Friendship Preferences Research Articles

A Privacy-Preserving Friend Matching Scheme Based on Attribute Encryption in Mobile Social Networks

In mobile social networks, users can easily communicate with others through smart devices. Therefore, the protection of user privacy in social networks is becoming a significant subject. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a fine-grained data access control scheme that uses attributes to match friends. In our scheme, the friend-making parties generate friend preference and self-description lists, respectively, realizing attribute hiding by converting friendship preference into ciphertext access control policies and self-description into attribute keys. The social platform matches user profiles to quickly eliminate unmatched users and avoids invalid decryption. In order to reduce the computational burden and communication cost of mobile devices, we adopt an algorithm mechanism for outsourcing decryption. When the user meets the matching conditions, the algorithm outsources the bilinear pair operation with large computation to the friend server. After that, the user finally decrypts the ciphertext. Security analysis shows that our scheme is safe and effective. In addition, performance evaluation shows that the proposed scheme is efficient and practical.

Ending an Odyssey? The Psychosocial Experiences of Parents after the Genetic Diagnosis of a Mitochondrial Disease in Children.

Obtaining a genetic diagnosis of a primary mitochondrial disease (PMD) is often framed as a diagnostic odyssey. Yet, even after receiving a diagnosis, parents of affected children experience ongoing therapeutic and prognostic uncertainty and considerable psychosocial challenges. Semi-structured interviews (N = 24) were conducted with parents of 13 children (aged 2-19 years) with a genetically confirmed PMD. Paternal (N = 11) and maternal (N = 13) perspectives were obtained, and thematic analysis was performed on all interviews. A genetic diagnosis was valuable and empowering for parents, despite eliciting varied emotional responses. While the diagnosis helped focus management decisions, families often felt overwhelmed and unsupported in navigating the healthcare system. Most parents reported a serious impact on their romantic relationship. The sources of social support varied, with a preference for established friendship and family support networks over disease-specific community support groups. Most parents favored prenatal genetic testing in the event of a future pregnancy. This study provides insight into the lived experiences of parents after a genetic diagnosis of PMD in their children. The findings draw awareness to supportive care needs and highlight important gaps that should be addressed to ensure that parents feel supported within a holistic framework of management for PMDs.

Elite strategy in resilient authoritarianism: Equatorial Guinea, 1979–2023

ABSTRACT The Equatoguinean dictatorship under Teodoro Obiang Nguema has spanned forty-four years, making him the longest-serving current head of state. Since his entry to power through a 1979 coup, Obiang has evolved in his style of governance. First ruling through a military junta, then a single-party regime, and finally competitive authoritarianism. Across these eras, he has relied on a cadre of supporting elites to occupy top spots in the state administration. Has his strategy of retaining and dismissing these top elites evolved with his broader style of governance? What features has he looked for over time to signal loyalty? We explore these questions using original individual-level data on all ruling elites in Equatorial Guinea from 1979 to 2023. Drawing on a suite of biographical variables, we find evidence that certain professional and personal traits have made elites less likely to be dismissed at different eras of Obiang’s rule. However, co-regionality has been an enduring preference in his elite strategy, suggesting his preference for friends from “back home.” These findings demonstrate how elite strategies of dictators move beyond the ethnocentric and evolve alongside broader regime characteristics.

How do you build the perfect friend? Evidence from two forced-choice decision-making experiments

Friendship is a unique and underexplored area of human sociality. Research suggests that humans have preferences for characteristics in their friends that maximize the benefits of these relationships. Yet, whereas more friends might increase friendship benefits, humans also have limited time, resources, and energy to invest in finding high-quality friends, making it likely that the nature of these preferences differs depending on the resources an individual has available to invest in this goal. Across two studies (total N = 693), we investigated how this trade-off may function by investigating the nature of friendship preferences. In Study 1, we utilized the budget paradigm method from behavioral economics to investigate the necessities and luxuries in friendship preferences. In Study 2, we replicated these preferences with a novel method and extended our investigation into understanding the hierarchical nature of these preferences. Taken together, our results provide a promising starting point for research investigating trade-offs between necessities and luxuries in friendship preferences.

