Perceived Similarities and Satisfaction among Friends of the Same and Different Ethnicity and Sex at Workplace

doi:10.4236/psych.2012.38095

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Psychology

2012. Vol.3, No.8, 621-625

Published Online August 2012 in SciRes (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/psych) http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/psych.2012.38095

Perceived Similarities and Satisfaction among Friends of the

Same and Different Ethnicity and Sex at Workplace

Intan H. M. Hashim1, Norzarina Mohd-Zaharim1, Siamak Khodarahimi2

1School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia

2Eghlid Branch, Islamic Azad University, Eghlid, Iran

Email: [email protected]

Received April 18th, 2012; revised May 20th, 2012; accepted June 22nd, 2012

This study examined perceived similarities and satisfaction among friends who interacted at workplace.

Respondents were 200 working adults in Malaysia. They were asked to identify the number of friends of

the same and different ethnicity and sex at their workplace and then rate their satisfaction with these

friendships. They were also asked to rate similarities with friends across nine domains (physical appear-

ance, interest, life style, working style, thinking style, personality, values, general attitude, and intellectual

ability). There were significant differences across domains and across categories of friends. More simi-

larities were reported for working style and among friends of the same ethnicity. Lowest similarities were

reported for physical appearance and among friends of different ethnicity. Differences in relationship sat-

isfaction were rather minimal, whereas the highest satisfaction was with friends of the same ethnicity.

Perception of similarities was associated with higher relationship satisfaction, with the strongest effect in

the category of friends of the same ethnicity. Relationship satisfaction across all categories was negatively

correlated with stress.

Keywords: Friendship; Similarities; Ethnicity; Relationship Satisfaction; Stress

Introduction

It has been well-established that similarities lead to attraction

and formation of friendships. People are generally more at-

tracted to those who are similar to them (Jussim & Osgood,

1989; Rubin, 1973). People who share well-established rela-

tionships such as couples, friends, coworkers and members of

informal organizations also tend to be more similar to each

other than other randomly selected members of the same popu-

lation (Goel, Manson, & Watts, 2010; Kossinets & Watts, 2009;

Lasersfeld & Merton, 1954).

Similarities among friends may come from three different

sources; interpersonal influence, selective attraction and effects

of shared environment (Jussim & Osgood, 1989). In interper-

sonal influence, a person’s attitudes, values or behavior can be

directly affected by another person (Jussim & Osgood, 1989).

In this regard, a person may develop specific values that are

similar (or perceived to be similar) to those of his or her

friend’s. In selective attraction, the similarity is assumed to

exist prior to the establishment of the friendship and in fact is

the factor that leads to the formation of that particular friend-

ship. In intra-ethnic friendship, the same ethnicity becomes the

basis of that relationship, illustrating the selective attraction

process. Lastly, when two individuals share a similar environ-

ment, they may share the same experience that eventually leads

to the same attitudes and values. In this effect, interpersonal

influence is not what is leading to the same attitudes or values

but rather the external effect of the environment that is more

important.

According to attraction-similarity hypothesis, aspects of a

relationship are what leading to perception of similarities

(Morry, 2005). Based on this assumption, perceptions of simi-

larity will be intensified during the course of relationships. This

is particularly true for on-going relationships when a person is

motivated to perceive more similarities with friends or signifi-

cant others as part of their self or relationship-serving bias

(Morry, 2005). In this study however, we are not concerned

with the sources of similarities. Neither are we interested in

whether attraction influences the perception of similarities.

Instead, we are more interested to understand the dynamic in-

teractions between similarity in sex and ethnic background.

In their research, Jussim and Osgood (1989) differentiated

between objective and subjective interpersonal influence. They

also suggested that when making an assessment on attitudes of

a friend, there may be inaccuracies. However, subjective as-

sessment of similarities remains a more powerful predictor of

relationship satisfaction compared to more objective ratings.

Similarly, Goel, Mason, and Watts (2010) found friends dis-

agree more than they think and suggested a gap between real

and perceived agreement. Both studies highlight that while

subjective assessment is not always accurate, it is still impor-

tant and powerful. The present study relies mostly on subjective

perception of similarities.

Most studies on similarities also tend to focus on only one

aspect of similarity at a time such as personality (Selfhout,

Denissen, Branje & Meeus, 2009) or attitudes (Goel et al.,

2010). In one rare study that simultaneously looked at similari-

ties among friends across activity preference and attitude,

Werner & Parmele (1979) found that activity preference simi-

larity was substantially greater than attitudinal similarity. This

study highlights the important of considering perception of

similarities across different domains in the attempt to under-

stand the more salient domains that can predict friendship’s

quality and satisfaction. Indeed as suggested by Duck (1973),

even when examining a single domain similarity e.g. personal-

I. H. M. HASHIM ET AL.

ity, it is still important to be very precise about specific aspects

of personality that are similar that can predict friendship choice

at certain point of friendship development. The present study

looked simultaneously at similarities across nine different do-

mains including physical appearance, interest, life style, work-

ing style, thinking style, personality, values, general attitude

and intellectual ability.

