Home >> Interest and Attitude >> Types of Interests

Types of Interests

Like and Common interest: The Like is what we have distributively, privately each to himself. The common is what we have collectively what we share without dividing up. Like interest may lead to common interests for example two businessmen with like interests in profit may form a partnership and thus possess a common firm. Commonness is built out of the likeness whereas like interests lead to competition for the same good, common interests lead to cooperation.

Exclusive interests: Interests can be exclusive or inclusive. An exclusive interest limits social relationship or divides individuals and groups. Man comes to think of himself and begins to dislike others. He divides people into the 'they' and 'we'. Thus individual and group prejudices are created. The various cultural, racial and economic groups within the nation often seriously damage through their tension and conflict the unity and prosperity of the people.

Inclusive interests: Inclusive interests promote collaboration. These interests are usually non-utilitarian like interest in art, science, religion or sport. The interest of a man in science or art is a common interest in so far as he does not pursue it merely for his own self but for its own self. It is inevitable that man should feel pleasure in the pursuit of economic or utilitarian objects. If all our interests are self -limited society cannot endure. Man is at once egocentric and socio-centric. He lives for himself and also lives for others. An aggregate of individuals becomes a society not because each individual possess life content that actuates him but because there is a reciprocal influence direct or indirect. According to Park and Burgess social interaction is of a dual nature of persons with persons and of groups with groups. Contact is the first stage of interaction.

Motivation: In society we seek to discover the motives of a person behind his behavior and it is so particularly when his behavior is unexpected. Under the framework of attitudes and interests there is some dominant factor or factors that explain our behavior in a particular situation. Motives are the effective incitements to action that lie behind our acts, behind the show of things. Motive is that factor that moves the person towards the thing. It differs from interests in as much as an interest is the object of one's action. A motive may be immediate or ultimate, conscious or subconscious. A man may join a recreational club with the conscious motive of play and recreation but the subconscious motive may be an undefined wish to compensate for a failure in some aspects of life.