The Classification and Coding of Social Interactions: Friendliness
Friendly Interactions
The second type of social interaction that we code is friendliness.
Seven subclasses of friendliness are distinguished below. These subclasses
cannot be grouped as easily as the aggressive ones into physical versus
nonphysical or verbal forms of expression. Once again, we urge that the
numbers associated with the subclasses not be treated as if they represented
some measure of intensity or strength of response. The various subclasses
discussed below all involve a deliberate, purposeful attempt on the
part of one character to express friendliness toward another. This may
eventuate in some pleasant outcome for the person receiving the friendliness.
The classification of Good Fortunes, to be discussed in a later section, is
used to handle those situations where some pleasant outcome (e.g., finding
money) occurs as the result of environmental circumstances rather than as a
result of personal interaction with another character.
Subclasses of Friendliness
- F7 Friendliness expressed through a desire for a
long-term close relationship with a character. Included in this subclass are
getting married, becoming engaged, and falling in love.
- "I dreamed my boyfriend and I WERE GETTING MARRIED in this unusual-looking church."
- "I was so happy because my boyfriend had just GIVEN ME A BEAUTIFUL ENGAGEMENT RING."
- F6 Friendliness expressed through socially acceptable
forms of physical contact. Included in this subclass are such acts as shaking
hands, cuddling a baby, and dancing. Kissing and embracing are also included
when they are clearly nonsexual in intent. Sexual activity is not included
here but is treated later in this section as a separate interaction.
- "My son began TO PET the new puppy."
- "I was so glad to see Mom that I GAVE HER A BIG KISS."
- "My brother gave me A PAT ON THE SHOULDER."
- F5 Friendliness expressed by taking the initiative in requesting a character to share in a pleasant social activity. Included are situations where one character requests another to accompany him to some event, asks for a date, and visits someone. In the latter case, friendliness is coded because visiting implies someone is taking the initiative or an active role in furthering a relationship with another character. Simply associating with a character or jointly participating in an activity is not coded as a friendly act.
- "My roommate ASKED ME TO SPEND THE WEEKEND at her home."
- "I phoned Judy to ASK FOR A DATE."
- "The boy I had a date with and I went bowling."
- F4 Friendliness expressed through extending assistance
to a character or offering to do so. Included in this subclass are helping,
protecting, and rescuing acts.
- "When we received the news, our family BEGAN TO PRAY FOR HIS RECOVERY."
- "I found out where the poor child lived and TOOK HER HOME."
- F3 Friendliness expressed by offering a gift or
loaning a possession to a character.
- "John GAVE ME A LOVELY BLANKET for our anniversary."
- "I let my brother BORROW MY CAR for the trip."
- F2 This subclass covers a wide variety of expressions
of friendliness that may be conveyed through either verbal or gestural means.
Included are such activities as welcoming, greeting, waving hello or goodbye,
introducing one person to another person, smiling at someone, phoning or
writing someone for a friendly purpose, and sympathizing with or praising
someone.
- "He TOOTED THE CAR HORN IN RECOGNITION as he passed me on the street."
- "I CALLED my father TO TELL HIM THE GOOD NEWS."
- "I COMPLIMENTED Jean on her new dress."
- F1 Friendliness is felt toward a character but it is
not expressed overtly.
- "I FELT SO GOOD INSIDE just to be with Tom."
- "I FELT VERY SORRY when I heard what happened to Mrs. Smith."
- "I THOUGHT that the new girl LOOKED VERY ATTRACTIVE."
Terminology Employed for Friendly Interactions
The initiator of a friendly act is called the befriender, and the
recipient of a friendly act is called the befriended. If the
befriended responds with any type of friendliness, it is called
reciprocated friendliness. In those cases where no befriender or
befriended can be clearly identified because the characters are engaging in
the same friendly exchange at the same time, the interaction is called
mutual friendliness. If the dreamer does not participate in the
friendly interaction, it is called witnessed friendliness. When a
character may express friendliness to himself or herself it is called
self-directed friendliness.
Procedure for Coding Friendly Interactions
The procedures are exactly the same as those for coding aggressive
interactions. The coding symbol for the befriender is written first, followed
by the number of the appropriate subclass. Next the "sideward V" (>)
appears and points toward the coding symbol for the befriended character.
Reciprocated friendliness is denoted by placing the letter R after the
friendly subclass number rather than a sideward V. Mutual friendliness is
indicated by an equal sign (=). If more than one character is
involved, either as befriender or befriended, the coding symbols for the
characters are joined by a plus sign (+). Self-directed friendliness is
indicated by placing an asterisk after the number of the friendly subclass.
| "I noticed this little kitten meowing high in the tree. I CLIMBED UP AND BROUGHT IT DOWN."
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| "Mother had sent some kind of CONGRATULATORY CARD to the Browns on the birth of their new son."
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| "Jim and I rushed toward each other, then STARTED TO SHAKE HANDS AND SLAP EACH OTHER ON THE BACK."
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| "The principal came from the burning school building CARRYING a little girl. Just before he put her down, SHE GAVE HIM A BIG HUG."
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| "My cousin ASKED ME TO GO TO THE FAIR with him, and I SAID I WOULD BE GLAD TO GO."
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| "I SMILED AT MYSELF IN A PLEASED WAY in the mirror."
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Coding Rules
- 1. It is considered to be a friendly act even though the befriender
may be acting in a societal or professional role.
| "I dreamed our house caught on fire and a FIREMAN HELPED ME CLIMB DOWN A LADDER from the second floor."
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| "The DOCTOR SET my baby's broken leg."
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- 2. If a character treats another character's possessions in a
friendly manner, it is coded as a friendly treatment of the character himself.
| "My girl friend ADMIRED MY NEW CAR."
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- 3. If the befriender or the befriended is not specified in the
dream report, use Q to indicate this lack of identification.
| "The WELCOME WAGON left some gifts for me."
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| "I gave the CHURCH a hundred dollars."
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- 4. If there is a continued sequence of friendly acts between the
same befriender and befriended characters and these acts involve the same
subclass of friendliness, only one friendly act is coded.
| "After class, she SMILED, said 'Hello,' and then began to tell the professor how much she enjoyed his lecture."
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- 5. If more than one friendly act takes place between the same
befriender and befriended characters, code each different subclass of
friendly acts separately and indicate their linkage by placing a { mark in
front of the linked interactions.
| "The truck driver gave me a BIG SMILE and then she HELPED me change the tire."
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1FOA | 2> | D |
| 1FOA | 4> | D |
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- 6. When friendly acts are separated in time through intervening
events, code each friendly act even if the same subclass of friendliness is
involved between the same befriender and befriended characters.
| "I WAVED HELLO to Sally as I walked into Grants. I bought some records, watched part of a TV show, and ate lunch at the snack bar there. As I walked out the door I saw Sally again and WAVED HELLO a second time."
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- 7. Reciprocated friendliness is coded according to the same rules that are applied for initiated friendliness.
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 Go back to the coding rules index.
 Move on to the coding rules for sexuality.
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