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A Study of the Extent ofAgreement between Friends'Opinions and their Ability toEstimate the Opinions of EachOtherCharles Nelson Winslow aa Brooklyn College , USAPublished online: 01 Jul 2010.

To cite this article: Charles Nelson Winslow (1937) A Study of the Extentof Agreement between Friends' Opinions and their Ability to Estimate theOpinions of Each Other, The Journal of Social Psychology, 8:4, 433-442, DOI:10.1080/00224545.1937.9920023

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A S T U D Y OF THE E X T E N T OF A G R E E M E N T B E T W E E N FRIENDS’ O P I N I O N S A N D T H E I R

ABILITY TO E S T I M A T E THE O P I N I O N S OF EACH O T H E R *

Brooklyn College

CHARLES NELSON WINSLOW

Attitudes and opinions toward many contemporary organizations and institutions have been measured in widely differing social groups, resulting in the standardization of questionnaires and rating scales,

. and the derivation of norms which have proven ro be highly reliable. Little experimental work, however, has been conducted to determine the extent of similarity in attitudes that may exist between members of social groups of various types and sizes. A definite opinion, for or against, is often the core for the existence of certain social or polid- cal organizations, even appearing in the name, as for example, ‘Wnion for Social Justice,” “League for Industrial Democracy,” and “American League against W a r and Fascism.” Once an active member of one of these organizations an individual’s opinions and attitudes may be crystallized and made similar in many respects to those held by the other members of the group. Several investigators, [Thurstone (7), Watson ( 10) ] have shown how clearly attitudes and opinions may be differentiated from group to group according ro political and religious affiliations.

One of the smallest social groups, and by no means the least sig- nificant in contemporary life, is that of two people joined together by friendship. T h e bases for the establishment and the feeling of friendship between two persons are undoubredly numerous. It may well be that an awareness of unanimity of opinion by two individuals fosters the establishment of friendship. T h e writer admits that the term friendship is a rather loose concept, denoting relationships between individuals all the way from those who are held to be non- enemies to those who are closely joined in “Damon and Pythias” companionships. It is quite probable, however, that when a person

,

*Received in the Editorial Office on January 11, 1937.

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434 JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

is asked to refer to his friends he calls to mind those who are some- thing more than “passing acquaintances.”

In attacking the problem of the relationship of opinion between two friends two major questions arise: ( a ) Is there any correlation between the opinions of the two members of a friendship pair, and ( b ) Is the friend able to estimate with any degree of accuracy the opinions held by the other? Factors which might influence the extent of agreement in opinion were also studied, such as the length of the friendship, the particular topic upon which the question hinged, and the sex of the two friends. In as much as the subjects who participated were required to select a friend of the same sex for the experiment, only sex differences between friendship pairs could be determined.

Previous work upon the question of resemblances in attitudes among members of social groups includes a study by Kulp and Davidson (4) , who gave the Neumann, Kulp and Davidson Xnter- national Relations test to 91 pairs of brothers, 85 pairs of sisters, and 155 pairs of brothers and sisters of high school age. They iound correlations between the opinions of all siblings to be +.32:+.03, between brothers +.29+.03, between sisters +.41+.06, and +.30-C.05 between brother and sister. Correlations for randomly matched pairs of non-siblings within the same schools were close to zero. T h e authors conclude, therefore, that the same home environ- ment of siblings is responsible for the greater resemblance in atti- tudes and not the school.

Watson ( 11 ) in a study of prejudices in college and theological students selected some who were expected to be prejudiced, and asked competent judges who were acquainted with members of this group to estimate their attitudes. From this Watson concluded that mere acquaintance on the part of an individual with another did not make him a reliable judge of the extent of prejudice held by the other.

Kolstad (3) , employing the Harper Internationalism Questionnaire, compared the opinions of the two sexes. He found that men made a slightly higher Internationalism and Nationalism score than women, although the difference was not a statistically reliable one. Moreover, he found that the scores made by those who were affili- ated with the various political parties and church denominations

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’ CHARLES NEtSON.WINSLOW 435

could be much better differentiated on that basis than on the \basis of sex.

