Recent study shows the ultimate formula for friendship

A recent study commissioned by Fishermen’s Friend, a brand of strong menthol lozenges, showed the ultimate formula for friendship, at a time when almost everyone is looking for a comforting shoulder to lean on.

Around 2,000 adults in the UK took part in an online survey by Walr, digital data software, to answer some questions that were later analyzed by Robert Dunbar, a professor of evolutionary psychology at the University of Oxford.

“Friendships are the single most important factor influencing both our psychological and our physical health and well-being,” Dunbar said.

He explained that the study shows that two-thirds of us have a best friend who provides emotional support when needed, which makes finding friends and maintaining them very important, considering how we value emotional bonds.

“We make big efforts to find friends, and a substantial majority of us- 83% to be precise- consider ourselves to be a good friend,” said the professor.

The study showed that people require around 34 hours of commitment in order to transition a new acquaintance into an actual friend.

The ultimate formula is that each interaction with this new acquaintance should be at least three hours long in order for it to be mutually beneficial.

According to the study, a total of 11 interactions are needed for a smooth transition from acquaintance to friends, with average friendship taking up to five months to become truly solid.

The study highlights that humor is a quality people look for in their pursuit of new friendships then comes holding similar values and having shared interests.

Being trustworthy and reliable count as important characteristics as well.

People who took the survey seem to almost agree that lying is highly frowned upon in friendships.

Rubin Dunbar is known for Dunbar’s number, a theory revealing that we can only hold 150 connections at once. He suggests the notion that there is a cognitive limit to the number of people one can maintain stable social relationships.

In 1990, the anthropologist found a correlation between primate brain size and average social group size.

Dunbar explained his theory informally as “the number of people you would not feel embarrassed about joining uninvited for a drink if you happened to bump into them in a bar.”