Multidimensional homophily

Homophily is typically measured using a single dimension to define groups. However, people generally display friendship preferences over multiple dimensions when forming social connections. We develop a simple model that characterizes agents both by a (discrete) “group type” and a (continuous) “personality trait” value. Agents have preferences-for-similarity over both dimensions, but homophily is only measured with respect to group type. We show that our model belongs to a more general class of models for which a strongly stable network exits, and identify an algorithm that constructs it. Via simulations, we demonstrate that our model's strongly stable network exhibits three key patterns previously documented in the homophily literature. The model provides new insights and interpretations of these patterns.

Graph neural networks for preference social recommendation.

Social recommendation aims to improve the performance of recommendation systems with additional social network information. In the state of art, there are two major problems in applying graph neural networks (GNNs) to social recommendation: (i) Social network is connected through social relationships, not item preferences, i.e., there may be connected users with completely different preferences, and (ii) the user representation of current graph neural network layer of social network and user-item interaction network is the output of the mixed user representation of the previous layer, which causes information redundancy. To address the above problems, we propose graph neural networks for preference social recommendation. First, a friend influence indicator is proposed to transform social networks into a new view for describing the similarity of friend preferences. We name the new view the Social Preference Network. Next, we use different GNNs to capture the respective information of the social preference network and the user-item interaction network, which effectively avoids information redundancy. Finally, we use two losses to penalize the unobserved user-item interaction and the unit space vector angle, respectively, to preserve the original connection relationship and widen the distance between positive and negative samples. Experiment results show that the proposed PSR is effective and lightweight for recommendation tasks, especially in dealing with cold-start problems.

Friendship Preference: Scalable and Robust Category of Features for Social Bot Detection

Social bots are intelligent programs that control the behavior of fake accounts in an online social network(OSN). They pass themselves off as human accounts and manipulate the health of the ecosystem of OSNs. Thus, it is crucial to distinguish social bots from human accounts. Despite recent advances in social bot detection, state-of-the-art methods face challenges in scalability, generalization, and robustness. Considering these drawbacks, in this article, a new category of features, called friendship preference, is proposed. Friendship preference features are extracted from the profile attributes of the followers. The proposed feature extraction formula is designed to be scalable as the number of followers grows. Two classifiers are developed to evaluate the proposed category of features in terms of efficiency and usefulness. The classifiers are benchmarked on several real datasets. The experimental results indicate that the classifiers outperform Botometer in terms of classification performance. Scalability is assessed by inspecting the detection performance of classifiers when the attributes of a limited number of the accounts in the neighborhood of the users with large egonets are available. Furthermore, generalization is validated by crossover validation on various datasets. Finally, robustness and the ability for early detection of social bots are discussed.

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

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.

Preference of online friends over face-to-face friends: Effect of interpersonal fears on online relationship building preference

The emergence of online social networking has increased development of exclusively online friendships. Individuals in online environments are willing to invest considerable time and effort to develop and maintain relationships as they would in other gathering spaces. In some cases, individuals find it preferable to make friends via the internet over more traditional means of relationship formation. The current study examines preference for online friends over face-to-face friends. Initially, we developed a brief, one-dimensional, 11-item questionnaire assessing online friendship preference based on semi-structured interviews. Confirmatory factor analysis showed support for a one-factor model. Internal consistency was established using inter-item correlation, corrected item-total correlation, and Cronbach’s α. Subsequently, we examined the psychological determinants and consequences of preference for online friendship formation. Participants who reported higher fear of intimacy and perceived relationship vulnerability reported greater preference for online friends over face-to-face friends. Preference for online friendship was related to increased risk of problematic internet use. The findings suggest that interpersonal fears, combined with attributes of online communication (e.g., reduced social cues and more personal control) motivate some individuals to prefer online intimacies over face-to-face friendships, thereby increasing time spent online.

