Robin Dunbar is a professor of anthropology at the University of Oxford, a renowned evolutionary psychologist and author of Friends: Understanding the Power of Our Most Important Relationships.

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Dr. Tracy Brower writes about joy, community and the future of work. In the process of making friends and maintaining friendships, ...

Many of us measure our friendships by depth or quantity: Do I have enough close friends? Are they texting me back? Do they like me? But having spent the last 15 years studying happiness, I've learned ...

Hot take: there's no friend quite as important as the one you can have a sleepover with. Because while some friendships can be built on alcohol, trauma bonds, or general proximity, the strongest ...

My friendships exist in silos. Each hangout is a feverish one-on-one where we share fries and eye contact, confessions, rants, gossip, and mutual attempts at amateur therapy. This patchwork of ...