A factor analytic examination of women's and men's friendship preferences

Abstract

Friendships are valuable relationships that can bestow many benefits. How can humans ensure they receive the maximum benefits with minimal potential costs? One possible solution is to have preferences for traits, expectations, and rules in friendship. This could, for example, help people pursue beneficial friendships and jettison costly friendships. Previous research robustly documented that such preferences for traits, expectations, and rules exist, though they are often combined, and indicates that these preferences may be sex-specific. Across two studies (N = 853), our factor analyses documented that preferences for desired traits in friendship are organized into two broad categories with women rating intrinsic traits as more important in their friendship compared to men's ratings. Similarly, factor analyses showed that preferences for rules in friendship are organized into four broad categories with women rating all rule categories as more important in their friendships compared to men's ratings.