多元视角下的异性友谊

异性友谊是一种重要的人际关系。已有研究考察了一般异性友谊的特点、影响和维系, 同时也考察了利友关系的心理特征和身心影响。异性朋友可能会对青少年和大学生的社会适应带来消极影响, 但这一影响可能具有文化差异。进化心理学取向的研究者主要考察了异性友谊的进化功能, 他们认为异性友谊能够帮助个体完成长期择偶目标或短期择偶目标, 同时还能够为个体提供重要的择偶信息。未来研究有必要结合新出现的友谊理论, 考察不同年龄阶段的异性友谊, 同时关注异性友谊中的个体差异变量, 比如人际性行为取向、暗黑三合一性格和择偶智力。

Opposite-Sex Friendship from Multiple Perspectives

Opposite-sex friendship plays a crucial role in social interactions because individuals inevitably interact with either the same-sex or the opposite-sex friends in their ordinary life. However, research on friendship usually neglects the distinctive features between the same-sex and the opposite-sex friendships, and pays few attention to opposite-sex friendship specifically. The current review attempts to summarize studies on opposite-sex friendship from multiple domains and propose potential routes for future explorations. Among the limited investigations, developmental and social psychologists have examined the characteristics, consequences, and maintenance of opposite-sex friendship. Opposite-sex friends can exert negative influences on social adaptation of adolescents and college students, although the phenomena can also be shaped by cultures. Evolutionary psychologists propose three potential functions of opposite-sex friendship: 1) helping individuals to seek a long-term mate; 2) or short-term mates; and 3) providing trustworthy information about mating. These assertions have been confirmed by a few empirical studies, though many more studies are needed. The future research on opposite-sex friendship can be benefited from the following endeavors: 1) paying attention to new theories of friendship; 2) addressing the opposite-sex friendship in different life stages; and 3) considering individual differences such as sociosexuality orientation, the Dark Triad personality, and mating intelligence.