RESOURCE APPRAISALS AMONG SELF, FRIEND AND LEADER - IMPLICATIONS FOR AN EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE ON INDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES

The study was designed to illustrate an evolutionary approach to indiv idual differences and friendship choice. Individual differences in per sonality and other trait dimensions are conceptualized as resource env ironments for individuals. Individuals are expected to evaluate this v ariation differently depending on a variety of variables and the prese nt study evaluated the following: (1) the putative role of the person being evaluated as ideal friend or ideal leader; (2) subject's status as males or females; (3) similarity to self. 372 subjects (279 females ) completed the EAS Adult Temperament Survey and the Resource Appraisa l Survey (RAS) for themselves, an ideal friend and an ideal leader. Th e combined EAS and RAS were factor analysed for males and females sepa rately for 11 a priori factors (5 EAS, 6 RAS) using Principal Componen t Analysis with varimax rotation. The results generally yielded a rati onally interpretable, robust set of factors. ANOVA results on these fa ctors indicated evolutionarily predicted sex differences, particularly with regard to the Intimacy/Warmth dimension. Females scored themselv es higher on Intimacy/Warmth than males and rated this characteristic as more important in an ideal friend and an ideal leader than did male s. In general, ideal leaders were expected to be higher than ideal fri ends in scales intended to tap variation in physical attractiveness, i ntelligence, conscientiousness, activity and sociability and lower in emotionality and disabilities-traits which may well be important in a leader; ideal friends, on the other hand were expected to be higher th an prospective leaders in athletic ability and Intimacy/Warmth-traits which are presumably more important for a successful friendship. (C) 1 998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.