Section 6.

2 Friendships

Introduction
Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between
two or more people.  Friendship is a stronger form
of interpersonal bond than an association. Friendship has
been studied in academic fields such as sociology, social
psychology, anthropology, and philosophy. Various
academic theories of friendship have been proposed,
including social exchange theory, equity theory, relational
dialectics, and attachment styles. A World Happiness
Database study found that people with close friendships
are happier.

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Section 6.2 Friendships

The Importance of Friendships

• Friendship is a relationship based on mutual trust,
acceptance, and common interests or values.
• People look to their friends for
• honest reactions
• encouragement during bad times
• understanding when they make mistakes

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Section 6.2 Friendships

What can
friendships give?
Fun
Ways To Share Feelings
Learn New Skills
Find Understanding and Support
Ways To Feel Needed And Useful
You Can Be Yourself
Section 6.2 Friendships

What Makes A Good

Friendship?

Shared Interests Reliability

Shared Values Support
Trust Understanding
Honesty Sensitivity
Respect
Forgiveness
Cooperation
Tolerance
Section 6.2 Friendships

Types of Friendships

Casual Friends
Casual friendships often occur because people go to
the same school, live in the same neighborhood, or
have interests in common.

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Section 6.2 Friendships

Close Friends
• People tend to form close friendships with others
who share similar goals, values, or interests.
• Loyalty A close friend sticks by you in both good
times and bad.
• Honesty You can trust a close friend to
be truthful.
• Empathy A close friend is caring and sensitive to
your feelings.
• Reliability A close friend can always be
counted on.

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Section 6.2 Friendships

Problems in Friendships
Some possible problems in friendships are
• envy
• jealousy
• cruelty
• cliques

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Section 6.2 Friendships

References
1.  "Definition for friend". Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford
Dictionary Press. Retrieved 25 May2012.
2.  "Can we make ourselves happier?". BBC News. 1
July 2013.
3.  Conger, John Janeway; Galambos, Nancy
(1997). Adolescence and youth: psychological
development in a changing world (5th ed.). New
York: Longman. ISBN 978-0-673-99262-8.
4. Grabmeier, Jeff (January 6, 2004). Friendships play
key role in suicidal thoughts of girls, but not
boys. Ohio State University.

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