Social network analysis in the science of groups: Cross-sectional and longitudinal applications for studying intra- and intergroup behavior.

Wölfer, Ralf; Faber, Nadira S.; Hewstone, Miles

doi:10.1037/gdn0000021

Cited by 146 publications

(107 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…First, this approach does justice to the quantity and quality of social ties in a person's social network (e.g., a classroom) in a way that underlines the importance of reciprocal friendship links (see Wölfer, Faber, & Hewstone, ). Traditional measures of contact, relying on self‐reports of one's own direct contact miss out on this reciprocal aspect.…”

Section: The Diversity Debate and The Missing Role Of Contactmentioning

confidence: 99%

Consequences of Diversity for Social Cohesion and Prejudice: The Missing Dimension of Intergroup Contact

Hewstone

2015

Journal of Social Issues

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145

152

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A controversial claim that diversity has negative consequences for trust and other outcomes spawned a contentious debate in sociology and political science, but was hardly noted in social psychology. I summarize the debate, and argue that the efficacy of direct, face‐to‐face intergroup contact as a means of reducing prejudice is a stark omission, as I illustrate with evidence of the association between diversity, on the one hand, and trust, prejudice, and social capital on the other. I also consider two other contributions of contact theory to this issue, namely that contact with members of one group has an impact on attitudes toward members of other groups; and that contact should be studied via social networks. Despite the importance I attach to contact, I note two “enemies of contact,” resegregation in ostensibly desegregated settings, and negatively valenced contact. Finally, I point to the kind of research we should do, in order to increase the impact of our work on the public policy debate on this issue.

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Section: The Diversity Debate and The Missing Role Of Contactmentioning

confidence: 99%

Consequences of Diversity for Social Cohesion and Prejudice: The Missing Dimension of Intergroup Contact

Hewstone

2015

Journal of Social Issues

Self Cite

145

152

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Studies often vary in the type of relationship used to operationalise friendship (Berndt & McCandless, ), but few look across different friendship relationships (see McCormick et al ., for an exception). Beyond that, while contact research traditionally focuses on self‐report measures (see Hewstone et al ., for an exception), we applied a more comprehensive approach using social network data that overcame some limitations of previous studies (see Wölfer et al ., ). This is of particular relevance in Northern Ireland where, due to the divided nature of communities and neighbourhoods, it is often challenging to maintain cross‐group friendships outside of the school gates.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Further, whereas traditional self‐report methods only allow for the examination of unidirectional friendship claims, social network analysis allows researchers to examine whether friendships are reciprocated. For the study of cross‐group friendships this provides a more accurate and less biased assessment of individuals’ intra‐ and intergroup relationships (for a general introduction to SNA, see Wölfer et al ., ; for a contact‐specific overview, see Wölfer & Hewstone, ).…”

Section: Exploring Cross‐group Friendshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating Northern Ireland: Cross‐group friendships in integrated and mixed schools

Blaylock

Hughes

Wölfer

et al. 2018

British Educational Res J

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While Northern Ireland strives to build a shared society, the current reality is that everyday experiences are still shaped by division along ethno-religious lines. This is particularly pronounced in the education system, where more than 92% of pupils attend separate schools. Within the predominantly separate education system, however, exists a small collection of schools which cater to a more heterogeneous pupil body and offer the opportunity for young people from both communities to meet and interact, and potentially develop cross-group friendships. The present study compares the network-based cross-group friendships within two such school types; an integrated and a separate post-primary school. These schools boast a distinct ethos yet they similarly enrol students from Catholic and Protestant backgrounds. Findings reveal that both schools show a high level of interconnection between pupils; however, the integrated school, with an ethos that openly supports social cohesion, shows a greater tendency towards cross-group interactions and best friendships than those found within the separate school. In line with contact theory, these findings suggest that it may not be enough to simply create opportunities for intergroup contact but that optimal conditions, such as institutional support, may be a prerequisite for positive relationships to flourish. Implications for educational policies designed to promote greater cross-community contact are discussed.

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“…SAOMs were initially developed in the social sciences, and have been used extensively to study human behaviour. Example research questions include how music preferences and drug taking habits develop within and among friendship groups (Steglich, Snijders & West ) and how unethical behaviour can spread within organisations (Zuber ), see Wölfer, Faber & Hewstone () for a review. Such questions have clear analogies for non‐human animal behaviour (such as the spread of a novel foraging technique through a group; Boogert et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysing animal social network dynamics: the potential of stochastic actor‐oriented models

Fisher

Ilany

Silk

et al. 2017

Journal of Animal Ecology

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Summary1. Animals are embedded in dynamically changing networks of relationships with conspecifics. These dynamic networks are fundamental aspects of their environment, creating selection on behaviours and other traits. However, most social network-based approaches in ecology are constrained to considering networks as static, despite several calls for such analyses to become more dynamic.2. There are a number of statistical analyses developed in the social sciences that are increasingly being applied to animal networks, of which stochastic actor-oriented models (SAOMs) are a principal example. SAOMs are a class of individual-based models designed to model transitions in networks between discrete time points, as influenced by network structure and covariates. It is not clear, however, how useful such techniques are to ecologists, and whether they are suited to animal social networks. 3. We review the recent applications of SAOMs to animal networks, outlining findings and assessing the strengths and weaknesses of SAOMs when applied to animal rather than human networks. We go on to highlight the types of ecological and evolutionary processes that SAOMs can be used to study. 4. SAOMs can include effects and covariates for individuals, dyads and populations, which can be constant or variable. This allows for the examination of a wide range of questions of interest to ecologists. However, high-resolution data are required, meaning SAOMs will not be useable in all study systems. It remains unclear how robust SAOMs are to missing data and uncertainty around social relationships. 5. Ultimately, we encourage the careful application of SAOMs in appropriate systems, with dynamic network analyses likely to prove highly informative. Researchers can then extend the basic method to tackle a range of existing questions in ecology and explore novel lines of questioning.

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Social network analysis in the science of groups: Cross-sectional and longitudinal applications for studying intra- and intergroup behavior.

Cited by 146 publications

References 62 publications

Consequences of Diversity for Social Cohesion and Prejudice: The Missing Dimension of Intergroup Contact

Consequences of Diversity for Social Cohesion and Prejudice: The Missing Dimension of Intergroup Contact

Integrating Northern Ireland: Cross‐group friendships in integrated and mixed schools

Analysing animal social network dynamics: the potential of stochastic actor‐oriented models

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