Extraverts Have Larger Social Network Layers

2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 161-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas V. Pollet ◽  
Sam G. B. Roberts ◽  
Robin I. M. Dunbar
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Outer Layer ◽  
Network Size ◽  
Emotional Intensity ◽  
Emotional Closeness ◽  
Network Layer ◽  
Network Layers ◽  
Social Network Size

Previous studies showed that extraversion influences social network size. However, it is unclear how extraversion affects the size of different layers of the network, and how extraversion relates to the emotional intensity of social relationships. We examined the relationships between extraversion, network size, and emotional closeness for 117 individuals. The results demonstrated that extraverts had larger networks at every layer (support clique, sympathy group, outer layer). The results were robust and were not attributable to potential confounds such as sex, though they were modest in size (raw correlations between extraversion and size of network layer, .20 < r < .23). However, extraverts were not emotionally closer to individuals in their network, even after controlling for network size. These results highlight the importance of considering not just social network size in relation to personality, but also the quality of relationships with network members.

scholarly journals Extraversion is associated with advice network size, but not network density or emotional closeness to network members

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Connor Malcolm ◽  
Tamsin Saxton ◽  
Kris McCarty ◽  
Sam G. B. Roberts ◽  
Thomas Victor Pollet
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Network Size ◽  
Network Density ◽  
Friendship Networks ◽  
Social Self ◽  
Emotional Closeness ◽  
Personality Variables ◽  
Social Network Size ◽  
The Social ◽  
Personal Wellbeing

Friendship networks are instrumental to a whole range of outcomes including career success and personal wellbeing, and as such it is important to ask how social networks are shaped by personality variables. However, previous research examining how extraversion is associated with social network size and closeness to social network members has produced inconsistent findings. Here, we assessed how extraversion (HEXACO model) was associated with three key features of advice networks (size, density, and emotional closeness to network members) in a sample of 199 participants (17 - 75 years, M = 25, SD = 11; 146 women). We found that higher levels of extraversion (and its four facets: social self-esteem, social boldness, sociability, and liveliness) corresponded to a significantly larger advice network, but not greater network density, or greater emotional closeness to network members. The social manifestation of extraversion here seems to be operationalised in terms of a greater number of interactive advice partners, but no increased probability of ensuring that contacts are connected to each other, or of developing emotionally deep relationships with contacts.

Cross-Lagged Modeling of Cognition and Social Network Size in the Sydney Memory and Ageing Study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Nicole S Casey ◽  
Zhixin Liu ◽  
Nicole A Kochan ◽  
Perminder S Sachdev ◽  
Henry Brodaty
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Sex Education ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Network Size ◽  
Older Age ◽  
Cognitive Domains ◽  
Social Network Size ◽  
Ageing Study

Abstract Objectives This study assessed whether reciprocal relationships exist between cognitive function and the social network size of older adults, controlling for age, sex, education, medical conditions, and depressive symptoms. Methods Data were collected at biennial follow-ups over 6 years in the Sydney Memory and Ageing Study, a longitudinal cohort study including 1,037 community-based Sydney residents aged 70–90 years without dementia at baseline. We used random intercept cross-lagged panel models to investigate reciprocal associations between social network size and scores in each of 7 cognitive domains including a global score. Results Standardized models indicated that within-person deviation in expected language score predicted deviation in expected network size. Within-person deviation in prior expected social network size predicted deviation in expected executive function at year 6. Cross-lagged effects in models of both global cognition and memory, respectively, could not be attributed solely to within-person change. Discussion Findings support a co-constitutive view of cognitive function and social relationships in older age. Although both cognition and network size declined over time, slower than expected decline in language ability predicted less than expected contraction in social networks. A similar influence of network size on executive functioning indicated that relationships with friends and family outside of the home contributed significantly to the maintenance of higher order cognitive abilities in older late life. Diverse patterns of influence between cognitive domains and social network size over 6 years underscore the importance of assessing the complex and nuanced interplay between brain health and social relationships in older age.

Examining Social Networks in Older Adults: What Predicts Communicative Participation?

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 933-940
Author(s):  
Melanie Meeker ◽  
Kimberly C. McCullough ◽  
Gary H. McCullough ◽  
Usenime Akpanudo
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Early Identification ◽  
Network Size ◽  
Elderly Individuals ◽  
Social Network Size ◽  
Hearing Handicap ◽  
Communicative Participation

Purpose Social isolation is linked to cognitive decline and depression, which can be risk factors for developing dementia. The purpose of this study was to determine which of a variety of factors were associated with communicative participation as measured by social network size. Method Three hundred thirty-seven adults aged 65 years or older were administered assessments to evaluate social network size, cognition, hearing handicap, and quality of communicative participation. Results Cognition, education, living setting, and quality of communication life were associated to varying degrees with the construct of communicative participation as measured by social network size. Conclusion Assessment of these variables, along with early identification of cognitive decline, could play an important role in identifying elderly individuals at risk for limitations in communicative participation and associated consequences.

