A Function of Friendship: Social Comparisons as a Frame of Reference for Marriage
研究夫妻如何看待与朋友的互动，以及这些互动是否影响自身婚姻，发现超过一半的夫妻中至少有一方会将自己的婚姻与朋友的婚姻进行比较，这种比较提供了更现实的婚姻期望。
This is a descriptive study that examines the perceptions couples have about their interactions with friends and whether these interactions were believed to influence their own marriages. The possible influence of friends on marriage was analyzed in terms of the concept "social comparison." Social comparison is a process whereby people seek out information about other people's responses, feelings, abilities, and expectations and then derive or evaluate their own behavior, goals, feelings, and expectations. In over half of the couples, at least one member of the couple makes comparisons of their own marriage to a friend's marriage. Making a social comparison appears to provide a frame of reference that yields more realistic expectations about marriage.