In the eye of the beholder: Perceived, actual, and peer-rated similarity in personality, communication, and friendship intensity during the acquaintanceship process.

The authors examined associations of perceived similarity, actual similarity, and peer-rated similarity in personality with friendship intensity during the acquaintanceship process in a naturalistic setting. Self- and peer-rated personality data were gathered from undergraduates (mean age = 18.9) at 5 time points during the first year of university using a round-robin design. Whereas perceived similarity and peer-rated similarity in personality were concurrently associated with more friendship intensity for just-acquainted individuals, actual similarity in personality was not. Further, bidirectional cross-lagged associations between perceived similarity and friendship intensity were found. Peer-rated similarity was also associated with increases in friendship intensity, and this association was mediated by communication frequency. These results indicate that specific types of similarity in personality are differentially associated with friendship intensity during early phases of acquaintanceship in a real-life setting. Further, insight was provided in the direction of causality between similarity and attraction: Perceived and peer-rated similarity seem to breed friendship intensity, whereas friendship intensity seems to breed perceived similarity only. Finally, peers’ expectations seem to affect individuals’ communicative behaviors, which in turn affect friendship formation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The structure of adolescent peer networks.

Structural aspects of school-based peer networks of adolescents in 6th to 12th grade were mapped in 3 school systems. Female students were more connected to the peer network than were male students, and peer networks became more exclusive with increasing grade. The results also suggest that numeric minorities usually are less connected to school peer networks than the majority group. There was mixed evidence for hierarchical organization of the peer network. Best friends were highly embedded in friendship groups, but neither friendship group nor best friendship was highly embedded in social crowd. Adolescents name friends who are not in their friendship group and usually do not name everyone in the friendship group as a friend. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Centrality and charisma: Comparing how leader networks and attributions affect team performance.

When leaders interact in teams with their subordinates, they build social capital that can have positive effects on team performance. Does this social capital affect team performance because subordinates come to see the leader as charismatic? We answered this question by examining 2 models. First, we tested the charisma-to-centrality model according to which the leader's charisma facilitates the occupation of a central position in the informal advice network. From this central position, the leader positively influences team performance. Second, we examined the centrality-to-charisma model according to which charisma is attributed to those leaders who are socially active in terms of giving and receiving advice. Attributed charisma facilitates increased team performance. We tested these 2 models in 2 different studies. In the first study, based on time-separated, multisource data emanating from members of 56 work teams, we found support for the centrality-to-charisma model. Formal leaders who were central within team advice networks were seen as charismatic by subordinates, and this charisma was associated with high team performance. To clarify how leader network centrality affected the emergence of charismatic leadership, we designed Study 2 in which, for 79 student teams, we measured leader networking activity and leader charisma at 2 different points in time and related these variables to team performance measured at a third point in time. On the basis of this temporally separated data set, we again found support for the centrality-to-charisma model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transformational leadership and group interaction as climate antecedents: A social network analysis.

In order to test the social mechanisms through which organizational climate emerges, this article introduces a model that combines transformational leadership and social interaction as antecedents of climate strength (i.e., the degree of within-unit agreement about climate perceptions). Despite their longstanding status as primary variables, both antecedents have received limited empirical research. The sample consisted of 45 platoons of infantry soldiers from 5 different brigades, using safety climate as the exemplar. Results indicate a partially mediated model between transformational leadership and climate strength, with density of group communication network as the mediating variable. In addition, the results showed independent effects for group centralization of the communication and friendship networks, which exerted incremental effects on climate strength over transformational leadership. Whereas centralization of the communication network was found to be negatively related to climate strength, centralization of the friendship network was positively related to it. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social networks and developmental psychopathology: A comparison of adolescent children of a depressed, arthritic, or normal parent.

Investigated how social networks were linked to symptomatology and self-esteem among 3 groups of high-risk and normal adolescents (aged 12–28 yrs). 16 Ss with a depressed parent, 16 Ss with a parent with rheumatoid arthritis, and 16 Ss with parents free from psychological or physical disorder were administered the Hopkins Symptom Checklist and measures of self-esteem and social networks. Additional social network, friendship, and parent–friend boundary density variables were assessed during a semistructured interview. Although there were few between-group differences in mean levels of network variables, there were striking between-group differences in the pattern of associations between network variables and mental health. For Ss with a depressed or arthritic parent, more social support for problematic situations, stronger friendships, and more parent–peer linkages were related to much poorer adjustment. For Ss with disorder-free parents, these same network variables were related to much healthier adjustment. The discussion considers how developmental, psychodynamic, and social-structural factors may interact to affect well-being. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

It takes three: Selection, influence, and de-selection processes of depression in adolescent friendship networks.

