Table Of ContentSSSP
Springer
Series in
Social
Psychology
SSSP
Friendship and
Social Interaction
Edited by
Valerian J. Derlega and
Barbara A. Winstead
Springer-Verlag
New York Berlin Heidelberg Tokyo
Valerian J. Derlega Barbara A. Winstead
Department of Psychology Department of Psychology
Old Dominion University Old Dominion University
Norfolk, Virginia 23508 Norfolk, Virginia 23508
U.SA U.SA
With 6 Figures
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Main entry under title:
Friendship and social interaction.
(Springer series in social psychology)
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Friendship. 2. Interpersonal attraction.
3. Social interaction. I. Derlega, Valerian J.
II. Winstead, Barbara A III. Series.
HM132.F72 1986 158'.25 85-26059
© 1986 by Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1986
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be translated or reproduced in any form
without written permission from Springer-Verlag, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New
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The use of general descriptive names, trade names, trademarks, etc. in this
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sign that such names, as understood by the Trade Marks and Merchandise Marks
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Typeset by Ampersand Publisher Services, Inc., Rutland, Vermont.
987 6 5 432 1
ISBN-13: 978-1-4612-9344-6 e-ISBN-13: 978-1-4612-4880-4
DOl: 10.107/978-1-4612-4880-4
To Wally and Stella Derlega, Bob and Lois Winstead,
William Brenner, Irene Solet, John Derlega, Ann Tekla Winstead Derlega
Preface
A neglected topic in the field of personal relationships has been the study of
friendships. Social psychologists have studied how and why individuals are
attracted to one another and the processes of interaction during initial
encounters, but they have not paid much attention to ongoing friend-
ships.
A major goal of the present volume is to develop theories and integrate
research on the development and maintenance of friendships. Another
major goal is to build bridges between social psychologists and other social
scientists by presenting an interdisciplinary approach. Although a majority
of the contributors are social psychologists, other authors include sociol-
ogists as well as developmental, personality, and clinical psychologists. The
chapters also present research on friendship based on a wide range of
research methodologies, including laboratory research as well as longi-
tudinal, naturalistic, and clinical studies. Hence, the book incorporates a
variety of conceptual and methodological approaches that should con-
tribute to a cross-fertilization of ideas among disciplines.
The first chapter, by Barbara A. Winstead and Valerian J. Derlega,
provides an overview of theory and research on friendship. The second
chapter, by Daniel Perlman and Beverley Fehr, provides a summary and
conceptual critique of social psychological theories of social attraction that
are relevant to the study of friendship.
Adopting a developmental approach, Duane Buhrmester and Wyndol
Furman, in Chapter 3, demonstrate the particular importance of friendship
during middle childhood and adolescence in fulfilling interpersonal needs.
Buhrmester and Furman draw heavily on the theoretical work of Harry
Stack Sullivan concerning social-personality development. The fourth
chapter by Mark Snyder and Dave Smith demonstrates how the person-
ality dimension self-monitoring affects individuals' definitions of friendship
and the activities and interests that they might want to share with others. In
Chapter 5, Barbara A. Winstead provides a thorough review of studies of
viii Preface
adult same-sex friendships, indicating how gender and sex roles affect men's
and women's friendships.
Chapter 6, by John H. Berg and Margaret S. Clark, provides a critical
discussion of when close friendships are likely to develop gradually (the
traditional view held by social psychologists) or quickly. Berg and Clark
indicate that people's decisions about which relationships they want to have
are often made early in or at the beginning of a relationship. In Chapter 7,
Dorothy Miell and Steve Duck explore the communication strategies used
by individuals to form friendships. They consider how controlling the flow
of one's own and the other person's self-disclosures affects relationship
development.
Chapter 8, by Robert M. Milardo, and Chapter 9, by Maureen T.
Hallinan, concern organizational or structural factors that affect friend-
ships. Milardo presents a theoretical model indicating how characteristics
of social networks affect the development of relationships. Hallinan
analyzes organizational determinants of interracial friendship in desegre-
gated schools. She shows how classroom organization affects the avail-
ability and stability of interracial friendships.
In Chapter 10, Gary Alan Fine explores important features of friendships
at work. Drawing on in-depth interviews and participant observation, Fine
shows how the distinctive culture that emerges in work settings (with its own
rules, values, and norms) influences friendships.
Chapter 11, by Raymond Fleming and Andrew Baum, examines the
relationship between friendship, social support, and stress. Different models
of the role of friendship in coping with stressful events are critically
reviewed.
Although most people report having one or more friends, what is it like
for people who do not have friends? Cecilia H. Solano, in Chapter 12,
examines how people conduct their lives without friends. Are people
without friends inevitably lonely or do they have substitutes for friends that
can fulfill their interpersonal needs? Chapter 13 focuses on individuals who
experience difficulties in developing friendship. Jeffrey E. Young presents a
cognitive-behavioral model for understanding and treating patients who
have long-term and chronic difficulties in establishing friendships.
