Choosing Friends: A Study On What Goes Into Who We Choose To Be Friends With Across Different Ages

Shaun E. Cannedy
Dr. Anton Daughters, Dr. Brian Ott, and Dr. Amber Johnson, Faculty Mentors

Relationships are an important aspect of human life. They promote good physical, emotional, and mental health. What we know about relationships is why people get into them, but not on how people choose who they want to have relationships with. This research looked at how individuals choose who they want to start a relationship with. The research used a survey to determine whether individuals prefer physical or personality traits more when starting a relationship, and if those preferences change with age. What was found is that individuals are actually more likely to consider personality traits when choosing friends. This tendency to favor personality traits over physical traits strengthens with age. Finally, I found that individuals are more likely to choose someone to have a relationship with if that person’s characteristics are the same as their own.

Keywords: Relationship, Choose, Physical, Personality, Characteristics, Age

Topic(s):Sociology

Presentation Type: Poster

Session: TBA
Location: TBA
Time: TBA