Researchers elsewhere have looked at similarities in friend-

ship across different domains. For instance, Selfhout, Branje,

ter Bogt and Meeus (2007) examined similarity in music pref-

erence and how it can contribute to friendship formation and

discontinuation among adolescents. On the other hand, Eiser,

Gammage, Brooks and Kirby (2009) have investigated similar-

ity in smoking habits among best friends. These studies have

selected various domains or aspects of similarity based on the

interest and the focus of their study. Similarly, we selected

these 9 domains based on the focus of this study which is simi-

larity in friendship at work place. It is likely that in the context

of friendship within work place, these domains play important

but differential roles in determining friendship choice and

maintenance. For instance similarity in working style may be

more salient in determining the quality of friendships compared

to similarity in physical appearance. In addition, we also compare

the perceptions of similarities among people of the same and

different ethnicity and sex. Are the perceptions of similarity

relatively the same for friendships among people with the same sex

and ethnicity and among people of different sex and ethnicity?

Workplace friendship has increasingly received more atten-

tion from researchers (Mao, 2006; Miller, Rutherford, & Ko-

lodinsky, 2008; Yen, Chen, & Yen, 2009). Most work places

provide ideal opportunities for people with different back-

grounds to interact with each other and form friendships. This

is especially true in the multiethnic setting of Malaysia. This

study explored how people of different ethnicity and sex per-

ceive similarities and rate satisfaction in their friendships.

The Present Study

There are 4 major objectives of the study. One is to examine

respondents’ perception of similarities with friends of similar

and different ethnicity and sex across nine domains. The other

is to examine respondents’ relationship satisfaction with friends

of similar and different ethnicity and sex. The third objective is

to explore how respondents’ perception of similarities with

friends of similar and different ethnicity and sex influence rela-

tionship satisfaction. Lastly, this study also examines how re-

spondent’s relationship satisfaction with friends of similar and

different ethnicity and sex influences perception of stress at

work place.

Method

Participants

Participants were 200 working adults who were studying

part-time in a distance learning program at a university in Ma-

laysia. Sixty-six were males while 134 were females. They

ranged in age from 22 to 53 (M = 32.3; SD = 6.8). Majority are

married (68.2%). By ethnicity, Malays (70.6%) formed a ma-

jority, followed by Indians (15.4%), Chinese (6%) and others

(8%). All of the respondents were working at the time of data

collection with a large proportion working as teachers (51.2%).

Other occupations included government officers and techni-

cal/clerical positions. Average years of working is 8.9 (SD =

5.68) with income ranging from RM600 to RM6500 (M =

RM2405, SD = RM866).

Procedure

Participants were recruited while on-campus as part of their

course requirement. They were approached and asked to take

part in the study. Upon agreement, they answered and returned

a set of questionnaires immediately. They were paid some to-

ken money for participating.

Measures

General assessment of friendships at the workplace. In this

section respondents responded to three items related to friend-

ships at the workplace: 1) number of people considered friends

at the workplace; 2) perception of similarity with these friends

across 9 domains (physical appearance, interest, life style,

working style, thinking style, personality, values, general atti-

tude, and intellectual ability); and 3) satisfaction with these

friendships. For similarities across different domains in general

friends, respondents gave either a “yes” (indicating there are

similarities between them and their friends across that particular

domain) or a “no” (indicating no similarities) answer to each

domain.

Assessment of intra-ethnic friendships at the workplace. Re-

spondents responded to three items as described above, but in

this section the items were particularly related to friendships

with people of the same ethnicity. So, again, respondents indi-

cated: 1) the number of people of the same ethnicity consid-

ered friends at the workplace; 2) their perception of similarity

with these friends across 9 domains (physical appearance, in-

terest, life style, working style, thinking style, personality, val-

ues, general attitude, and intellectual ability); and 3) their sat-

isfaction with these friendships. As in general friends, respon-

dents gave either a “yes” (indicating there were similarities

between them and their friends across that particular domain) or

a “no” answer (indicating no similarities) to each domain.

