Why Does Our “Meanest” Friend Could Actually Be Our Best Friend?

Life would be unimaginable without our family and friends. Those are the people who fill our lives with happiness, laughter, and joy. But not all friends are the same, right? Yes, when we really think about it not all of them are the same.

Who has a dear friend who they love, but in a particular situation, they cannot stand him/her? Is it because they don’t choose their words and they say anything they mean without any filter?

Sometimes their words can hurt, and eventually, you begin to think that they are mean. But, according to science that is not the case.

As a matter of fact, based on some research your meanest friend is actually the friend who really loves you and wants what is best for you.

You are surprised, right? Well, based on this research people who tend to make their friends go through negative emotions think that the influence of these emotions might be useful for their friends in the long run.

More About the Research

The University of Plymouth conducted this research, which involved around 140 participants. (1) What the researchers did is that they observe the behavior of the participants during the hypothetical situation.

For example, by producing the feat of failure to a friend that instead of preparing for the exams is actually procrastinating his/her studying.

By asking the test subjects to take the point of view of another person has raised the possibility of them picking negative emotions and experiences for the other individual in case they thought that this specific situation would be good for their friends eventually.

Results of the Research

According to the findings of the research, people might be cruel in order to be kind. The lead author of the research, Lopez-Perez, talks on this topic.

Loper-Perez says that the findings have shown that individuals hold certain expectations about the effects specific emotions might have and about which ones might be better when it comes to achieving goals.

To be more precise, your friend might be mean to you just to help you. Their way of talking to you is not due to hate, but their meanness actually happens due to empathy and selflessness. At the end of the day, a best friend is an honest friend.