This is how new friendships are made

Friendships can be formed at first sight, too

Think about what you look for in a friend. Is it humour? Loyalty? Kindness? Generosity? Is it someone who knows exactly what memes to tag you in on Instagram? Or someone who knows just how you like your cup of tea? The list goes on. But, have you ever had that feeling when you meet someone that you just know you're going to get on, even just from a brief initial interaction?

Well, apparently, 60% of us believe in love at first sight (there's even a Married At First Sight TV show) and it is logical that friendships can be formed that way, too. Those first few seconds are long enough for you to form your first impression of someone and decide whether or not this person is the one for you. And, it's not just you being judgemental, we promise, it's actually all down to what's happening in your brain.

When we meet someone new, our amygdala (the emotional part of our brain) and our posterior cingulate cortex (linked to our autobiographical memory and which helps us made decisions and put value on things) become particularly active. Basically, our brain is deciding whether or not you want said person to be part of your network or not. Your brain is also weighing up all the qualities in that person and how important it would be to your friendship quota.

People who have qualities of openness, conscientiousness and agreeableness were also more able to experience friendship chemistry with people. This chemistry is sometimes referred to as 'emotional energy' and allows you to determine if it feels good to be around a given person and usually determines if you will pursue the friendship. But, it could also be argued that when you decide a friendship will be good for your life, that it'll become good for you in a self-fulfilling prophecy kind of way, leading to you live out these best friend quotes IRL.