Closeness and other affiliative outcomes generated from the Fast Friends procedure

A comparison with a small-talk task and unstructured self-disclosure and the moderating role of mode of communication

Bibliographic Data

ID2924315
AuthorsSprecher (0000-0003-2940-4220, Illinois State University, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume38
Issue5
Pages1452-1471
Publication date2021-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Social and Personal Relationships (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0265-4075 • E-ISSN: 1460-3608
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0265407521996055
OpenAlexW3133086583
LanguageEN
Citations received16
References cited47

A Fast Friends procedure was created years ago as a method to generate closeness between people interacting for the first time and to provide an experimental procedure to test hypotheses about factors that may lead to initial closeness. In their original study, Aron et al. (1997) validated their closeness-generating task by comparing the degree of interpersonal closeness it generated versus that by a small-talk task. Few subsequent studies, however, have tested the validity of the closeness task by comparing the affiliative outcomes resulting from it with that from other activities. To further examine its validity, this study involved zero-history dyads randomly assigned to become acquainted through either Aron et al.'s closeness-inducing task, Aron et al.'s small-talk task, or an unstructured getting-acquainted task. The dyads were then compared on the closeness they experienced as well as on several other affiliative outcomes. In support of the validity of the closeness-inducing task, the task generated more closeness and other positive outcomes, relative especially to the small-talk task. A second manipulation in the study was the mode of communication (video-chat vs. face-to-face). No significant differences in outcomes (e.g., closeness, liking) were found based on mode of communication. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the closeness task (relative to the other tasks) for generating closeness and other affiliative outcomes was not moderated by the mode of communication

Closeness · Developmental psychology · Human–computer interaction · Interpersonal communication · Mode (computer interface · Task (project management · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics · Computer Science · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Mathematics · Personality Traits and Psychology · Psychology · Social Psychology

Tools

Open DOI