Similarity in communication values as a predictor of friendship choices: Studies of friends and best friends

Abstract

The similarity‐attraction hypothesis maintains that cognitively similar persons are more attracted to and more likely to form relationships with each other than cognitively dissimilar persons. The current paper extends this general hypothesis by suggesting that persons with similar communication values are more likely to become friends than persons with dissimilar communication values. This general hypothesis was tested and confirmed in two studies. Implications of the findings for friendship formation are discussed.