SOC 302 1st Edition Lecture 11Outline of Last Lecture I.What narratives areII.Conflicting narrativesOutline of Current Lecture I.Triads and dyadsII.Iron Law of OligarchyIII.Diffusion of responsibilityIV.Definitions used by social network analystsV.Social world emerges from patterns of relationshipsVI.Structural holesCurrent LectureSocial networks refer to sets of individual persons linked together by one or more social relationships. Social network theory thinks about relationships a lot more than it thinks about individuals. The smallest possible group is a dyad. It is the most intense and intimate, but also the most unstable. This is because it only takes one person to decide that the relationship is over. As groups become larger, they tend to become more stable, but the intensity and intimacy decline. They also tend to develop more formal structure to accomplish goals. Additionally, leaders tend to emerge. A triad is fundamentally different than a dyad. For example, when a couple, a dyad, has their first child, they form a triad and intimacy between the couple may decrease. However, the triad is stronger because the number of links in the group is tripled. The triad can also witness coalitions and produce mediators. Two people can band together within the group. Additionally, there can be a mediator between two of the people in the group, say, if they are having an argument. The Iron Law of Oligarchy states that organizations come to be dominated by a self-perpetuating elite. Generally, as membership increases, someone naturally becomes sort of a These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.leader. Organizations are by nature, conservative. They lose sight of their original purposes and find new purposes over time. The exponential complexity of larger groups diffuses responsibility. For example, if there are a lot of people passing by a person in trouble, often, no one will help the person because they assume someone else will. However, if there are only two people in the area, they feel much more obliged to assist the person in trouble. People generally do not know their own position in a larger relationship structure. An example is the map of the 9/11 hijackers, who had a plan to know only a couple of people each, but not to know everyone in the entire group. They did this so that if someone got arrested, he could only give a couple of names, rather than give away the entire group. These sort of structures are studied by social network analysts, who use several important terms. Homophily is the extent to which actors form ties with similar others. Reciprocity is the extent to which twoactors reciprocate each other’s friendship or other interaction. It is the extent to which people think of others as “related” to themselves. Network closure is a measure of the completeness ofrelational triads. Distance is the minimum number of ties required to connect two particular actors. Structural holes are the absence of ties between two parts of a network. Tie strength is defined by the linear combination of time, emotional intensity, intimacy, and reciprocity. Strong ties are associated with homophily, while weak ties are associated with bridges. A bridge is a person whose weak ties can fill a hole, providing only the link between two individuals or clusters. Centrality refers to _____. Density is the proportion of direct ties in a network relative to the total number possible.More broadly, the social world emerges from patterns of relationships. It’s normal to want to organize the world in terms of attributes or variables, but this can often be short sighted. For example, when asked “What are the attributes of a good leader?” we often think in terms of the individual traits someone has, such as intelligence, confidence, and dedication. However, it is important to include aspects of a person’s relationship with others, such as being good role models, or how they relate to others. Social capital then, in the context of networks, exists where people have an advantage because of their location in a network. It is important to note the “infectiousness” of what is being spread, including disease, information/knowledge, and contacts. It is good to be a bridge between two organizations, even if one does not know too many people in either organization. Contacts in a network provide information, opportunities, and perspectives that can be beneficial to the central players in the network. It is important to note the difference between redundant and non-redundant information. Among a tightly knit group, all members will likely repeat the same information. This is why networking isn’t necessarily helpful, since the same information is circling around a tightly knit group. For example, in a sorority or fraternity, people are verytightly knit and have a lot of redundant information. To have useful networking, they need to become bridges to other organizations, so that they receive different sorts of information.Homophily, reciprocity, network closure, distance, structural holes, tie strength, bridges, centrality, and