Few would contest that political and social problems are growing more divisive as the US election draws near. Based on some research, it seems hard to find common ground on subjects like foreign policy, the environment, and gun control. However, what effect is this having on friendships?
As per the dominant discourse, the stark contrasts in perspectives are shattering our social circles, leading to numerous strained connections. But is this really the case? If yes, which psychological traits are most likely to foretell how our social networks will evolve?
This is the goal of our Friendship Study, a brief survey that was made available to Newscom readers in July and August of this year, which psychologist Ian MacRae and I intended to uncover. That 1,912 of you took part thrilled us. In our initial research, we looked at 726 replies from residents of the US and Canada, who make up the majority of the readership for the international website. These respondents ranged in age from 19 to 90. Next, we investigated whether similar trends could be observed in other areas.
First, a few disclaimers: because our participants choose to participate, they do not reflect a representative sample of the public as a whole. However, their answers do align with more general patterns found in scholarly studies, indicating that we frequently have an excessively negative outlook on other people.