T h e questionnaire used by the wri€er in the present experiment was made up of questions drawn from several sources dealing wirh the topics of attitude toward rhe Nebo, American foreign policy, current economic policy, religion, and the present golicies of the U. S. government. T h e questions on attitudes toward the Negro and toward foreign policy were taken from Likert’s attitude scale ( 5 ) , with questions put in slightly different farm in some cases. T h e questions on religion and current economic policy were chosen from Hall’s questionnaire (1 ) in which the opinions and attitudes of employed and unemployed men were compared. T h e questions on present government policy were taken from recent newspaper and magazine editorials. Both Hall’s and Likert’s questions had been tested for internal consistency, and were therefore recognized as being reliable indicators. T h e Likert method of constructing an attitude scale was followed by the author in almost every detail. T h e questionnaire, with its five-point scale method of rating was as follows :-

**Strong agreement -Moderate opposition

0 Indifference *Moderate agreement --Strong opposition

The U. S. should enter the League of Nations as soon as possible. War is a t present a biological necessity. The U. S. should consult other nations in making her immigration laws. The U. S. should have the largest military and naval air fleets in the

The treaty of Versailles should be reconsidered, with greater leniency

All negroes belong in one class and should be treated in about the same

Negro homes should be segregated from those of white people. Practically all American hotels should refuse to admit negroes. If the same preparation is required, the negro teacher should receive

the same salary as the white. Where there is segregation, the negro section should have the same

equipment, in paving, water and electric light facilities as are found in the white districts.

The belief in a personal god becomes less and less reasonable as science discovers more about the nature of the universe.

world.

given to Germany.

way.

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436 JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

Without religion the world would be much less civilized. T h e good done by religious institutions is not worth what they cost. Every man should go to some kind of a church at least occasionally. Religion is slowly dying a natural death. Most employers think only of their profits and care little for employees’

Piece rates and other incentive plans are generally used to exploit

Most industries try to be fair and square with employees. It is industry’s idea to drive you as hard as it can and give ,you as

The U. S. government owes every man a living. Our government is controlled by great financial interests. The New Deal policy of President Roosevelt in granting huge govern-

The present Roosevelt administration is too socialistic in granting some

The U. S. government should pay the veteran’s bonus as soon as

welfare.

workers.

little as possible.

ment sums for relief projects is justifiable.

of the demands of labor.

possible.

When the opinions of two friends were to be compared, both of them were given the following directions:

This is a study to determine the degree of correspondence between two friends of the same sex. No names are needed on these blanks, because numbers serve to distinguish them. Therefore, please answer the following questions in the way you actually feel toward them, since your identity will remain unknown. Please state your age and sex in the space allotted. A definite meaning has been assigned to each of the five col- umns a t the right below. Put just one check next to each ques- tion, placing it in that particular column which coincides most with your opinion.

T h e directions given to the friend who was asked to estimate the opinion of his companion were:

On this blank will you please answer the questions in the way you believe your friend of the same sex will answer them, that is, the one to whom you gave this same set of questions. .Check just one of the five columns next to each question as you did when answering them yourself. Remember, however, that on this blank you are answering the question in the way that you believe your friend does. Please do not consult your friend, since this would defeat the aims of the experiment.

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CHARLES NELSON WINSLOW 437

Eighty-six students in General Psychology first answered the ques- tionnaire, and then checked the questions the way they believed the friend would do. Finally each gave the same questionnaire to a friend of the same sex. All three forms were scored in the same way. T h e most “liberal” answer was scored “5,” the most con- servative “1,” with the other points on the 5-point scale falling in between. Correlations were then obtained between the two friends’ opinions on the entire questionnaire, together with the estimates and actual opinions. Similarly, correlations were obtained for the total scores on the five different topics within the questionnaire.

T h e opinions of the eighty-six pairs of friends were found to correlate +.24+.07. When the correlations for the five different parts of the questionnaire are analyzed, rather marked differences are shown in the amount of agreement between the opinions of friends.

