Social Networks in Theory and Empirical
Research
- Week 1 -
In relationships, who interacts with whom is not a question of preferences but of
extra-individual conditions such as meeting opportunities and a focus for
contacts. Focus theory is a sociological theory that focusses on the supply of
contacts. All those related to a focus tend to form a cluster. Connections between
those clusters are either based on a less constraining focus or not on foci at all.
A focus in itself is a social, psychological, legal, or physical entity around which
joint activities are organized, such as a university course. Individuals whose
activities are organized around the same foci tend to become tied and form a
social cluster. Networks emerge within foci and across foci that are shared by
individuals.
Controlled for focused interaction, similarity on certain attributes may lead to
selective development of ties. People form ties with others who are similar to
them. However, structural features determine much more where interaction will
arise.
Contextual restrictions and opportunities can be manipulated and without
understanding them, individual choices that are structured by them cannot be
understood. Besides, meeting comes before connection chronologically. In many
scientific studies there is more attention for individual preferences (or: the
‘demand side’ of ties).
Characteristics of foci:
-They offer restrictions such as a degree of forced interactions, a set time spent
and an (in)compatibility with other foci.
-They are sizeable.
-They have a degree of local (spatial) boundedness.
-They vary in the degree to which boundaries exist.
Balance theory is a sociological theory that posits individuals strive for
(cognitive) balance in relationships. A network is balanced if the product of the
signs of the relationships is positive, this causes networks to have a tendency for
closure. Balance theory starts from triads (and triadic closure), but more
complicated networks are also possible.
When does network closure emerge?
Focus theory Actors become involved in relationships because they share at
least one focus.
Balance The focal actor strives for cognitive balance and connects two
theory of their ties.
Focus theory can be applied to large networks, while balance theory best fits in
the analysis of small networks. Focus theory argues for instance that when
, network members are all in the same focus, and if this focus is restrictive, then
network members will be more interconnected. Balance theory however does not
take into account any contextual condition.
Structure: a grander social network.
Bridge: a tie that connects two otherwise separate social networks.
Local bridge: a tie that connects two actors that would otherwise still be tied
through multiple other actors. Unstable according to balance theory.
Social capital: a theory on the creation and the returns of relationships. More
social capital means you have more to gain from your social networks.
Financial capital: money and sometimes other materialistic wealth.
Human capital: skills, knowledge and other competencies.
Cultural capital: knowledge of cultural codes and ability to appreciate cultural
expressions.
Resources are a necessity to guarantee, to safeguard living conditions and to
achieve goals. Social resources are second order resources – they consist not of
own resources but the resources of those one knows. The important difference
between social capital and the other forms of capital is that the rights of
ownerships of social capital are not by one person.
Social capital gives networks a meaning. Individuals are the producers of their
own well-being and to produce that well-being they employ social capital. People
invest in relationships with others while taking expected future benefits into
account. Social capital is thus based largely on alleged reciprocity.
No matter the help that is provided, social capital can be described in
the following dimensions:
-The presence of others
-Their ability to help
-Their willingness to help
-The structure of the network (and the position of the focal actor/ego)
Would urbanization/industrialization destroy communities and make them
impersonal and fragmented, or would we finally be able to find networks of
likeminded others? Within cities, urban villages could arise in neighborhoods.
Perhaps - instead of a community being lost/saved – a community could be
liberated. Separation of workplace, residence and family groups causes urbanites
to maintain weak ties in multiple community groups that are further weakened by
high rates of residential mobility. However, the concentrated number of
environments present in the city for interaction increases the likelihood of
individuals developing ‘secondary ties’, even if they simultaneously maintain
distance from tightly knit communities.
A liberated community is a matter of degree. Not everyone’s support system
resembles this model. Both class and national context matter for personal
networks being dispersed out of the neighborhood. Formal institutions, variation
in urbanization and physical geography might influence the extent to which
personal communities are liberated. We all occupy ‘social fields’ in which we
operate. We understand little of how they influence us all combined.
Economic integration: incorporation of immigrants in the education and job
market.
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