A theoretical Hierarchy of Human Relationships was constructed in terms of altruism. It was hypothesized that the probability for an actor A to perform an altruistic act to a person B depends on the relationship between A and B, and the probability decreases consistently in the following order of relationships: close relatives, best friends, strangers who are very weak or very young or who are elite in society, common strangers, and enemies. Two hypothetical dilemmas were used to study the sex differences in human relationships. Subjects were 400 English in London and 519 Chinese in Hong Kong. The general findings supported the proposed hierarchy of human relationships but the female subjects in both the English and Chinese samples were more altruistic than the male subjects.
Distinct Profiles of Relationships With Mothers, Fathers, and Best Friends and Social‐Behavioral Functioning in Early Adolescence: A Cross‐Cultural Study
