220 Friendship and Conflict
(Ryckman Hammer, Kaczor, & Gold, 1990). In contrast, personal development
competitiveness (i.e., competing to excel) was found to be associated with greater
social affiliation (Ryckman et al., 1996).
The focus of other adult studies has often been on gender differences and com-
petition for romantic partners in particular. In a study of adult professionals (ages
ranging from 21 to 55 years), Sapadin (1988) found that competitiveness is consid-
ered an extremely disliked trait in same- sex friends among both men and women.
Interestingly, however, this study also found that women were more bothered by
competition with other women for mates, whereas men were most bothered by
the “one- upmanship” aspect of competition. Along these same lines, Singleton
and Vacca (2007) discovered that male same- sex friends were more competitive
than either cross- sex or female dyads, and competitiveness and conflict had nega-
tive effects on friendship satisfaction. More recent work has been consistent with
previous findings. Brewer, Abell, and Lyons (2013, 2014) discovered a connec-
tion between competitiveness and the amount and depth of self- disclosure among
female friends, but competitiveness adversely affected friendship attachment
among both males and females. In one of the few studies of males only, Busse and
Birk (1993) showed that competitiveness was associated with less intimate self-
disclosure among male graduate students over 35 years of age.
A handful of studies with adults explored the evolutionary underpinnings
of intrasexual competition for mates (see Buss, 1994), but most of this work has
looked chiefly at competition between women. For example, in a study of college-
age women, Bleske- Rechek and Lighthall (2010) found that friends tended to be
similar in physical attractiveness, but less attractive friendship dyads experienced
more rivalry in their friendship than more attractive dyads. Similarly, Harris-
McDonald (2009) showed that among women, competitiveness was negatively
related to the development of a feminist identity, self- esteem, and age, whereas com-
petitiveness was positively associated with hostility toward other women. In a study
of adult immigrants returning from Britain to their birthplace of Barbados, diffi-
culties in forming new friendships were highly related to gender, with most friend-
ship problems for females stemming from sexual and workplace competition with
other indigenous women (Phillips & Potter, 2009). In general, studies that include
both men and women tended to find that competition is seen as a cost to same-
sex friendship and is often characterized by cruel behavior, sexual rivalry, and even
mate stealing (e.g., Bleske & Buss, 2000). In research testing the idea that evolution-
ary mechanisms have evolved that prevent or reduce mating rivalry with same- sex
friends, Bleske and Shackelford (2001) found supporting evidence that emerging
and older adults get more upset about mating rivalry with friends than strangers,
that they are motivated to select friends who can be trusted not to compete with
them to attract or steal mates, and that they are sensitive to the possibility of being
deceived by friends about mating rivalries. These researchers also found a note-
worthy gender difference in that females reported that they would be unlikely to