Friendship Preferences: Examining Desirable and Undesirable Traits in a Friend

Friendship Preferences: Examining Desirable and Undesirable Traits in a Friend

Sex differences in friendship preferences

Friendships can help us solve a number of challenges, increasing our welfare and fitness. Across evolutionary time, some of the many challenges that friendships helped to solve may have differed between men and women. By considering the specific and potentially distinct recurrent problems men's and women's friendships helped them solve, we can derive predictions about the qualities that would have made men's and women's same-sex friends ideal partners. This logic leads to several predictions about the specific friend preferences that may be differentially prized by men and women. Across three studies (N = 745) with U.S. participants—assessing ideal hypothetical friends, actual friends, and using a paradigm adapted from behavioral economics—we find that men, compared to women, more highly value same-sex friends who are physically formidable, possess high status, possess wealth, and afford access to potential mates. In contrast, women, compared to men, more highly value friends who provide emotional support, intimacy, and useful social information. Findings suggest that the specific friendship qualities men and women preferred differed by sex in ways consistent with a functional account of friendship.

Moderators of Sexual Interest in Opposite-sex Friends.

The fact that men and women experience sexual attraction toward their opposite-sex friends has been evidenced in various studies. It has also been shown that there is a close parallel between preferences for opposite-sex friends and mate preferences, i.e., that men prioritize physical attractiveness of their OSFs, while women prioritize their male friends' ability to provide protection and economic resources. Although this mating activation hypothesis has been validated to an extent, there is hardly any research that points to moderating factors which would define the boundary conditions for these effects. We present two studies that involved heterosexual participants who were in a committed relationship and at the same time had a heterosexual opposite-sex friend. We investigated how both the qualities of one's current partner and the qualities of one's opposite-sex friend shape sexual interest in opposite-sex friends for men and women. Results mostly support the mating activation hypothesis. We show that within actual cross-sex friendships: 1) physical attractiveness of opposite-sex friends predicts sexual interest toward them, and this effect is stronger for men than women, 2) current partner's attractiveness, provided support, and relationship satisfaction moderate this effect only for women, and not men, 3) perceived financial resources of opposite-sex friends predict sexual interest toward them for highly sexually unrestricted women, and, surprisingly, for those who are in committed relationships with high-income men. The results reaffirm previous evidence indicating that perceptions of opposite-sex friends can be viewed as a manifestation of evolved human mating strategies.

Culture influences the development of children's gender-related peer preferences: Evidence from China and Thailand.

Current understanding of how culture relates to the development of children's gender-related peer preferences is limited. To investigate the role of societal acceptance of gender nonconformity, this study compared children from China and Thailand. Unlike China and other cultures where the conceptualization of gender as binary is broadly accepted, individuals who identify as a nonbinary "third" sex/gender have been highly visible and tolerated in Thai society for at least several decades. Chinese and Thai 4- to 9-year-olds (N=458) viewed vignettes of four hypothetical peers who varied on gender (i.e., boy vs. girl) and gender-typed toy play behavior (i.e., masculine vs. feminine), and were asked to give a friendship preference rating for each peer. Chinese, compared with Thai, children evidenced gender-related peer preferences that emerged earlier, remained more stable across age groups, and were relatively more biased against gender-nonconforming behavior. The only cultural similarity was in children's preference for peers who were of the same gender and/or displayed same-gender-typed behavior. Thus, while preference for peers who are of the same gender and/or display same-gender-typed behavior is common among children across cultures, the developmental onset and course of these preferences vary by culture. Moreover, societal acceptance of gender nonconformity might be key to limiting children's bias against gender-nonconforming peers.

Same-race friendship preference across the middle school years: The role of school racial/ethnic context.

