NewsPronto

 
Men's Weekly

.

USA Conversation

The Conversation USA

The Conversation USA

Friendships aren’t just about keeping score – new psychology research looks at why we help our friends when they need it

  • Written by Jessica D. Ayers, Assistant Professor of Psychological Science, Boise State University
imageFriendship isn't about a running tally of who's doing more.miodrag ignjatovic/E+ via Getty Images

Despite how natural friendship can feel, people rarely stop to analyze it. How do you know when someone will make a good friend? When is it time to move on from a friendship? Oftentimes, people rely on gut intuitions to answer these kinds of questions.

I...

Read more: Friendships aren’t just about keeping score – new psychology research looks at why we help our...

More Articles ...

  1. Flu season has arrived – and so have updated flu vaccines
  2. Can you really be addicted to food? Researchers are uncovering convincing similarities to drug addiction
  3. For war-weary Syria, potential benefits of security pact with Israel comes with big risks
  4. A Denver MD has spent 2 decades working with hospitalized patients experiencing homelessness − here’s what she fears and what gives her hope
  5. In 1776, Thomas Paine made the best case for fighting kings − and for being skeptical
  6. Refinery fires, other chemical disasters may no longer get safety investigations
  7. Gaza peace plan risks borrowing more from Tony Blair’s failures in the Middle East than his success in Northern Ireland
  8. Metal-organic frameworks: Nobel-winning tiny ‘sponge crystals’ with an astonishing amount of inner space
  9. Nobel Prize in physics awarded for ultracold electronics research that launched a quantum technology
  10. For Trump’s perceived enemies, the process may be the punishment
  11. James Comey’s indictment is a trademark tactic of authoritarians
  12. Why higher ed’s AI rush could put corporate interests over public service and independence
  13. Winning a bidding war isn’t always a win, research on 14 million home sales shows
  14. Jane Fonda, other stars, revive the Committee for the First Amendment – a group that emerged when the anti-communist panic came for Hollywood
  15. Geothermal energy has huge potential to generate clean power – including from used oil and gas wells
  16. Seasonal allergies may increase suicide risk – new research
  17. Federal shutdown deals blow to already hobbled cybersecurity agency
  18. 1 gene, 1 disease no more – acknowledging the full complexity of genetics could improve and personalize medicine
  19. Even small drops in vaccination rates for US children can lead to disease outbreaks
  20. From the pulpit to the picket line: For many miners, religion and labor rights have long been connected in coal country
  21. Tribal colleges and universities aren’t well known, but are a crucial steppingstone for Native students
  22. The Supreme Court is headed toward a radically new vision of unlimited presidential power
  23. Wings, booze and heartbreak – what my research says about the hidden costs of sports fandom
  24. Why free speech rights got left out of the Constitution – and added in later via the First Amendment
  25. More young adults are living with their parents than previous generations did
  26. Health insurance subsidy standoff pits affordable care for millions against federal budget constraints
  27. How does your immune system stay balanced? A Nobel Prize-winning answer
  28. What are solar storms and the solar wind? 3 astrophysicists explain how particles coming from the Sun interact with Earth
  29. Watchdog journalism’s future may lie in the work of independent reporters like Pablo Torre
  30. A fragmented legal system and threat of deportation are pushing higher education out of reach for many undocumented students
  31. Conflict at the drugstore: When pharmacists’ and patients’ values collide
  32. How to conduct post-atrocity research – key insights from practitioners in the field
  33. Hamas has run out of options – survival now rests on accepting Trump’s plan and political reform
  34. How the government shutdown is hitting the health care system – and what the battle over ACA subsidies means
  35. Commuters have bemoaned Philly’s public transit for decades − in 1967, a librarian got the city to listen
  36. What past education technology failures can teach us about the future of AI in schools
  37. As an OB-GYN, I see firsthand how misleading statements on acetaminophen leave expectant parents confused, fearful and lacking in options
  38. Children can be systematic problem-solvers at younger ages than psychologists had thought – new research
  39. Virtual particles: How physicists’ clever bookkeeping trick could underlie reality
  40. Science costs money – research is guided by who funds it and why
  41. History is repeating itself at the FBI as agents resist a director’s political agenda
  42. Florida’s 1,100 natural springs are under threat – a geographer explains how to restore them
  43. Cuba’s leaders see their options dim amid blackouts and a shrinking economy
  44. US economy is already on the edge – a prolonged government shutdown could send it tumbling over
  45. Supreme Court to decide if Colorado’s law banning conversion therapy violates free speech
  46. Supreme Court opens with cases on voting rights, tariffs, gender identity and campaign finance to test the limits of a constitutional revolution
  47. Moral panics intensify social divisions and can lead to political violence
  48. Shutdowns are as American as apple pie − in the UK and elsewhere, they just aren’t baked into the process
  49. Where George Washington would disagree with Pete Hegseth about fitness for command and what makes a warrior
  50. Breastfeeding is ideal for child and parent health but challenging for most families – a pediatrician explains how to find support