P Personality and Friendships Marta Doroszuk 1 , Marta Kupis 2 and Anna Z. Czarna 3 1 Faculty of Philosophy, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland 2 Faculty of International and Political Studies, Institute of Intercultural Studies, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland 3 Faculty of Management and Social Communication, Institute of Applied Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland Synonyms Personality and interpersonal closeness; Personal- ity traits and interpersonal attraction; Personality traits and relationships with friends Definition Described as one of basic human needs, friend- ship is one of the most important relations in people’ s lives and a common personal experience (Baumeister and Leary 1995). Personality plays a significant role in initiation, formation, quality, and maintenance, as well as dissolution of rela- tionships between friends. It can also be deeply affected and possibly transformed by these rela- tionships. In this entry, we will present the most fundamental findings about the links between personality and friendship, focusing on the impact exerted by personality (Big Five and Dark Triad traits models) on relationships with friends. Introduction At every stage of life, people try to build relation- ships with others. Social connections are related to support that people receive and give to each other. They have positive influence on one’ s health, mood, and sense of belonging. Provided and received support makes relationships stronger and last longer. Definitions of friendship distin- guish it from other relations, as it is voluntary, informal, pleasant, and based on reciprocity. As such, this kind of relationship is quite different from official contacts at work or bonds with fam- ily members, where there is no freedom of choice. Friendship can be described from various per- spectives, one of which emphasizes the role of positive affect in a state of being friends. A friend is someone a person chooses to play a significant role in her or his life, to share time with, and to engage in various activities together. How do people select their friends and which aspects play a significant role in the feeling of comfort and pleasure experienced in another per- son’ s company? One of the most important factors is personalities of the people searching for this type of connection (Harris and Vazire 2016). In this entry we present several traits of personality which play a vital role in choosing friends and © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 V. Zeigler-Hill, T. K. Shackelford (eds.), Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_712-1