The current study examined the developmental trajectory of same-race friendship preference of racially/ethnically diverse students over the course of middle school. Participants were African American, Asian, Latinx, and White youth recruited at the start of middle school in 6th grade (N = 4,361; Mage = 11.33 years) and followed across the 3 years of middle school. School racial/ethnic diversity and the racial/ethnic representation of students in their academic classes, including honors classes, were examined as predictors of friendship preferences over time. Results from latent growth curve models revealed that same-race friendship preference increased over the course of middle school and was shaped by both the school and classroom racial/ethnic context, above and beyond availability. Greater school racial/ethnic diversity predicted steeper increases in same-race friendship preference over time for all racial/ethnic groups. However, there were interactions involving race/ethnicity when the analyses focused on how students were represented in their academic classes compared with school. African American and Asian youth who were underrepresented in honors classes showed steeper increases in same-race friendship preference over time. Implications for prejudice reduction and creating more inclusive school environments are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Attitudes Towards the Sexuality of Adults with Intellectual Disabilities: A Systematic Review

Current research in attitudes towards the sexuality of adults with intellectual disabilities yields heterogeneous results. The aim of the present paper was to systematically review current qualitative and quantitative evidence of attitudes towards the sexuality of adults with intellectual disabilities. A systematic review of current literature (2000–2020) was carried out in the ERIC, PsychINFO, SCOPUS, PUBMED, and WebOfScience databases. Thirty-three articles were included for review. The present review protocol is registered in the PROSPERO database. Included studies presented attitudes towards the sexuality of adults with intellectual disabilities in samples comprised of staff, family, members of the community, and adults with intellectual disability. Community samples held more positive attitudes, followed by staff and family. Adults with intellectual disabilities reported interest in intimate relationships but perceived barriers in others’ attitudes. Factors such as familiarity, age, gender of the adult with a disability, and culture seemed to have clear relationships. Other factors such as gender or social status remain unclear. In general, attitudes were considered positive. However, a preference for low intimacy and friendship or Platonic relationships was found. Stereotypes towards intellectual disability may have a strong influence. These findings underline the need to investigate and address attitudinal changes to provide adequate support for adults with intellectual disabilities in regard to a healthy relational and sex life.Prospero registration number: CRD42021222918.

Verbally Highlighting Extrinsic Causes of Novel Social Disparities Helps Children View Low-Status Groups as Structurally Disadvantaged Rather Than Personally Inferior.

As part of their “essentialist” intuitions, young children tend to form personal attributions for observed intergroup differences – attributing them to groups’ intrinsic natures or inborn characteristics. Much research has linked this essentialist view of social groups with prejudiced attitudes. However, less research has explored children’s capacity to form structural attributions for observed intergroup differences – attributing them to groups’ extrinsic circumstances or access to opportunities – or how structural attributions relate to social attitudes. Structural attributions could enable children to view low-status groups as extrinsically disadvantaged rather than intrinsically inferior. We were interested in whether verbally highlighting the extrinsic causes of novel social status disparities could support young children in forming structural attributions for them, thereby mitigating the formation of prejudice toward novel low-status groups. To investigate, we introduced participants (n=106 5- and 6-year olds) to novel social status disparities that could be attributed to either intrinsic or extrinsic causes, and we framed the disparities in either intrinsic, neutral, or extrinsic terms. We then assessed children’s attributions for the disparities (through two measures: explanations and interventions) and their social attitudes toward the groups (through two measures: friendship preferences and prize allocations). Results indicated that participants tended to provide mostly personal attributions overall but that extrinsic framing led them to provide significantly more structural attributions. Extrinsic framing did not significantly impact social attitudes overall, but exploratory analyses revealed that it impacted participants’ friendship preferences in particular. Together, results suggest that verbally highlighting extrinsic causes can disrupt children’s intuitive tendency toward personal attributions, with promising implications for their views of low-status groups.

