Post Date December, 03 2023
In friendships, men are more "sexually interested" in women, and men are more likely to overestimate how well a woman likes them. In most cases, sexual attraction is a burden, not a benefit, in friendships. Can there be pure friendship between men and women? Recent research has shown that this can indeed be done.
Can male and female students go to dinner, shopping, movies, amusement parks, or each other's accommodation alone, but "just friends"? Recent research suggests that this can indeed be done. But men have more "interest" in women. In addition, having a partner or being single does not affect the degree of fascination with friends of the opposite sex.
Can there be pure friendship between men and women? Recent research has shown that this is indeed possible, but in friendships, men are more sexually interested in women, and men are more likely to overestimate their partner's liking for themselves. In most cases, sexual attraction is a burden, not a benefit, in friendships.
"The author of the paper, psychologist April Bleske Rhek of the University of Wisconsin in the United States, said she believes that men and women do want to be simple friends, but the data shows that heterosexual charm does come in.".
Evolutionary psychologists often focus on sexual or family relationships, which can help transmit an individual's genes. What Epley and colleagues are interested in is how heterosexual men and women respond to potential sexual attraction during the process of establishing pure friendship.
In a study published on April 25th in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, scientists recruited 88 heterosexual friends of college age to conduct a survey. Participants individually answered questions about their friendships, including how attracted they were to each other. Participants were asked not to ask each other for answers after the experiment.
The results show that men are more attracted to women. Researchers say it is common for men to overestimate a woman's interest in themselves. Are you interested in female friends or indicate that you would consider dating them? For this point, single men have the same tendency as men who have girlfriends. For women with boyfriends, the situation is similar, but fewer people say they are willing to date male friends.
To extend the scope of the survey beyond schools, the researchers asked 107 young people (18-23 years old) and 322 adults (27-55 years old). The number of heterosexual friends in older adults is lower than in the youth group. Everyone believes that heterosexual friendship is very beneficial, but nearly half of young people also say that the charm of the opposite sex in friendship is a troublesome matter.
Researchers say this finding cannot be interpreted as the inability of pure friendship between men and women. "Just being friends" is possible, but we may have to overcome the nature brought about by human evolutionary history. The modern social environment is changing rapidly, and we have many new opportunities to meet and get along with friends of the opposite sex, which may not have been the case in the past. We still need some time to adapt.