The authors of this study tested a selection–influence–de-selection model of depression. This model explains friendship influence processes (i.e., friends' depressive symptoms increase adolescents' depressive symptoms) while controlling for two processes: friendship selection (i.e., selection of friends with similar levels of depressive symptoms) and friendship de-selection (i.e., de-selection of friends with dissimilar levels of depressive symptoms). Further, this study is unique in that these processes were studied both inside and outside the school context. The authors used a social network approach to examine 5 annual measurements of data in a large (N =847) community-based network of adolescents and their friends (M = 14.3 years old at first measurement). Results supported the proposed model: adolescents tend to select friends with similar levels of depression, and friends may increase each other's depressive symptoms as relationships endure. These two processes were most salient outside the school context. At the same time, friendships seemed to be ended more frequently if adolescents' level of depressive symptoms was dissimilar to that of their friends. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Direct and indirect effects of third-party relationships on interpersonal trust.

Past studies of the determinants of interpersonal trust have focused primarily on how trust forms in isolated dyads. Yet within organizations, trust typically develops between individuals who are embedded in a complex web of existing and potential relationships. In this article, the authors identify 3 alternative ways in which a trustor and trustee may be linked to each other via third parties: network closure (linked via social interactions with third parties), trust transferability (linked via trusted third parties), and structural equivalence (linked via the similarity of their relationships with all potential third parties within the organization). Each of these is argued to influence interpersonal trust via a distinct social mechanism. The authors hypothesized that network closure and structural equivalence would predict interpersonal trust indirectly via their impact on interpersonal organizational citizenship behaviors performed within the interpersonal relationship, whereas trust transferability would predict trust directly. Social network analyses of data gathered from a medium-sized work organization provide substantial support for the hypotheses and also suggest important directions for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The popularity contest at work: Who wins, why, and what do they receive?

In 2 studies, the authors investigated the popularity of employees at work. They tested a model that positioned personality in the form of core self-evaluations and situational position in the form of communication network centrality as antecedents of popularity and interpersonal citizenship and counterproductive work behaviors received from coworkers as outcomes of popularity. Data from 116 employees and 383 coworkers in Study 1 and 139 employees, their significant others, and 808 coworkers in Study 2 generally supported the model. Core self-evaluations and communication network centrality were positively related to popularity, and popular employees reported receiving more citizenship behaviors and fewer counterproductive work behaviors from their coworkers than less popular employees, even controlling for interpersonal liking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of optimism in social network development, coping, and psychological adjustment during a life transition.

The authors investigated the extent to which social support and coping account for the association between greater optimism and better adjustment to stressful life events. College students of both genders completed measures of perceived stress, depression, friendship network size, and perceived social support at the beginning and end of their 1st semester of college. Coping was assessed at the end of the 1st semester. Greater optimism, assessed at the beginning of the 1st semester of college, was prospectively associated with smaller increases in stress and depression and greater increases in perceived social support (but not in friendship network size) over the course of the 1st semester of college. Mediational analyses were consistent with a model in which increases in social support and greater use of positive reinterpretation and growth contributed to the superior adjustment that optimists experienced. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social networks and aggressive behavior: Peer support or peer rejection?

Studied social networks and aggressive behavior in school in 2 cohorts of boys and girls in the 4th and 7th grades (N?=?695). Measures of social networks yielded convergent findings. Highly aggressive subjects (both boys and girls) did not differ from matched control subjects in terms of social cluster membership or in being isolated or rejected within the social network. Peer cluster analysis and reciprocal "best friend" selections indicated that aggressive subjects tended to affiliate with aggressive peers. Even though highly aggressive children and adolescents were less popular than control subjects in the social network at large, they were equally often identified as being nuclear members of social clusters. Aggressive subjects did not differ from matched control subjects in the number of times they were named by peers as "best friend," nor did the two groups differ in the probability of having friendship choices reciprocated by peers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A call for a social network-oriented approach to services for survivors of intimate partner violence.

Despite the many hard-won victories of the antidomestic violence movement, it has had less success in reaching one of its own primary goals: that of making intimate partner violence a problem of the community rather than a problem between two individuals. Most mainstream domestic violence service models have not prioritized ongoing engagement of survivors' informal social support networks as a core part of their work. Yet the perpetration of domestic violence occurs within a community context that contributes to the maintenance or alleviation of the problem. Given extensive research on the centrality of social networks to the fabric of survivors' daily lives, as well as their ongoing safety and emotional well-being, it is critical to consider how domestic violence services and systems can align with these social networks more effectively. Following a review of research on the role of informal social support in survivors' lives, this article calls for a shift in mainstream domestic violence services toward a more network-oriented approach, one that highlights potential partnerships between professionals and survivors' informal social support networks. Such a shift would require a reconceptualization of the role of the domestic violence practitioner and the scope and nature of services. It would also raise a series of emergent research questions about how informal network members can best support survivors, how domestic violence services can help survivors engage with existing and new supporters, and the extent to which specific types of network-oriented practices can indeed improve survivors' safety and well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Structure mapping in analogy and similarity.

