Friendship - a mutually helping behavior?

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The term 'friendship' is used to denote cooperative and supportive behavior between two or more social entities. Friends engage in mutually helping behavior, such as exchange of advice and the sharing of hardships. A friend is someone who may often demonstrate reciprocative and reflective behaviors. I believe friendship is a distinctly personal relationship that is grounded in a concern on the part of each friend for the welfare of the other, for the other's sake, and that involves some degree of intimacy. As such, friendship is undoubtedly central to our lives, in part because the special concern we have for our friends must have a place within a broader set of concerns, including moral concerns, and in part because our friends can help shape who we are as persons. It is a type of interpersonal relationship that is found among humans and among animals with rich intelligence, such as the higher mammals and some birds. Individuals in a friendship relationship will seek out each other's company ahd exhibit mutually helping behavior.