FINAL EXAM- social networks Flashcards
what is a social network?
tool or way of thinking about how to analyze social behavior
what field was first to look at social networks?
social psychologists
what is the best way to visualize social interactions?
Network analysis
what unit of behavior is most common to look at, and why?
-usually stuck looking at dyads as can only look at 2 animals at a time before having to rewind
relationships and number of individuals
- 2 individuals: 1 relationship= dyad
- 3 individuals: 3 relationship= triad
- 4 individuals: 6 relationship= tetrad
what can be used to study order?
can study through disorder/ entropy –> want to reduce within social interactions (cognitive ability useful to avoid conflicts)
what is known about social behavior and communication for animals in the wild?
- some form of order and communication needed
- ‘cognitive’ capabilities don’t account for all sophistication of social organizations and dynamics
- applies to small and large groups
- applies especially with coordinated groups and groups with cooperation
what is sociometry?
mathematical model to make sense of dynamic interactions (look at interactions and quantify them)
–> simple models are ranking and/or hierarchy models (can determine for any social behavior)
what is a sociogram?
matrices or networks of social interactions
sociomatrix
- approximation of the social dynamic of a group for the period of time under study (historical sample)
- 2 dimensional, looking at dyads
- order (‘rankings’) emerge from the social rules within the network groups
- most based on aggression, but can be on other things like submission and play
how do you determine the hierarchies structure of aggression within a sociomatrix?
- must have no reversals (perfectly linear)
- look at number of overthrows to determine alpha
main objective of social network analysis? (3)
- detect emergent properties that would not be identifiable in dyads
- may help to detect alliances and coalitions
- identify triads, tetrads, etc.
network analysis is partly overlapping with tools used to study ______?
artificial neural networks
topology
- defines structure, about space
- a space is defined, qualified and quantified
theoretical inspirations for social network analysis
- social psychology
- study of artificial neural networks
- topology
network graphs are built from ____?
association matrices (socio-matrices)
2 basic elements of the anatomy of a network graph?
- Node/ vertices =individual animals
2. Edge/ link/ connection/arc = relationship
definition of a relationship?
=permanent or long-term nature of the association between 2 individuals
definition of an interaction?
=actual dyadic behaviour(s) between two individuals, in the moment (here and now), specific to relationships most of the time
what is the basic assumption of network analysis?
the network (graph) created from interactions, is a valid representation of the relationship
directed vs. undirected (parameter within an association matrices)?
the directionality of interactions can be indicated (with arrowheads) –> see what direction they go
cyclic vs. acyclic (parameter within an association matrices)?
presence or absence of loops
signed or unsigned (parameter within an association matrices)
positive or negative values
weighted or unweighted (parameter within an association matrices)?
from values in the matrix cells –> usually influence thickness of lines between nodes