Analogy and similarity are often assumed to be distinct psychological processes. In contrast to this position, the authors suggest that both similarity and analogy involve a process of structural alignment and mapping, that is, that similarity is like analogy. In this article, the authors first describe the structure-mapping process as it has been worked out for analogy. Then, this view is extended to similarity, where it is used to generate new predictions. Finally, the authors explore broader implications of structural alignment for psychological processing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Friendship pair similarity as a measure of group value.

To investigate the extent members of social groups assort along dimensions valued by the group, the authors studied similarity among naturally occurring same-sex, same-race pairs on 3 university campuses. Each member of a pair was asked about height, weight, age, politics, and exercise. The authors hypothesized that people form friendships along the dimensions that they value and that these dimensions of value represent the "fault lines" around which the larger social group of which they are members divides itself. Women assort more on physical characteristics than men, reflecting the social value of women's physical appearance. Men are more likely to assort by activity than women, reflecting men's activity-based identities. Low levels of similarity were found among friendship pairs for Black participants at a predominantly White campus but high levels were found at a predominantly Black campus. Group similarity assortment is discussed as a subtle measure of group values and opportunity, based on the composition of the social ecological setting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social Network Schemas and the Learning of Incomplete Networks.

Social networks that are missing relations among some of their members--termed incomplete networks--have been of critical theoretical and empirical interest in sociological research on weak ties and structural holes but typically have been overlooked in social psychological studies of network learning. Five studies tested for schematic processing differences in the encoding and recalling of incomplete networks. In Studies 1 and 2, prior knowledge of missing relations facilitated learning an unfamiliar, incomplete network. Study 3 ruled out differences in general pattern recognition ability as an explanation. Study 4 manipulated the degree of familiarity with missing relations, which produced predicted differences in learning rates. Finally, Study 5 examined how improved learning of an incomplete network affected a strategic organizational choice. The findings suggest that people can become schematic for complex, incomplete social networks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relational correlates of interpersonal citizenship behavior: A social network perspective.

This study examines the role of social network ties in the performance and receipt of interpersonal citizenship behavior (ICB), one form of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). A field study involving 141 employees of a manufacturing firm provided evidence that social network ties are related to the performance and receipt of ICB. Results support hypothesized relationships, which are based on social exchange theory, suggesting strength of friendship is related to performance and receipt of ICB. Support was also found for impression management-based hypotheses suggesting that asymmetric influence and 3rd-party influence are related to the performance and receipt of ICB. These relationships were significant when controlling for job satisfaction, commitment, procedural justice, hierarchical level, demographic similarity, and job similarity. Implications and directions for future research are addressed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Affiliation structures in groups of young children: A computer simulation.

A computer program is described that simulates the emergence of affiliation networks in preschool groups and examines theoretical issues raised by the model, including general issues of validation. The simulation implies that triadic interactions, although observed in preschool groups, are not essential in the formation of affiliative structures (contra F. Strayer and J. Noel, 1986) and that, in this age range, therefore, polyadic friendship groupings can be understood as sets of dyadic relationships. The model also demonstrates how group structures can be generated without reference to group-level processes (contrast W. Hartup, 1983). It also focuses attention on the role played by preference formation in social isolation, by demonstrating that inhibition of preferences can give rise to isolation. The model also suggests that social outcomes are best described by nonlinear functions (cf. W. Roberts; see record 1987-03785-001). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Enhanced co-orientation in the perception of friends: A social relations analysis.

Newcomb's (1953) idea of co-orientation (interdependence between two persons' attitudes or perceptions) is used as a framework within which interpersonal perception between friends and acquaintances is examined. The principal question is whether co-orientation effects are stronger for friendship dyads than for acquaintance dyads. More specifically, the study examines the degree to which consensus, assimilation, self–other agreement, and assumed similarity differ. The social relations model is used to analyze a data set that included 16 living groups with 119 friend dyads and 1,668 acquaintance dyads. Results indicate that co-orientation effects are more pronounced in friendship dyads. The increment in co-orientation effects is largely due to similarities in the unique or idiosyncratic perceptions that people have of friendship pairs as well as the unique agreement about others that friends have with one another. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Organizational characteristics associated with agency position in community care networks

This study examines how organizational characteristics affect agency participation and centrality in community service networks. We find that the network structure of agency relations varies for administrative and client-related activities among the 69 agencies studied, which include all but the most isolated agencies serving people with physical disabilities in a single community. In identifying structurally equivalent groups using network analysis, we find that all types of agencies except HMOs are found throughout community service networks. Analyses show that among the five types of relations, minimal intergroup activity occurs within funding and planning networks and that organizational size and ownership are the best organizational predictors of network location and centrality. Non-profits are the most central for planning and client referrals, and large agencies are the most central for funding. We explore the implications of these findings, particularly for sustaining cooperation within the service networks and for the role of non-profits and medical providers in the community.