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Dynamics of Friendship Reciprocity Among Professional Adults
Author(s) -
Olk Paul M.,
Gibbons Deborah E.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2010.00614.x
Subject(s) - friendship , reciprocity (cultural anthropology) , dyad , psychology , social psychology , popularity , gatekeeping , developmental psychology , advertising , business
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.