friendship | Britannica

friendship, a state of enduring affection, esteem, intimacy, and trust between two people. In all cultures, friendships are important relationships ... friendship Sections Article IntroductionFriendshipacrossthelifespanEarlychildhoodMiddlechildhoodAdolescenceAdulthoodPhasesoffriendship:formation,maintenance,anddissolutionSocioemotionaladjustmentGenderdifferences FastFacts RelatedContent AdditionalInfo MoreArticlesOnThisTopic Contributors ArticleHistory Home Health&Medicine Psychology&MentalHealth friendship Print print Print Pleaseselectwhichsectionsyouwouldliketoprint: TableOfContents Cite verifiedCite Whileeveryefforthasbeenmadetofollowcitationstylerules,theremaybesomediscrepancies. Pleaserefertotheappropriatestylemanualorothersourcesifyouhaveanyquestions. 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ExternalWebsites StanfordEncyclopediaofPhilosophy-Friendship By LisaHohmann |SeeAllContributors | ViewEditHistory RelatedTopics: proxenos camaradería xenia etheloproxenos ...(Showmore) Seeallrelatedcontent→ friendship,astateofenduringaffection,esteem,intimacy,andtrustbetweentwopeople.Inallcultures,friendshipsareimportantrelationshipsthroughoutaperson’slifespan.Friendshipisgenerallycharacterizedbyfivedefiningfeatures:1.Itisadyadicrelationship,meaningthatitinvolvesaseriesofinteractionsbetweentwoindividualsknowntoeachother.2.Itisrecognizedbybothmembersoftherelationshipandischaracterizedbyabondortieofreciprocatedaffection.3.Itisnotobligatory;twoindividualschoosetoformafriendshipwitheachother.InWesternsocieties,friendshipsareoneoftheleastprescribedcloserelationships,withnoformaldutiesorlegalobligationstooneanother.4.Itistypicallyegalitarianinnature.Unlikeparent-childrelationships,forinstance,eachindividualinafriendshiphasaboutthesameamountofpowerorauthorityintherelationship.5.Itisalmostalwayscharacterizedbycompanionshipandsharedactivities.Infact,oneoftheprimarygoalsandmotivationsoffriendshipiscompanionship.Inaddition,adolescentandadultfriendshipsoftenperformotherfunctions,suchasservingassourcesofemotionalsupportandprovidingopportunitiesforself-disclosureandintimacy.Suchfeaturesdifferentiatefriendshipfromseveralrelatedphenomena.Thefactthatfriendshipsaredyadicrelationshipsdistinguishesthemfromcliquesorpeergroups.(Ofcourse,manymembersofcliquesarealsofriendswithothermembers.)Similarly,havingfriendshipsisdifferentfrombeingpopularorhavingahighsocialstatus.Individualswhoarenotpopularcertainlymayhaveclosefriendships,andapopularpersonmaynothavearealfriendship.Theaffectivebondthatisacomponentoffriendshipdistinguishesfriendshipfromacquaintanceship. Friendshipacrossthelifespan Friendshipsplayanimportantroleinhealthyhumandevelopmentandadjustmentacrossthelifespan.Friendshipsexistinpracticallyeverystageofdevelopment,althoughtheformtheytakevariesconsiderablywithage. Earlychildhood Althoughthereisnoclearconsensusregardingatwhatagechildrenfirstbegintoformfriendships,thefoundationsofsuchfriendshipsbegintoemergequiteearly.Toddlersbehaveinaregular,predictablemannerintheirinteractionswithfamiliarpeersearlierthantheydowithunfamiliarpeers.Withinthefirsttwoyearsoflife,childrenshowstablepreferencesforcertainpeersoverothers;further,withthesepreferredplaymates,theinteractionpatternstheyfollowdifferfromthosewithotherfamiliarpeers.Bythetimechildrenreachpreschoolage,theexistenceoftruefriendshipsisevenmoreevident. Childrenthemselvestendatfirsttodefinefriendshipsintermsofinteractions,suchas“weplaytogether.”Companionshipisgenerallyviewedastheprimaryfunctionoffriendshipamongtoddlersandpreschoolers.Preschoolfriendshavemoresocialcontactwitheachother,talkmorewitheachother,anddemonstratemoreequalityandlessdominanceintheirinteractionswitheachotherthantheydointheirinteractionswithnonfriends.Differencesbetweenfriendsandnonfriendsareparticularlyevidentinsocialpretendplay.Bypreschool,childrenalsobegintoincorporatemoreemotionalandaffectivefunctionsintotheirfriendships.Preschoolfriendsexpressmorepositiveaffecttowardeachotherandscorehigheronmeasuresofmutualliking,closeness,andloyaltythannonfriendsdo.Moreover,evenyoungchildrenfrequentlybecomesadorlonelywhenafriendmovesaway. Friendshipsarenotalwaysharmonious,however,andyoungchildrenmayengageinconflictwiththeirfriends.Infact,inearlychildhood,friendstendtoengageinmoreconflictthannonfriends.Yet,friendsalsoexpendmoreefforttoresolveconflictandaremoresuccessfulatsuchresolutionthanarenonfriends.Conflictresolutionisfrequentlyseenasoneoftheimportantsocialskillsthatyoungchildrendevelopwithintheirearliestfriendships. Additionally,friendshipsarenotalwaysmutualamongyoungchildren.Althoughthedefinitionoffriendshiptypicallyrequiresreciprocity,unilateralfriendships,inwhichonlyonechildofapairnominatestheotherasafriend,arequitecommoninearlychildhood.Infact,abouthalfofnominatedpreschoolfriendshipsareunilateral. Middlechildhood Friendshipsmakeupanimportantaspectofdevelopmentinmiddlechildhood,whenmuchtimeisdevotedtosocialplayandsocialinteractionskillsbecomeincreasinglyimportant.School-agechildrenspendagreatdealoftimeinteractingwithpeersandthusarepresentedwithmanyopportunitiesforextendingthefriendshipskillstheyacquiredinearlychildhood.Childrentendtoformfriendshipswithindividualswhoaresimilartothemselvesinavarietyofdimensions. Someresearchsuggeststhatthereisgreatersimilaritybetweenfriendsoncharacteristicsthatarehighinreputationalsalience.Forexample,school-ageboystendtobeespeciallysimilartotheirfriendsinaggressiveness.Childrenatthisagearedevelopingincreasingindependencefromtheirparents,andtheirrelationshipswithfriendsmaybesomewhatlessdependentonparentalinvolvementthanwasthecaseinpreschool.Childrenmayspendmoretimewiththeirfriendsoutsidethedirectsupervisionofanadult.Coupledwiththesocialandcognitiveadvancesofmiddlechildhood,spendingtimetogetherwithafriendmaypromotethedevelopmentofsharedintimacy—whichfrequentlytakestheformofsharedsecrets—andbecomesadefiningfeatureoffriendshipforchildrenatthisage. School-agefriendshipsaredifferentiatedfromearly-childhoodfriendshipsinanumberofadditionalways.Friendshipsinmiddlechildhoodaremorestableovertimethanfriendshipsinearlychildhoodyettypicallylesssothanadolescentoradultfriendships.Inaddition,friendshipnominationsaremuchmorefrequentlyreciprocatedinmiddlechildhoodthaninearlychildhood.Althoughsame-sex(versusother-sex)friendshipscomposethesignificantmajorityoffriendshipsinearlyandmiddlechildhood,thereisasharpdeclineintheproportionofother-sexfriendshipsinmiddlechildhood.Ahighproportionofsame-sexfriendshipsremainuntiladolescence. Asinearlychildhood,school-agefriendshipsarecharacterizedbysocialcontact,talking,equality,positiveaffect,mutualliking,closeness,andloyalty.Inaddition,bythisage,emotionisexpressedwithfriendsmorereadilythanwithnonfriends;affectivereciprocity,emotionalintensity,anddemonstrationsofemotionalunderstandingareallmorecommon.Asinpreschool,friendshipsinmiddlechildhoodaredefinedinlargepartbysharedactivities,yetinmiddlechildhood,theconceptofafriendshipastranscendingsharedactivitiesandhavingcontinuityovertimeemergesmorefully.Bymiddlechildhood,friendshipsarefrequentlymorecomplexandmoresimilartoadultfriendshipsthanarechildren’searliestfriendships.Loyalty,sharedvalues,andsharedrulesbecomeimportantduringtheschoolyears,andsharedinterests,empathy,commonunderstanding,andself-disclosuregainincreasingimportancebypreadolescence.Communicationbetweenfriendsalsodiffersfromthatbetweennonfriends.Conflictremainsmorecommonbetweenfriendsthanbetweennonfriends,asdoesitsresolution. Friendshipsstilltendtoberelativelyimmatureincomparisonwithadolescentandadultfriendships,however.Childrenatthisagearebetterabletotaketheperspectiveofanotherperson,buttheyarestillprimarilyfocusedonwhattheyneedorwantoutoftherelationshipratherthanwhattheirfriendmayneedorwant. LoadNextPage