Dynamics of Friendship Reciprocity Among Professional Adults
Loading...
Authors
Olk, Paul M.
Gibbons, Deborah E.
Subjects
Advisors
Date of Issue
2010
Date
Publisher
Language
Abstract
Friendship is generally a reciprocal relation, yet many enduring ties are not symmetrical.
Sometimes, only one member of a dyad considers the other a friend, or may
see their relation as a close friendship while the other does not. Existing theories
imply that personal and social attributes may influence the likelihood of reciprocity
in friendship. In this longitudinal study, we found that demographic and educational
attributes had little effect, but relative gregariousness and popularity consistently
influenced development and persistence of unequally reciprocated friendships in 2
cohorts of executive MBA students. Additionally, higher gatekeeping power predicted
greater tendency to befriend members of different age categories. Although
gatekeeping power correlated directly with unequal reciprocity, the effect was mediated
by gregariousness and popularity.
Type
Article
Description
Series/Report No
Department
Graduate School of Business & Public Policy (GSBPP)
Organization
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
Citation
Journal of Applied Social Psychology, Volume 40, Number 5, pp. 1146-1171, 2010.
Distribution Statement
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.