Known by the company she keeps: Women's friendship preferences influence interpersonal evaluations

The current research examined the factors that impact women's preference for male (vs. female) friends and how these preferences, in turn, impact how women are evaluated by others. Studies 1–2 demonstrated that women who prefer male (vs. female) friends reported greater mating and sexual success, placed less trust in female friends, and held more hostility towards other women. Study 2 also showed that women's distrust of female friends is predicted by greater perceived aggression from female peers, which in turn predicted greater preference for male friends. Studies 3–5 revealed that women (but not men) reported greater distrust of female targets who prefer male (vs. female) friends. Study 5 further found that women's decreased trust in female targets who prefer male (vs. female) friends was predicted by expectations that these targets possess more socially undesirable traits, more hostility towards other women, and greater sexual unrestrictedness. Together, results suggest the relationship between women's friendship preferences and other women's evaluations may be bidirectional. Women's preference for male friends was predicted by perceived aggression from and lack of trust in other women, and other women distrusted and inferred negative traits about women who preferred male friends.

Avoiding cross-sex friendships: The separability of people with and without cross-sex friends

Prior studies on individual differences in the preference for cross-sex friendships found that this preference was not normally distributed but was instead bimodal. In one group of people, the preferences for higher or lower proportions of cross-sex friendships appear to be normally distributed, whereas in a second and unexpectedly large group of people, the preference for cross-sex friends is exactly zero. If the people in the second group with no cross-sex friends at all actively avoid forming cross-sex friendships, then these individuals may be expected to differ systematically and meaningfully from individuals who report having at least one cross-sex friend. The present study tests this hypothesis. The Big Five, homophobia, physical attraction to the opposite sex, and demographic variables from a data set of 491 adult participants were used as potential predictors of group membership. Results showed that most predictors except the Big Five contributed to supporting the separability of the two groups. Findings are discussed with regard to the differentiation between close and general friends and the potential influence of cultural factors.

The role of home language in children's friendship choice and peer acceptance

The present study examined the role of home language and school climate in children's friend preferences and peer liking. Participants were 109 elementary school-age students (50% girls, 47% boys; m = 7.9 years old) enrolled in a dual-language (English & Spanish) immersion school. Students were asked to identify, by circling names from a class list, their three best friends and the three classmates they liked most. Students were also interviewed about their perceptions of the school climate. Results showed that children nominated significantly more same-language peers as best friends compared to chance. Third graders, who were separated for part of the day based on home language, selected more same-language best friends than did second graders, who spent the whole day together with classmates. Students from English-speaking homes received a greater number of “most liked” nominations than did those from Spanish-speaking homes. Implications for practice and future research are addressed.

Reminder avoidance: Why people hesitate to disclose their insecurities to friends.

People seek and receive support from friends through self-disclosure. However, when self-disclosures reveal personal insecurities, do people rely on friends as an audience as they normally do? This research demonstrates that they do not. Five preregistered studies show that disclosers exhibit a weaker preference for friends as an audience when disclosures involve revealing personal insecurities than when they involve revealing other neutral or negative personal information. This effect is observed despite that the only alternative audience available to disclosers in these studies is a stranger. We theorize that such an effect occurs because disclosers anticipate stronger pain associated with being reminded of disclosed contents when their disclosures involve personal insecurities than other types of information and, thus, wish to avoid such reminders from happening. Our findings support this theorizing: (a) Disclosers' weaker preference for friends as an audience for insecurity-provoking (vs. noninsecurity-provoking) disclosure is mediated by how painful they anticipate reminders of disclosed contents to be and (b) disclosers' preference for a particular audience is diminished when the perceived likelihood of disclosed-content reminders associated with that audience is enhanced. An additional preregistered exploratory content-analysis study shows that when disclosing personal insecurities, people disclose less and are less intimate in what they disclose when they imagine a friend (vs. a stranger) as an audience. Altogether, disclosers are ironically found to open up less to friends about personal insecurities-self-aspects that may particularly benefit from friends' support-than about other topics, due to their avoidance of potentially painful disclosed-content reminders. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).