Sociologist Nicholas Christakis is the director of the Human Nature Lab at Yale University. His research centers around how humans behave and interact with each other. Basically, they study the origins of social systems. Friendship, a social system, is one the most fundamental ways humans connect.
Why are our friends, our friends? Do we pick them out of shared interests, proximity, stage of life? One of the questions Christakis has been studying is how genetics might play a role in our friendship. According to research by Christakis and Fowler in 2014, they discovered that we are genetically related to our friends at the equivalency of fourth cousins. Are we drawn to people similar to us? Do we pick our friends because they resemble us?
The truth is possibly that we pick friends based on who we are, our nature, which includes our genes, and how we were nurtured, our environment and life experiences. It is a complex and epic undertaking to try to understand friendship scientifically. The science of friendship is just beginning to be researched in earnest. To understand the state of current research, Lydia Denworth’s book Friendship: The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life’s Fundamental Bond is a comprehensive summary of recent work in the field.
If we can understand how friends are selected and how friendships flourish, we could potentially help individuals combat loneliness or even improve global cooperation. To figure this all out, we need to collect data, collaborate, and perhaps foster friendships among researchers. If you would consider helping us learn more about the science of friendship, please take our assessment. Your time is greatly appreciated.