The editors express their gratitude to the individuals who contributed to
the successful completion of this book. Special thanks go to the authors for
their enthusiastic participation in the project, their patience, and their
thought-provoking chapters. We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of
the excellent staff at Springer-Verlag/New York for encouraging us in our
work on this project. We also benefited from the helpful advice of our
colleagues and friends-John Berg, William Brenner, Warren Jones,
Stephen T. Margulis, and Daniel Perlman-at various stages in the book's
progress. The original idea for the volume emerged from our participation
in the first and second International Conferences on Personal Relationships
held at Madison, Wisconsin. We and other social scientists interested in
Preface ix
studying personal relationships owe appreciation to Steve Duck and Robin
Gilmour for their leadership in organizing these important meetings. We
are also delighted to recognize the significant part played by two important
persons in our lives, John Derlega and Ann Tekla Winstead Derlega. John
and Ann have not encouraged us to finish the book (in fact, they have
encouraged us to do the opposite on many occasions) nor have they
critically read or typed any chapters. But they have enriched our lives in
numerous ways, and we love them for it.
Norfolk, Virginia Valerian 1. Derlega
Barbara A. Winstead
Contents
1. Friendship and Social Interaction: An Introduction ............. 1
Barbara A. Winstead and Valerian J. Derlega
Theoretical Issues in the Study of Friendship ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Methodological Issues in the Study of Friendship ............. 3
Applications of Friendship Theory and Research. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2. Theories of Friendship: The Analysis of Interpersonal Attraction. . . . 9
Daniel Perlman and Beverley Fehr
Reinforcement Theories .................................... 11
Exchange and Equity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Cognitive Consistency Theories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Developmental Theories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
A Comparison of Theories of Attraction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
An Evaluation of Theories of Attraction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3. The Changing Functions of Friends in Childhood:
A N eo-Sullivan ian Perspective ............................... 41
Duane Buhrmester and Wyndol Furman
Sullivan's Theory of Social-Personality Development. . . . . . . . . . 41
Empirical Evidence ........................................ 51
Summary and Conclusions ................................. 59
4. Personality and Friendship: The Friendship Worlds of
Self-Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Mark Snyder and Dave Smith
A Scientific Approach to the Study of Friendship ............. 65
Conceptions of Friendship. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
xii Contents
Behavioral Manifestations of Friendship ..................... 69
The Population of Friendship Worlds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Understanding the Nature of Friendship ..................... 73
The Paradox of Friendship ................................. 78
5. Sex Differences in Same-Sex Friendships ..................... 81
Barbara A. Winstead
Sex Differences in Adult Same-Sex Friendships. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
A Developmental Perspective on Sex Differences in Same-Sex
Friendships ............................................... 85
Intrasex Differences in Same-Sex Friendships. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Understanding Sex Differences in Interpersonal Behavior. . . . . . 91
Sex as a Contextual Variable. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Concluding Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
6. Differences in Social Exchange Between Intimate and Other
Relationships: Gradually Evolving or Quickly Apparent? ......... 101
John H Berg and Margaret S. Clark
Some Differences in Exchange Between Close and Casual
Relationships. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 102
When Are Differences in Exchange Detectable? . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 105
Concluding Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 124
7. Strategies in Developing Friendships .......................... 129
Dorothy Miell and Steve Duck
Purposive Communication. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 130
Information Gathering and Exchange. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 131
Accounts of the Role and Function of Personal Information
Exchange ............................................. . . .. 132
The Level of Awareness and Strategic Planning in Interactions. .. 141
8. Personal Choice and Social Constraint in Close Relationships:
Applications of Network Analysis ............................ 145
Robert M Milardo
Conceptualizing Social Networks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 146
Structural Attributes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 149
Toward a Theory of Structural Interdependence. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 156
Concluding Commentary. . ..... .. . .. .... .... . . ... . ... . ... .. 162
9. School Organization and Interracial Friendships ............... 167
Maureen T. Hallinan
Theoretical and Empirical Research on Interracial
Friendliness .............................................. 168
Contents xiii
Organizational Characteristics of Schools and Interracial
Friendships ............................................... 172
Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 180
10. Friendships in the Work Place ............................... 185
Gary Alan Fine
Culture and Friendship. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 185
Types of Work Relations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 187
The Workplace as Setting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 188
The Content of Work. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 190
Organizational Friendships and Organizational Culture ....... 192
Men and Women Together. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 197
Friendship Amidst the Hierarchy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 199
Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 202
11. Social Support and Stress: The Buffering Effects
of Friendship .............................................. 207
Raymond Fleming and Andrew Baum
Stress. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 209
Friendship Formation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 211
Social Support and Friendship. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 213
Strategies for Future Research. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 222
12. People Without Friends: Loneliness and Its Alternatives ......... 227
Cecilia H Solano
Definitional Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 229
Loneliness ................................................ 231
Function of Friends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 233
Alternatives to Friends ..................................... 236
Therapeutic Interventions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 241
Summary ................................................. 242
13. A Cognitive-Behavioral Approach to Friendship Disorders ....... 247
Jeffrey E. Young
Cognitive-Developmental View of Friendships. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 247
Classification of Friendship Disorders ....................... 252
Cognitive Therapy for Friendship Disorders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 261
Summary................................................. 275
Author Index ................................................... 277
Subject Index .................................................. 285
