strive to fit into tribes or be accepted into them, ended up alone. Being exposed to the dangers of nature alone they were less likely to survive and have offspring.

Since virtually none of the lonely prehistoric humans had offspring, the vast majority of modern humans have inherited the impulse to seek social recognition in others, in fact, it is one of the strongest impulses of which we beings humans.

• You may be interested in: "Asch's conformity experiment: when social pressure can beat us down"

Recognition for difference

Recognition for difference It is the need that human beings have to be valued for our differences, especially for those that make us better or be above others. In addition to feeling that we fit within a group, sharing its main characteristics, we also want to stand out among our peers.

A group is not a bunch of people who hardly differ from each other, but a set of individuals who have aspects in common but whose differences give them diversity. Each person has personality traits and knowledge, their distinctive mark, what allows them to say that they are special and that others know how to detect and see as something positive.

The branch that has tried to explain why human beings need to be recognized for our differences has been neuropsychology. This argues that when people see that there is some characteristic of our own that makes us better than others our brain begins to secrete serotonin and dopamine, that is, hormones that induce well-being psychological.

Through the search for the recognition of our differences, human beings look for this shot of hormones of happiness, in addition to increasing our self-esteem. Notably Self-esteem can only be built properly if the positive characteristics that we may have are recognized by others, or the part of them that we have as referencesCharacteristics that are no longer special and, therefore, lose strength if other people also share them.

Mental health benefits

There are several benefits of social recognition, especially on a psychological level. As long as there is a correct balance between recognition for difference and recognition for conformity, we can talk of the following positive aspects of feeling that other people value us positively and accept us in their group or community:

Increase our well-being and self-esteem

The most obvious effect is that it increases our well-being. As we mentioned, feeling recognized socially, both fitting in with the group and feeling better compared to other people, it causes our brain to release neurotransmitters that make us feel best. Feeling more accepted translates into an increase in our happiness and also in our self-esteem.

Enhance vicarious learning

It may seem that, at first, learning and social recognition do not have much to do, but it really does, especially with vicarious learning, an idea proposed by Albert Bandura. Vicarious learning is the acquisition of knowledge that occurs through the observation of important people, like our parents, teachers or classmates. We learn by imitation.

This type of learning is especially effective in those environments where there is social recognition. Otherwise, it is more difficult to learn from the other members, since we will not see them as examples to follow, we will ignore or even fear how they might treat us, especially if we are very insecure or perceive them as threats.

Importance at the organizational level

It not only benefits at the level of mental health and personally, but also social recognition can be the great ally of the employer, increasing productivity.

Social recognition has a decisive influence on improving the results of an organization, making your employees meet more satisfactorily and quickly the objectives that are proposed, have greater sales, increase efficiency and a host of positive phenomena that every employer wants to see in their company.

As we said, personally, social recognition has a positive impact on self-esteem, motivation and performance, aspects that are very beneficial in any organization. A motivated worker who does his job well and who feels comfortable in the company is a more productive worker. If the boss and his colleagues recognize the good that he has, this worker will develop a stronger sense of belonging in the organization, showing a greater commitment to the company.

Instead of belittling workers or just patting them every once in a while, company bosses and others colleagues recognize the worth of their workers in addition to congratulating their achievements, employers will soon have benefits economic.

Basically, making workers feel social recognition is, in the long run, getting money out of thin air. An investment is made using only good words and gestures of appreciation and appreciation, which result in higher productivity and, therefore, more money.

Bibliographic references:

• Boxó Cifuentes, José Ramón, Aragón Ortega, Joaquín, Ruiz Sicilia, Leonor, Benito Riesco, Orlando, & Rubio González, Miguel Ángel. (2013). Recognition theory: contributions to psychotherapy. Journal of the Spanish Association of Neuropsychiatry, 33 (117), 67-79. https://dx.doi.org/10.4321/S0211-57352013000100005
• Bandura, A. (1963). Social learning and personality development. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.
• Rotter, J. (1954). Social learning and clinical psychology. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.