Personality similarity and friendship choice: Similarity of what, when?¹

Abstract

he theoretical and practical values of devotmg research efforts to the study of interpersonal attraction and fnendship formation have dictated that a diversity of studies would be earned out with a consequent identification of a large number of relevant factors (Berscheid & Walster, 1969, Byrne, 1969, Senn, 1971. Such findmgs might be expected to have a direct apphcation in the solution of a wide variety of problems associated with interpersonal relationships, such as identification of potentially effective work partnerships, advice on the suitabihty of mantal choices and understanding some causes of failure m mterpersonal relationships as a possible antecedent of emotional disturbance. The possibihty of applymg the results of research to such areas can be extended by studying both attraction (as an early predictor of an ultimate outcome) and friendship (as a paradigm of a developed relationship). It is somewhat perplexing, therefore, to find that comprehensive theoretical explanations of attraction and fnendship as parts of a unitary process have not been exphatly advanced. Nor has the nature of links between the two been thoroughly pursued.Inevitably, details of such links may be obscured by the sharp differences m methodology which characterize studies m the two areas. On the one hand, studies of attraction tend to concentrate on attraction to strangers (Byrne, 1969) and perforce to adopt an experimental |»radigm. Previously unacquainted subjects who have completed attitude profiles are led to understand that given amoimts of smiilarity exist between them on these profiles. The dependent variable is then the levels of attraction which are expressed towards strangers as a result of the mampulation of 1 My thanks are due to Jolm Moulton of Sussex University for his valuable (^ommoits on a previous draft d diis paper and for his help in die ccdlecticm of 4e pilot d^a. a-Requests for reprints should be sent to. Dr. Steven W Dude, Departmoot Psyd^, I^de CcJSege, University d Lancaster, Lancaster, E^b^

Cross-sex Friendships: Who has More?

“…Instead, people who (claim to) possess traits traditionally associated with the other sex (i.e., high on cross-sex characteristics) tend to have more cross-sex friends. Such a result is in accord with the wellknown finding that similarity facilitates friendship formation more generally (Duck, 1973;Duck & Craig, 1978).…”

Coaches and Clients in Action: A Sequential Analysis of Interpersonal Coach and Client Behavior

“…The similarity model of interpersonal behavior has found empirical support particularly in the field of interpersonal attraction. The similarity-attraction hypothesis (e.g., Duck 1973) suggests that similar personality characteristics are related to mutual attraction and liking (for an overview, see Dryer and Horowitz 1997). Moreover, research on emotions and nonverbal behavior has shown an assimilation or 'synchronization' of interaction behavior in the course of the interaction.…”

The Adoption and Use of IT Artifacts: A New Interaction-Centric Model for the Study of User-Artifact Relationships

“…It has been observed in interpersonal contexts that positive evaluations of the outcomes of an interaction, in addition to fostering a desire for future interactions, lead to a desire to get better acquainted with the interaction partner (Duck 1973). Similarly, it has been demonstrated that beliefs an individual holds about his or her relationship with another affect how his or she chooses to interact with that person in the future (Byrne and Griffitt 1973).…”