T h e cause for the highest correlation on the Negro question is rather difficult to explain. It is probably true, however, that the group tested was fairly homogeneous in its lack of prejudice against the Negro, since students of this race attend the college with a minimum of discrimination against them on the part of students and instructors. It would seem that the amount of agreement is com- paradvely small on the other topics, discrediting the belief that great homogeneity of opinion might exist on all questions. T o be sure, the other topics are frequently the basis of a great many discus- sions. T h e very low correlation between opinions on economic prob- lems might very well be accounted for on the basis of the widely differing attitudes held at the present time. T h e correlation between the estimates and the friends’ actual opinions appear in the second column of Table 1. Here it is quite apparent that the friends

TABLE 1 SHOWINO T H E CORRELATIONS FOR EACH TOPIC BETWEEN T H E TWO FRIENDS’

OPINIONS AND BETWEEN TIfE ESTIMATE AND THE TRUE OPINION

Correlation between Correlation between guess Topic . friends and friends’ true opinim

Foreign Affairs +.16-C.07 +.22&.07 Race +.442.06 +.56&.05 Religion +.25+.07 +.71f.04 Economic +.11&.07 +.53-C.05 Political +.23+-.07 +.24+.07 Average +.24+-.07 +.45-C.05

. .

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43 8 JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

were most accurate in guessing the opinion of each other on ques- tions pertaining to religion. This is difficult to interpret in the light of the low correlation between the opinions of two friends on the religious question. Undoubtedly religion occupies an important place among the topics discussed by college students. Although dis- cussion does not produce agreement of opinion, it tends to make each aware of the religious attitudes of the other. Lack of strong agreement among friends apparently does not prevent their knowing the opinions of each other. T h e next highest‘ correlation in this category f.56, was obtained on questions pertaining to attitudes towards the Negro. T h e reader will recall that the friends agreed more closely to these questions than on any other. Although this coefficient between estimates and actual opinions is higher, it is not so high as that for religious opinions. I t may be argued then that friends do not discuss racial attiihdes with each other to such a marked extent as they do religion. Indeed, it is plausible that on this particular question friends base their estimates on behavior actually observed in each other, especially in New York City where there are large numbers of Negroes. In spite of little agreement between the friends’ opinions on economic questions, they seem to have been fairly accurate in estimating each other’s opinions. I n comparison with the other three the coefficients of correlation for foreign affairs and political problems are low, which would suggest that these topics are not sufficiently discussed by friends to make them aware of each other’s opinions on them.

T o determine whether any relationship existed betlveen the length of friendship and the extent of agreement in friends’ opinions, and the length of friendship and the accuracy of estimates of friends’ opinions, the friendly pairs were classified according to length of friendship into one of three groups, viz: those whose friendships were of 0-3 years’ duration; those of 3-5 years’ duration, and those of 6 to 20 years’ duration. T h e last group included friendships that were life-long. T h e correlations formed for these three groups with each of the five topics of the questionnaire appear in Tables 2 and 3.

It will be seen by reference to the average correlation for the three groups according to length of friendship in Table 2 that friendships that have lasted from three ro five years produce greater resemblances in opinion than do either few months to three year friendships or 6-20 year friendships. It can be concluded, then, that

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CHARLES NELSON WINSLOW 439

TABLE 2 SHOWXNO THE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE OPINIONS OF FRIENDS ACCORDXNC To

LENGTH OF FRIENDSHIP

Topic 0-3 years 3-5 years 6-20 years

Foreign Affairs +.45 +.I8 +.07 Race +.33 + .43 +.38 Religion +.15 +.35 +.ZS Economic +.I6 +.63 f.28

Average -k .24 +.40 +.23 Political +.09 +.43 +.1s '

TABLE 3

ESTIMATES BY THE OTHERS

Topic 0-3 years 3-5 years 6-20 years

SHOWXNC THE CORRELATIONS BETWEEN 'THE OPINION OF FRIENDS AND THE

Foreign Affairs +.a1 +.57 +.39

Religion +.37 +.a3 +.64

Political +.33 +.2S -.37 I

Average +A1 + A3 +.29

the longer the duration of friendship, the greahr the amount of agreement in opinions up to five years, but beyond this duration. the length of friendship instead of increasing the resemblance, tends ro diminish it.

