Friendship Formation and Development

The Environment

For a friendship to develop, two people must be brought into contact with one another. The role of physical proximity in friendship formation is well documented. For example, in a classic study, married students living in a student housing complex were asked to name the three people in the complex with whom they socialized most. Two thirds of the people named lived in the same building, and two thirds of these people lived on the same floor. Other studies have shown that people are likely to form friendships with those who live nearby (i.e., residential proximity). Proximity effects also have been shown in the workplace, in college dormitories, and in classrooms.

What is it about neighborhood, workplace, and school settings that promotes friendship formation? The short answer is that these settings provide opportunities for contact. The greater the amount of contact between two people, the greater the likelihood that they will become friends. However, physical proximity is becoming less important than it was in the past. Many people are now relying on the Internet as a venue for meeting potential friends. Thus, it is possible that in the future, environmental factors will be less crucial for friendship formation, although the people with whom we rub shoulders on a day-to-day basis will probably continue to be candidates for friendship formation.

The Situation

A number of “chance” factors influence whether or not friendships develop. One such factor is whether the two individuals will have opportunities for ongoing interactions and whether they will be able to interact on frequent basis. Importantly, both people also must be “available” for this kind of relationship.