What do trust, respect, fun, consistency and empathy
have in common? They have all been revealed as the ideal combination of qualities essential for a best friend.
The formula by leading psychologist Dr Cliff Arnall reveals that if your friendship is brimming with trust,
respect, fun, consistency and empathy, and has very low instances of jealousy and gossip, then you can safely say that you have
found the perfect best friend.
And here it is:
(T x R) + F + C + E |
|
J x G |
So what does it mean? The
formula shows that the perfect best friend will keep your secrets, respect you as you are and be fun to be around. They'll be
consistent and reliable, understand your needs and support you during hard times. If your friend genuinely cares for you they
won't get jealous or talk about you to others, but always be open and honest with you.
The best friend
formula was created for women's car insurance specialist Diamond, after it carried out a friendship census. The poll revealed
that two-thirds of British men and women believe dependability and honesty are the most important qualities in a friend.
However, almost two-thirds also admitted they had lied to their best friend or gossiped about them.
Natalie Grimshare, spokeswoman for Diamond said, "We spoke to 2,000 people and the results of the poll were fairly
shocking. It was clear that we expect a lot from our best friends but perhaps we don't always treat them according to
the same rules. So, we wanted to identify once and for all the qualities of the perfect best friend."
Dr Cliff Arnall said, "It was quite a challenge as there are so many qualities people look for in a best friend but the
traits in the formula arose time and time again."
According to the research, women are the worst
culprits for having double standards. More women than men cited honesty as the most important best friend quality, but they
were also more likely to lie to them, fight with them or gossip about them.
However, over three quarters
of people said they trust their friend completely and 59% loyally admitted they would lie or cover for their friend to protect
them.
However, perhaps more telling is that 26% of people also said that their best friend had betrayed
them so much they'd never spoken to them again.
Men are more likely to look for a sense of humour in
their friends whereas women are more likely to look for a friend who is a good listener. Unsurprisingly then, men chose Peter
Kay as the celebrity they'd most like to be friends with, whereas Fern Britton came top for women.
