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Psychology of Social Networks

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Abstract

We review the psychological processes underpinning network formation and network-based processes, focusing first on the nature of relationships and their formation, and then on the consequences of networks for individual outcomes and behavior. We argue that it is important to develop methodological approaches that allow us to regard these processes as hypotheses to be tested rather than as unquestioned assumptions. We suggest that different types of networks and processes are likely to lead to different conclusions about these hypotheses, and that the development of models for networks and network processes should therefore be grounded in careful empirical analysis.

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Pattison, P., Robins, G., Kashima, Y. (2018). Psychology of Social Networks. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95189-5_2790

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