Propinquity Effect
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Sir Peter Ustinov (1979) was almost correct in stating that “Contrary to general belief, I do not believe that friends are necessarily the people you like best, they are merely the people who got there first” (p.93). He was correct in stating that friends are not the people who we like best, but it is not about who gets there first either, according to the propinquity effect we become friends with people who are closer in physical distance and functional distance (Aronson, Wilson & Akert, 2007, p.307). For example, in a study of the Westgate West building it was found that 41 percent of the apartment residents considered their closest friendship with those who lived right next door, 22 percent with those who lived two doors down and 10 percent with those who lived on opposite ends of the hallway (Wilson et al., p.307). Not only did physical distance play a role on who residents befriended but also functional distance was an important factor. “Functional Distance refers to certain aspects of architectural design that make it more likely that some people will come in contact with each other more often than with others” (Wilson et al., p.307). This was seen with the Westgate residents that lived at the foot of the stairs, they had more friends that lived upstairs because they were exposed more to them than any other resident that lived on the first floor. The propinquity effect is effective because of the mere exposure effect, which points out that being exposed to a person affects our liking for them since the more we see the person, even thought there is no communication, the more familiar they become and thus the more we like them (Wilson et al., p.308). When we are exposed to a new situation or person we are usually uncomfortable but if encounters continue without a negative event our attitude towards the person or situation will be more pleasant (Zanjonc, 1968, p.20). Residents of the Westgate building might have thought that their friendship with their neighbors was a result of mutual liking but Festinger, Schachter and Back found that it had to do more with the propinquity effect.
Example – Research
Lucille Nahemow and M. Powell Lawton (1975) found in their study of friendship networks of residents in Dyckman Houses, a public housing project, that the propinquity effect is “a powerful force in friendship formation” (p.209). Their study was to find out under what circumstances people make friends of strangers. Nahemow and Lawton predicted that the proximity effect would increase significantly with age and that both similarity and proximity would contribute to friendship choices. They assumed that older people would have more friends who lived closer to them because they would be restricted to commuting shorter distances. This study took place by interviewing residents in three 14-story buildings with 12 apartments to each floor. Residents were asked who their best friends were in the project, if they lived in the same building, where they met and how often they saw each other. Interviewers also took note on the apartment number, age, sex and race of the friends listed by Dyckman Houses residents. It was found that the propinquity effect is an important factor in who is to become a friend. Researchers found that 88 percent of the closest friend mentioned lived in the same building as the respondent and almost half lived on the same floor (p. 209). This study confirmed that both physical distance and functional distance contribute to who residents befriend. Fifty two percent of the residents who responded to the interview stated that they met their friends in “the hallways, elevators, and entrance areas of their own building” (p. 209). Lucille and Lawton also found proximity was not a factor that just affected the elderly, 37 percent of the younger residents also chose as their best friends those who lived in the same floor (209). In regards to similarity and proximity contributing to friendship choices it was found that “friendship between dissimilar people was common only under conditions of close residential proximity, whereas friendship among people of the same age and race occurred at a great distance” (p. 211). It was reported that when it came to friendships among people of different ages and races 70 percent of the residents close friends lived on the same floor (p. 210-211) Close friends of the same age and race as residents were usually found in different buildings (p. 210-211). This indicates that proximity not similarity is a stronger indicator of friendships.
I believe the propinquity effect is important to those who are interested in getting to know other people and making friends. They will find that focusing on being seen and interacting with others, instead of trying to find other people who are similar to them, can result in more friends. The propinquity effect also helps in clearing up the misconception that the elderly are at times isolated because they are not around other elderly people. Since it was found that in elderly as well as in others age groups proximity not similarity is a stronger indicator of friendship, finding an area with more people not just elderly people will be a better solution for lonely elderly.
Example – Real Life
I chose myself as a real life example of the propinquity effect. I now realize that with two of my closest friends I began talking to them because I sat next to them in several classes. For example, my friend Mayra F. usually sat in front of me and my friend Dina G. sat behind me because we shared the same last name. Being seated in alphabetical order in high school provided me with a particular group of people close to me, this proximity lead to interaction and eventually friendship (Segal, 1974, p. 655). With my other high school friend Claudia M., we shared several classes, however we were not assigned seats together. My friendship with her began because she was a familiar face; she lived three blocks away from where I lived. Now at work I realize being close in physical space continues to contribute to whom I befriend. Of the two women I consider close friends, one sits on the desk next to mine and the other sits five desks away from me, but she lives five minutes away from me. I now realize that functional distance contributes to my friendships with my neighbors. When I lived with my parents we lived in a house where we did not have any neighbors across from us, we only had neighbors next to us. Our house entrance was facing away from the neighbors next to us as a result we never saw them. I used to believe that my neighbors were not friendly because we never got to know them, even though we lived in that house for 14 years. I now live in a different neighborhood where I see my neighbors constantly I think of them as friendly people, however I am now aware that our frequent contacts has lead to liking.
References
Aronson, E., & Wilson, T.D., & Akert, R.M.. (2007). Social Psychology (6th ed.). New Jersey: Pearson.
Back, M., Schmukle, S., & Egloff, B. (2008). Becoming friends by chance. Psychological Science, 19(5), 439-440.
Nahemow, L., & Lawton, M. (1975). Similarity and propinquity in friendship formation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 32(2), 205-213.
Segal, M. (1974). Alphabet and attraction: An unobtrusive measure of the effect of propinquity in a field setting. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 30(5), 654-657.
Ustinov, P. (1979). Dear me. New York: Penguin.
Zajonc, R. (1968). Attitudinal effects of mere exposure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 9(22), 1-27.
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