Friends affect personality more than family

Friends influence the development of a person's character more than a family, according to research by scientists at the University of Portsmouth (UK).

Dr. Jerome Micheletta and Bridget Waller, of the University of Portsmouth's Department of Psychology, discovered that monkeys responded more enthusiastically to their actions than their loved ones. The team believes that this also happens to people.

Scientists observe the activity of a herd of monkeys in the Marwell wildlife reserve in Hampshire (England). They found that monkeys responded faster to their friends' activities than their parents or siblings did.

Friends affect personality more than family

Dr. Jerome Micheletta explains that watching your friends' activities is an important factor to develop social skills. Because this is a way to identify information about what's happening around them.

'Our research shows some new points about friendship and its relationship with awareness and communication. Specifically, friendship is more influential than family in raising the awareness of monkeys. This can also happen to other primates, including humans , "said Dr. Micheletta.