Friendship and similarities in social‐cognitive and communication abilities: Social skill bases of interpersonal attraction in childhood

Abstract

AbstractAlthough researchers have examined how different forms of similarity (e.g., demographic similarity, attitudinal similarity) affect interpersonal attraction, little work has focused on how similarities in social‐cognitive abilities and communication skills affect attraction and relationship development. The present article suggests how the similarity/attraction literature and filter theories of relationship development can be integrated with research on social skills and cognitive development to provide a framework for understanding how similarities in levels of social skills may affect attraction and friendship formation in childhood. A study was carried out assessing how similarities in levels of social‐cognitive and communication skills affected interpersonal attraction and friendship choices by children. It was hypothesized that children would be (a) attracted to and (b) more likely to form friendships with peers who had social‐cognitive and communication skills similar in level to their own. Participants (92 grade school children) completed a battery of tasks providing assessments of four social‐cognitive and five communication skills. Sociometric procedures were used to determine interpersonal attraction and friendship patterns. Results indicated that children were attracted to peers having social skill levels similar to their own. Moreover, pairs of friends had similar levels of skills related to the expression and management of emotional states.