The more frequently people interact, the stronger their sentiments of friendship.
Homans's 1950 proposition. It is the mechanism behind the propinquity effect, and it runs both ways — interaction breeds liking, and liking breeds interaction.
In practice
- A team seated together for a project develops friendships that survive the project and the seating plan.
- Two departments moved onto the same floor stop escalating to management within a quarter, having started eating lunch at the same time.