Keywords

Cross-Sex Friendships, Reciprocity, Compensation, Interaction Adaptation Theory, Friends With Benefits Relationships, Romantic Relationships

Abstract

With more opportunities available to men and women to interact, both professionally and personally (i.e., the workplace, educational setting, community), friendships with members of the opposite sex are becoming more common. Increasingly, researchers have noted that one facet that makes cross-sex friendships unique compared to other types of relationships (i.e. romantic love, same-sex friendships, familial relationships), is that there is the possibility and opportunity for a romantic or sexual relationship to manifest. Communication research has yet to investigate how one decides whether to begin a romantic or sexual relationship or choose to remain platonic with their cross-sex friend. Given that cross-sex friendships deal with a lot of ambiguity regarding the nature of the friendship, this researcher sought to uncover what factors determine whether parties reciprocate romantic or sexual interest or opt to remain platonic through the theoretical lens of interaction adaptation theory. Specifically, the researcher sought to determine what expectations and desires predict compensation or reciprocity of romantic or sexual desires. At a large Southeastern university, quantitative data were collected from 307 participants. The results indicated that of the variables, Not Attracted, Incompatibility, and closeness were significant predictors of romantic reciprocation. In the case of 'friends with benefit' relationships, the results indicated that of the variables, Not Attracted, Sexual/Romantic Potential, sex, and sexual attitudes were significant predictors of sexual reciprocity. Further explanations of results, limitations, and future directions for research are discussed.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2009

Advisor

Weger, Harry

Degree

Master of Arts (M.A.)

College

College of Sciences

Department

Nicholson School of Communication

Degree Program

Communication

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0002531

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0002531

Language

English

Release Date

May 2009

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

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Communication Commons

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