Assessment of inter-ethnic friendships at the workplace. Re-

spondents responded to three items as described above, but in

this section the items were particularly related to friendships

with people of different ethnicity. So, again, respondents indi-

cated: 1) the number of people of different ethnicity consid-

ered friends at the workplace; 2) their perception of similarity

with these friends across 9 domains (physical appearance, in-

terest, life style, working style, thinking style, personality, val-

ues, general attitude, and intellectual ability); and 3) their sat-

isfaction with these friendships. Again “yes” indicates there

were similarities and “no” indicates no similarities.

Assessment of intra-sex friendships at the workplace. Re-

spondents responded to three items as described above, but in

this section the items were particularly related to friendships

with people of the same sex. So, again, respondents indicated: 1)

the number of people of the same sex considered friends at the

workplace; 2) their perception of similarity with these friends

across 9 domains (physical appearance, interest, life style,

working style, thinking style, personality, values, general atti-

tude, and intellectual ability); and 3) their satisfaction with

these friendships. Again “yes” indicates there were similarities

and “no” indicates no similarities.

Assessment of inter-sex friendships at the workplace. Re-

622

I. H. M. HASHIM ET AL.

spondents responded to three items as described above, but in

this section the items were particularly related to friendships

with people of different sex. So, again, respondents indicated: 1)

the number of people of different sex considered friends at the

workplace; 2) their perception of similarity with these friends

across 9 domains (physical appearance (PA), general interest

(GA), life style (LS), working style (WS), thinking style (TS),

personality (P), values (V), general attitude (GA), and intellect-

tual ability(IA)); and 3) their satisfaction with these friendships.

Again “yes” indicates there were similarities and ‘no’ indicates

no similarities.

Workplace Stress Scale (WSS; De Mello Alves et al., 2004).

The WSS is a short version of Karasek’s 49-item questionnaire.

It is based on Karasek’s conceptual model that involves aspects

of stress in the workplace. The WSS includes three factors:

demand (5 items, e.g., “Do you have to work very fast?”), con-

trol (6 items, e.g., “Do you have the possibility of learning new

things through your work?”), and support (5 items, e.g., “There

is a calm and pleasant atmosphere where I work”). Respondents

respond to all items using a scale ranging from 1 (strongly

agree) to 4 (strongly disagree). Reliability by Cronbach’s alpha

for all domains ranged from .63 to .86 (De Mello Alves et al.,

2004). In the present study the responses were on a scale of 1

(strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

Results

Table 1 and 2 presented frequencies and mean of perceived

similarities across domains and categories of friends. To test the

significance of these differences, two sets of ANOVA were

carried out; one across different types of friends and the other

across different types of domains. From the first set of analysis,

there was a significant effect of domains in similarities between

all friends at work in general, F(8.1592) = 46.711, p < .005,

partial η² = .190. There was a significant linear trend of the

means for the factors, F(1.199) = 32.163, p < .005, partial η²

= .139. Participants reported highest similarities in working

style with general category of friends, followed by general attitude

and thinking style. Lowest similarities were reported for physi-

cal appearance.

There was also a significant effect of domains in similarities

between friends of the same ethnicity at work, F(8.1560) =

30.998, p < .005, partial η² = .137. There was a significant lin-

ear trend of the means for the factors, F(1.195) = 16.088, p

< .005, partial η² = .076. Similar to general category of friends,

participants reported highest similarities in working style, fol-

lowed by general attitude and thinking style with intra-ethnic

friends. Lowest similarities were reported for physical appearance.

Again there was a significant effect of domains in similarities

between friends of different ethnicity at work, F(8.1424) =

24.813, p < .005, partial η² = .122. There was a significant lin-

ear trend of the means for the factors, F(1.178) = 21.580, p

< .005, partial η² = .108. Participants reported highest similari-

ties in working style, followed by thinking style and general

attitude. Lowest similarities were reported for physical appearance.

There was also a significant effect of domains in similarities

between friends of the same sex at work, F(8.1576) = 32.315, p

< .005, partial η² = .141. There was a significant linear trend of

the means for the factors, F(1.197) = 27.221, p < .005, partial

η² = .121. Participants reported highest similarities in working

style, followed by thinking style and general attitude. Lowest

similarities were reported for physical appearance.

Finally, there was a significant effect of domains in similari-

ties between friends of different sex at work, F(8.1504) =

25.733, p < .005, partial η² = .120. There was a significant lin-

ear trend of the means for the factors, F(1.188) = 7.361, p < .05,

partial η² = .108. Participants reported highest similarities in

working style, followed by thinking style and general attitude.

Lowest similarities were reported for physical appearance.

