Friends With Performance Benefits: A Meta-Analysis on the Relationship Between Friendship and Group Performance.

Area of Science:

• Social Psychology
• Organizational Behavior
• Group Dynamics

Background:

• Mixed findings exist regarding the impact of friendships on group performance.
• Understanding the conditions under which social relationships influence team outcomes is crucial for optimizing collaboration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To meta-analyze the relationship between working with friends and group performance.
• To identify moderators, such as group size and task type, influencing this relationship.

Main Methods:

• A meta-analysis was conducted on data from 1,016 groups across 26 studies.
• Comparisons were made between the performance of friendship groups and acquaintance groups.

Main Results:

• Friendship demonstrated a significant positive effect on group task performance (Cohen's d = 0.31).
• The positive impact of friendship on performance increased with larger group sizes.
• Friendship groups outperformed acquaintance groups on tasks requiring high output quantity, but not on tasks demanding single or high-quality output.

Conclusions:

• Friendship positively influences group performance, particularly under specific conditions.
• Group size and task focus are key moderators determining the benefits of working with friends.
• These findings help reconcile previous mixed results and provide practical insights for team composition.