As people age, their friendships tend to:

• A. become fewer but more emotionally meaningful
• B. become less important and less satisfying
• C. increase in number and become more superficial
• D. remain the same in number and quality

Answer: (A)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand the general trend in social relationships as people age, focusing on how the quantity and quality of friendships change over time.
2. Recall psychological theories such as Socioemotional Selectivity Theory, which suggests that older adults prioritize emotionally meaningful relationships over a larger number of superficial ones.
3. Consider empirical research findings that show older adults tend to have fewer friendships but invest more emotionally in those relationships, leading to greater satisfaction.
4. Evaluate each answer choice by comparing it to the theory and research: fewer but more emotionally meaningful friendships align with the theory, while the other options contradict it.
5. Conclude that the best answer reflects the idea that friendships become fewer in number but more emotionally meaningful as people age.