Social Integration

The article argues that social integration should sit above self-actualization in Maslow's hierarchy of needs. The article presents exclusion as one of the harshest punishments humans impose on one another. Loneliness is measured with the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale, where higher scores indicate greater loneliness. The primary social integration outcome combines Social Network Index and UCLA Loneliness Scale scores. The Social Network Index measures network size and diversity across 12 relationship types. Social integration is measured through objective and subjective components. The article claims that the need to belong overrides nearly every other human drive. The study will test whether social cognition explains additional variance in social functioning beyond neurocognition.