Analysis of the correlations under the different topics reveals some interesting differences. In regard to opinions on foreign affairs it seems that the longer the friendship the less the agreement between friends. Ir is possible that a certain degree of unanimity on this topic plays an important part in bringing two people together as friends, but thereafter is of no great weight. In no case does a friendship of six years or more increase the amount of agreement over that for rhe 3 to 5 year friendship. T h e tremendous increase in the amount of agreement in the 3 to 5 year friendship over the 0-3 year on the topics of economic policy and political policy is tb be noted. It suggests that the more friends discussed these topics the more they influenced each other's opinions, but the marked decrease for the 6-20 year friendships shows that this tendency cannot be expected ro continue indefinitely.

In general, the same tendencies as noted in the correlations

Race +.33 +.43 +.38

Economic +A1 +.29 +.41

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440 JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

between the opinions of friends in Table 2, are revealed in Table 3, where the correlations between the opinions of friends and the estimates of orhers are presented. T h e diminution in the size of correlations under the 6-20 year friendships is about as great, but there are a few cases in which peculiar changes occur, such as the decrease from +.25 for the 3-5 year period to -.37 fon the 6-20 year period between estimate and opinion concerning political policy. Those who are acquainted for a long time with each other appar- ently are not aware of the changes in political views which occur in each other, whereas a relatively short friendship produces such an awareness to a fair degree. T h e average correlations for the few months to a 3 year period and the 3-5 year period dcf not differ so markedly as they did with rhe agreement of friends’ opinions. Knowledge of friends’ opinions on foreign affairs is greater for short friendship periods than on any other topic of the questionnaire, but decreases with the 3-5 year and more with 6-20 year periods. In contrast, awareness of the religious opinions of a friend of a few months ro three months standing is not so great as it is in the case of friends of 3-5 years and 6-20 years standing.

Analysis of the data for sex differences revealed the coefficients of correlation for the boy-boy pairs and the girl-girl pairs shown in Table 4.

TABLE 4 SHOWING THE CORRELATIONS OBTAINED FOR THE Two SEXES BETWEEN FRIENDS’

OPINIONS AND BETWEEN OPINIONS AND ESTIMATES

Boy and Boy Pairs Girl and Girl Pairs

Correlation between

Correlation between estimate and friend’s true opinion +.61--.07 + .772.04 opinions of friend pairs +.352.09 -.lO-t.O!,

T h e coefficient of correlation between opinions of girl-girl pairs is considerably lower than that for boy-boy pairs, each being nega- tive. On the orher hand, girls were better able to guess the opinions of their friends than were boys. It would seem, therefore, that although girls tended to disagree in their opinions rather markedly, they were well acquainted with the opinions of their friends. Boys agreed more closely on their opinions, but were not

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CHARLES NELSON WINSLOW 441

so aware of their friends’ opinions, possibly attributing to their friends the opinions they themselves held. This difference may be a real one in determining friendships in the two sexes. Boys may well be attracted to each other as friends on the basis of a felt. unanimity of opinion, whereas girl friendships are determined by personality and emotional factors. The assumption that women are more intuitive than men is seemingly borne out by such sex differ- ences in results.

The coefficient of correlation of +.24+-.07 between friends’ opinions is slightly lower than the +.29+-.06 found by Kulp and Davidson between opinions of siblings. The family as a social group apparently plays as important a part in producing similarity of opinions among its members as friendship. Since parents may be looked upon as having authoritative weight in their opinions, children in the family no doubt follow them somewhat more assiduously than they would some one of their own age group, thus causing siblings’ opinions to be similar ro a greater extent. The positive correlation found between friends’ opinions, however, must indeed indicate that friends possess considerably more resemblance than could be expected by chance. But, of course, the question is not answered as to whether the similarity is produced by the influence of the opinion of one upon the other in the friendship pair, or is really the basis in the first place for the establishment of rho friend- ship. There may even be the possibility suggested by some of our results, particularly for girl friends, that friendships are formed in spite of the known dissimilarity of opinion in each other. Inasmuch as friends’ opinions in friendships of 3 ro 5 years’ standing corres- ponded more closely than opinions in friends who were friends from a month to three years, it would appear that the friendship itself once established is in part responsible for an increased similarity of opinions. The writer feels that other factors, such as personaliry and interests, probably play an important r81e in joining two per- sons together in friendship.

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2. HARPER, H. R. What European and American students think on inter- national problems. International Institute Studies, No. 12. New York: Bur. Publ., Teach. Coll., Columbia Univ., 1931.

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