The second set of analysis tested the difference across dif-

ferent domains. There was no significant effect of similarities in

physical appearance between different categories of friends,

F(4.692) = 1.391, p = .235, partial η² = .008. There was no

significant linear trend of the means for the factor, F(1.173)

= .210, p = .648, partial η² = .001.

Table 1.

Percentages of respondents who perceived similarities with their friends across nine domains.

Friends PA GA LS WS TS P V GA IA

All 5 40.3 32.2 65.7 55.3 25.4 27.4 27.4 61.2

Same ethnicity 3.5 37.3 31.3 54.2 50.1 24.9 30.3 30.3 49.3

Different 3 21.4 21.4 48.3. 37.8 16.9 19.4 19.4 33.8

ethnicity

Same sex 3.5 34.8 27.9 58.2 46.8 22.4 30.8 30.8 48.3

Different sex 4.5 26.4 24.4 52.7 40.8 17.9 23.9 23.9 39.3

Table 2

Means of perceived similarities across domains and categories of friends.

Friends PA GA LS WS TS P V GA IA

M (SD)

All .046 (.21) .393 (.48) .316 (.50) .668 (.47) .549 (.49) .258 (.44) .247 (.43) .609 (.48) .478 (48)

Same ethnicity .025 (.15) .364 (.48) .298 (.45) .546 (.49) .497 (.50) .241 (.43) .287 (.45) .500 (.50) .258 (.43)

Different ethnicity .034 (.18) .248 (.43) .241 (.43) .529 (.50) .439 (.49) .183 (.38) .224 (.42) .379 (.48) .281 (.45)

Same sex .023 (.15) .352 (.49) .258 (.44) .598 (.49) .485 (.50) .218 (.41) .304 (.46) .477 (.50) .287 (.45)

Different sex .057 (.29) .277 (.46) .258 (.43) .552 (.49) .416 (.49) .189 (.39) .247 (.43) .402 (.49) .189 (.39)

I. H. M. HASHIM ET AL.

There was a significant effect of similarities in general inter-

est between different categories of friends, F(4.688) = 5.541, p

< .005, partial η² = .031. There was a significant linear trend of

the means for the factor, F(1.172) = 6.648, p < .05, partial η²

= .037. Participants reported lowest similarity in general inter-

est with friends of different ethnicity, followed by friends of

different sex. Similarities in general interest were highest with

friends of the same ethnicity.

There was no significant effect of similarities in life style

between different categories of friends, F(4.692) = 1.317, p

= .262, partial η² = .008. There was no significant linear trend

of the means for the factor, F(1.173) = 2.801, p = .096, partial

η² = .016.

There was a significant effect of similarities in working style

between different categories of friends, F(4.684) = 4.209, p

< .05, partial η² = .024. There was a significant linear trend of

the means for the factor, F(1.171) = 4.519, p < .05, partial η²

= .026. Participants reported lowest similarity in working style

with friends of different ethnicity, followed by friends of dif-

ferent sex. Similarities in working style were highest with

friends of the same ethnicity.

There was a significant effect of similarities in thinking style

between different categories of friends, F(4.688) = 3.565, p

< .05, partial η² = .049. There was a significant linear trend of

the means for the factor, F(1.172) = 8.924, p < .005, partial η²

= .049. Participants reported lowest similarity in thinking style

with friends of different ethnicity, followed by friends of dif-

ferent sex. Similarities in thinking style were highest with

friends of the same ethnicity.

There was no significant effect of similarities in personality

between different categories of friends, F(4.692) = 1.931, p

= .104, partial η² = .011. There was no significant linear trend

of the means for the factor, F(1.173) = 3.584, p = .060, partial

η² = .020.

There was no significant effect of similarities in values be-

tween different categories of friends, F(4.692) = 1.831, p = .111,

partial η² = .010. There was no significant linear trend of the

means for the factor, F(1.173) = .036, p = .849, partial η²

= .000.

There was a significant effect of similarities in general atti-

tude between different categories of friends, F(4.692) = 10.215,

p < .005, partial η² = .056. There was a significant linear trend

of the means for the factor, F(1.173) = 19.613, p < .005, partial

η² = .102. Participants reported lowest similarity in general

attitude with friends of different ethnicity, followed by friends

of different sex. Similarities in general attitude were highest

with friends of the same ethnicity.

There was a significant effect of similarities in intellectual

ability between different categories of friends, F(4.692) = 5.587,

p < .005, partial η² = .0531. There was a significant linear trend

of the means for the factor, F(1.173) = 11.646, p < .005, partial

η² = .063. Participants reported lowest similarity in intellectual

ability with friends of different sex, followed by friends of the

same ethnicity. Similarities in intellectual ability were highest

with friends of the same gender.

