Spending such a significant amount of our time in the company of others, throughout our lives we establish a very large number of relationships of different duration and intensity, and among the interpersonal interactions that we experience daily, friendship is one of the most significant: having friends means sharing impressions, moods, confidences, recreational activities, etc. The ability to engage effectively in interactions with others is therefore crucial in our private and work lives, and with this Psychology-Online article we will give some advice to enter more into relationships with others through our 100 questions to meet a friend.
The importance of friendship
Developmental psychologists from various backgrounds recognize that friendship is important in all phases of youth and adult development, and this is a commitment that must be cultivated in all phases of life: in each of them, friendship originates positive feelings of identity and self-esteem, encourages interaction with others through renewed motivation, confirms personal value and attitudes. At all times of existence, friendship presents diverse aspects, depending on the psychological characteristics of age, cultivated expectations, and the level of personal maturation.
Characteristics of friendship
Defining the concept of “friendship” is not at all simple: a fundamental characteristic of a friendly relationship is, without a doubt, its reciprocal nature, which indicates that the existence and meaning of the relationship are recognized by both partners; This distinguishes friendship from both the desire to please a peer who does not share her sympathy, and from popularity and social preference within the group.
- Furthermore, friendship is born from a act of willsince it is neither imposed nor mandatory.
- The friendship relationship is also selectivethat is, the choice of friends is not made by chance, but on the basis of some common characteristics.
- The most specific characteristics of friendship, however, change throughout development, also depending on acquisitions at a cognitive and emotional level: this means that friendship cannot be considered something static but rather the fruit of a relational process that occurs within a particular context.
100 Friendship Questions
When a relationship progresses, many things change: rapport, intensity, trust, predictability, interdependence, to name just a few. But perhaps the most important universal characteristic in human relationships is the degree of involvement between partners, and relationship development involves a series of complex interactions in which partners get to know and commit to each other. Similarity of attitudes, complementarity of needs, positive personal characteristics, and self-disclosure become increasingly important as a relationship develops from superficial contact to increasing levels of reciprocity.
To know, however, It is necessary to observe and ask, understand how the person we relate to lives and appreciates things in the world, what they do or don’t do, their activities, how they reason about things. To delve deeper into the relationship and learn more about that important person, we invite you to ask fun, uncomfortable, interesting and saucy questions for friends. Here are our 100 questions to get to know a friend:
- What is your favorite song at the moment?
- The three music groups that left their mark on you?
- What are the songs on the soundtrack of your life?
- What is your favorite phrase or your “guide” song?
- What book changed your life?
- Do you have a favorite book?
- What television programs do you like the most?
- What is your all-time favorite show?
- What movie completely marked you?
- Favorite food?
- What is a food combination you like that others might find strange?
- Sweet or salt?
- Is there an item of clothing you would never wear?
- What’s your favorite game?
- Sea or mountains?
- Where would you go on vacation?
- If you could leave now, what would be your destination?
- If tomorrow you had to pack your bags and move to another country, where would you go?
- What is your favorite animal?
- If you could save a protected species from extinction, which would you choose?
- Which historical figure do you want to have dinner with?
- If you could invite anyone in the world, who would you want as your dinner guest?
- If you could travel back in time to any historical event, what would it be?
- If you could interview anyone, who would it be?
- If you could have a celebrity as your best friend, who would it be?
- Who do you want to be for a day and why?
- Would you like to be famous? As?
- If you could have coffee with an imaginary character, who would it be?
- What superpower would you like to have?
- If you could wake up tomorrow and have one quality or one skill, what would it be?
- If you had to fight for one global cause for the rest of your life, what would it be?
- If you could change the world, what would you do to change it?
- If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do?
- If you won the lottery, how would you choose to spend your money?
- If you change your name, which one would you prefer?
- If you could create your perfume, what would it be like and what would it include?
- Would you like to write a book? If so, about what?
- What’s the craziest thing on your bucket list?
- What would you like to eat for your last dinner?
- What would you like them to write on your grave?
- What is your best childhood memory?
- What is your favorite memory from school?
- What part of your childhood are you most nostalgic for?
- What is the strangest thing you believed as a child?
- What is your most embarrassing memory?
- What is your most important memory?
- If you could change one thing about your past, what would it be?
- If you could go back, what would you do differently with today’s experience?
- If you could sit down and talk to the teenage version of yourself, what would you say?
- Who do you think was the worst partner you’ve ever had?
- What is your proudest moment in your life?
- What do you think has been your biggest success so far?
- What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?
- What was the last thing that made you cry? And laugh?
- What is the best compliment you have ever received?
- What is the funniest phrase you have ever heard?
- Is there anything you’re really stressed about right now?
- What are you tired or bored of?
- What do you think is the biggest mistake you’ve made so far?
- What are you not at all proud of and would like to change for the better?
- Is there something you have dreamed of doing for a long time? Why did not you do it?
- What is your priority between now and the end of the year?
- How do you see the future?
- What would be your dream job?
- What career path do you see yourself taking in the future?
- Do you want to have children someday? If so, how many?
- How have your past experiences shaped your vision of the future?
- If you could achieve only one thing in your life, what would it be?
- Do you have any idea how you are going to die?
- How would your perfect day be”?
- What is your idea of a perfect date?
- What is your definition of an ideal guest?
- What is happiness for you?
- What does freedom mean to you?
- What do you like to do the most alone?
- What are you afraid of?
- What’s your biggest fear?
- When you feel afraid, what do you feel in your body?
- Do you often think about how you feel?
- How do you cheer yourself up after a horrible day?
- How do you prefer to be comforted when you are angry?
- How do you handle self-criticism?
- What are you extraordinary at?
- Is there anything you can’t joke about?
- If you could change anything about the way you were raised, what would you change?
- What is your relationship with your parents really like?
- If you could give your parents a gift, what would it be?
- What are the qualities you appreciate most in someone?
- What is most important to you in a friendship?
- Do you have a secret you haven’t told me about?
- What do you appreciate most about our friendship?
- What is your favorite memory of us?
- What do you think our friendship will be like when we are 80 years old?
- Do you remember how we met?
- When was the time you were most proud of me?
- What did you first think when we met? Did you think we would be friends for so long?
- What do I do that you can’t stand?
- What do I do that makes you laugh all the time?
- If you could describe yourself in three words, what would they be?
- Three things you think we have in common?
If you liked the proposal, it may be interesting to use these and .
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Forgas, J.P. (2002). Interpersonal behavior. The psychology of social interaction. Rome: Armando Editore.
- Galli, N. (2004). L’amizizia. Dono per tutte le età. Milan: Vita e Pensiero.
- Ghisleni, M., Rebughini, P. (2006). Dynamiche dell’amicizia. Riconoscimento e identità. Milan: Franco Angeli.
- Gini, G. (2012). Psicologia dello sviluppo sociale. Rome: Laterza & Figli.
- Manzoni, G.C., Malorgio, R. (2007). Relazione e comunicazione efficace. Milan: Edizioni FAG.