Stanford Social Networks

As part of my MSc, I analysed the emergence and evolution of social networks in first-year college dormitories. The data is described in detail here.

Briefly, participants nominated people in their dormitories in response to eight questions, including “Who are your closest friends?”, “Whom do you spend the most time with?”, “Who do you turn to when something bad happens?”, and “Whom do you share good news with?”.

In the thesis, I used social network analysis techniques to explore three research questions.

1. Do personality traits influence social attractiveness?
2. Do personality traits influence relationship stability?
3. Is social connectedness positively associated with wellbeing?

Some interesting findings that emerged from the analysis include:

• Poor integration into social networks is associated with decreased personal wellbeing
• The earliest interactions and relationships between individuals in an emerging community play a key role in the social networks’ subsequent evolution, and poor integration into social networks during this early period might be difficult to reverse
• Empathy, and more specifically prosocialness, is a strong predictor of social attractiveness
• Participants high in positive affect experience an “easy come, easy go” dynamic, with network ties being both formed and broken in large quantity.