ANOVA was also carried to test the difference level of satis-

faction among different categories of friendship. There was a

significant effect of relationship satisfaction between different

categories of friends, F(4.684) = 9.375, p < .005, partial η²

= .052. There was a significant linear trend of the means for the

factor, F(1.171) = 20.774, p < .005, partial η² = .108. From

Table 3, participants reported lowest satisfaction with friends

of different sex, followed by friends of different ethnicity. Sat-

isfaction was highest with friends of the same ethnicity.

Finally correlation analyses were carried between perception

of similarities and relationship satisfaction and stress across

different categories of friend. There were significant correla-

tions between perception of similarities with friends of different

categories and relationship satisfaction (see Table 4). However,

the correlation between perception of similarities with friends

of different sex and relationship satisfaction with those friends

was not significant, p > .05. Finally, there were significant cor-

relations between relationship satisfaction with friends all dif-

ferent categories and stress at work (see Table 5).

Discussion

Participants in the study perceived and reported more simi-

larities with friends in working style and intellectual ability

more than in other domains. They perceived lowest similarities

in physical appearance. This suggests that even though people

are generally attracted to those who are similar to them, perhaps

at least in workplace environment, similarities in some domains

the least important in friendship formation and maintenance at

the workplace but similarities in working style and intellectual

ability are more important.

Table 3.

Means of relationship satisfaction with friends of the same and different

ethnicity and sex.

Category of friends M (SD)

All 4.15 (.53)

Same ethnicity 4.16 (.54)

Different ethnicity 4.02(.59)

Same sex 4.04(.58)

Different sex 3.98(.62)

Table 4.

Correlations between perceptions of similarities with friends of the

same and different ethnicity and sex and relationship satisfaction with

the friendships.

Category of friends n = 200

All .15*

Same ethnicity .23**

Different ethnicity .15*

Same sex .14*

Different sex .04

Note: *Correlation is significant at the .05 level (2-tailed). **Correlation is signifi-

cant at the .01 level (2-tailed).

Table 5.

Correlations between relationship satisfaction with friends of the same

and different ethnicity and sex and stress.

Category of friends n = 200

All –.27**

Same ethnicity –.26**

Different ethnicity –.30**

Same sex –.33**

Different sex –.21**

Note: *Correlation is significant at the .05 level (2-tailed). **Correlation is signifi-

cant at the .01 level (2-tailed).

624

I. H. M. HASHIM ET AL.

Participants in the study also perceived more similarities

with friends of the same ethnicity compared to friends with

different ethnicity. Similarly, they perceived more similarities

with friends of the same sex compared to friends of different

sex. They also perceived more similarities with friends of the

same ethnicity than friends of the same sex. Differences in

relationship satisfaction were rather minimal, with highest sat-

isfaction among friends of the same ethnicity. Perception of

similarities was associated with higher relationship satisfaction,

with the strongest effect among friends of the same ethnicity.

These findings indicate the centrality of ethnicity in friendships

in multiethnic Malaysia. As suggested by the findings on

shared similarities and relationship satisfaction, Malaysians

prefer friends of the same ethnicity.

Relationship satisfaction for all categories of friends had sig-

nificant negative correlations with stress. Thus, Malaysians

facing work stress might be buffered by the quality of friend-

ships at the workplace, regardless of the ethnicity and sex of

their friends.

These findings have several implications. Friendships at

work place should be encouraged as it can have protective ele-

ment against stress. One way to encourage these friendships is

by allowing people to work together that will provide opportu-

nity for them to discover their potential similarity, especially in

terms of working style and intellectual capacity. Although this

method can backfire in cases when people found themselves to

be different, but more opportunity to work together may in-

crease attraction and perception of similarity. Although people

still prefer to develop friendships with those of similar ethnicity,

this study also highlights the important of similar sex friend-

ships. Similar sex friendships may cut across ethnicity and al-

low people of different ethnicity but similar sex to develop and

maintain meaningful and satisfying relationships that in turn

can improve inter-ethnic relationships in a multi-cultural soci-

ety such as Malaysia.

This study is somewhat limited in a number of ways. One is

the small sample with small ethnic variations that can limit the

application of the findings. Future studies may include a larger

population focusing on work place that represents all ethnic

groups in Malaysia better. In this study, assessment of similari-

ties for each domain relied on a single item measure. Future

studies may use more than one item to measure similarities

across different domains.

As a conclusion, this study highlights the important of un-

derstanding the complicated process underlying perceptions of

similarities among friends and the need for more refined theo-

ries on friendships, as occurred within work place situations.

Acknowledgements

This research was funded by Research University Grants of

Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia.

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