scholarly journals The moderating role of social network size in the temporal association between formal social participation and mental health: a longitudinal analysis using two consecutive waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ziggi Ivan Santini ◽  
Paul E. Jose ◽  
Ai Koyanagi ◽  
Charlotte Meilstrup ◽  
Line Nielsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Social Participation ◽  
Social Ties ◽  
Network Size ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Social Network Size ◽  
Moderating Role

Abstract Introduction Previous studies have shown that engaging in formal social participation may protect against declining mental health, but social network size (the number of close social ties a person has) may moderate the relationship. We assessed the potential moderating role of social network size using longitudinal data. Methods Nationally representative data from two consecutive waves (2011, 2013) of the SHARE survey were analyzed. The data consisted of 38,300 adults from 13 European countries aged 50 years and older in 2011. Measures pertaining to formal social participation, social network size, quality of life, and depression symptoms were used. Multivariable linear regression models were conducted. Results The majority of participants (over 70% of the sample) had a social network size of four or less close social ties. We identified significant moderations in both models. Individuals with relatively few close social ties may have benefitted from formal social participation both in terms of reductions in depression symptoms and increases in quality of life, while formal social participation among those with many social ties did not appear to be beneficial, and may even to some extent have been detrimental. Conclusions Declines in mental health specifically among those with relatively few close social ties could potentially be prevented through the promotion of formal social participation. It is possible that such strategies could have a greater impact by specifically targeting individuals that are otherwise socially isolated. High levels of formal participation among those with relatively many close social ties may not be pragmatically beneficial.

scholarly journals Social Networks and Loneliness During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 237802312098525
Author(s):  
Balazs Kovacs ◽  
Nicholas Caplan ◽  
Samuel Grob ◽  
Marissa King
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Close Relationships ◽  
Network Size ◽  
Global Network ◽  
Network Data ◽  
Network Characteristics ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Social Network Data ◽  
Social Network Size

We utilize longitudinal social network data collected pre–COVID-19 in June 2019 and compare them with data collected in the midst of COVID in June 2020. We find significant decreases in network density and global network size following a period of profound social isolation. While there is an overall increase in loneliness during this era, certain social network characteristics of individuals are associated with smaller increases in loneliness. Specifically, we find that people with fewer than five “very close” relationships report increases in loneliness. We further find that face-to-face interactions, as well as the duration and frequency of interactions with very close ties, are associated with smaller increases in loneliness during the pandemic. We also report on factors that do not moderate the effect of social isolation on perceived loneliness, such as gender, age, or overall social network size.

scholarly journals Online social network size is reflected in human brain structure

2011 ◽  
Vol 279 (1732) ◽  
pp. 1327-1334 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Kanai ◽  
B. Bahrami ◽  
R. Roylance ◽  
G. Rees
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Real World ◽  
Brain Structure ◽  
Grey Matter ◽  
Online Social Network ◽  
Network Size ◽  
Matter Density ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Social Network Size

The increasing ubiquity of web-based social networking services is a striking feature of modern human society. The degree to which individuals participate in these networks varies substantially for reasons that are unclear. Here, we show a biological basis for such variability by demonstrating that quantitative variation in the number of friends an individual declares on a web-based social networking service reliably predicted grey matter density in the right superior temporal sulcus, left middle temporal gyrus and entorhinal cortex. Such regions have been previously implicated in social perception and associative memory, respectively. We further show that variability in the size of such online friendship networks was significantly correlated with the size of more intimate real-world social groups. However, the brain regions we identified were specifically associated with online social network size, whereas the grey matter density of the amygdala was correlated both with online and real-world social network sizes. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that the size of an individual's online social network is closely linked to focal brain structure implicated in social cognition.

scholarly journals Estimation of the Active Social Network of Street Children in Shiraz (A City of Iran)

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nasrin Motazedian ◽  
Mehrab Sayadi ◽  
Somaye Oboodi ◽  
Hassan Joulaei
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Direct Method ◽  
Street Children ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Network Size ◽  
Hidden Population ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Social Network Size

: Street children are a hard-to-reach population. Since the direct method is not feasible and has some limitations, we utilized the network scale-up (NSU) as an indirect method. This study was conducted in Shiraz municipalities. Our target population was Iranian boys between 10 to 18 years of age during the years 2014 to 2016. Three trained psychologists conducted face to face interviews with 86 street children (boys) on the streets, through the convenience sampling technique. The social network size of street boys in Shiraz was estimated at 17 persons (ranging from zero to 92 people, mean = 17 ± 17, median = 13). Overall, the network size of the hidden population might be smaller than the general population, due to the stigmatized nature of their behavior and place of work.

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