Does the Self Reflect Society? Examining the Relationship Between Personal Network Clustering and Role-Based Groups

• In Event: 4467 - Section on Social Psychology Refereed Roundtables (Cosponsored with Section on Sociology of Emotions)
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: Table 10: Social Ties and Relationships

Abstract

According to Identity Theory, individuals live their lives within “relatively small and specialized networks of social relations, through roles that support their participation in such networks (Stryker and Burke 2000:285).” Based upon the structural symbolic interactionist frame, social roles are theorized as fundamentally embedded in organizations, institutions, and social groups, yet characterized by some degree of overlap between social institutions due to basic network processes (e.g., multiplexity of ties, transitivity, structural balance) and individual agency. Despite the primacy of social networks to structural identity theory, there are only a handful of studies that directly examine how social network processes play out in role-based groups (e.g., Walker and Lynn 2013; MacFarland and Pals 2005). To address this gap, I directly assess the extent to which individuals’ personal social networks are characterized by “specialized” and distinct clusters of role-based others (i.e., highly clustered networks, centered around role-based groups) or by overlapping and undifferentiated social networks (i.e., low clustering). To do so, I utilize unique data from a convenience sample of students from a large Midwestern University that elicits extensive personal social networks of respondents, directly measures the structure of social relations within individuals’ networks, and situates social contacts within role-based groups (e.g., religion, family, school, work, and peer groups). The results suggest substantial variation in network clustering across individuals and role-domains, reflecting structural symbolic interactionism’s view of social networks as “structured yet random.” Results also highlight demographic trends in clustering and suggest non-role-based patterns of clustering. I conclude with a discussion of the implications of my findings for identity theory research.

Author

• Mark Henry Walker, Louisiana State University