Social Structure and the Duration of Social Acts

Abstract

Sociological social psychological theories emphasize that patterns in social interaction are linked inextricably to social structure. To date, however, most studies have focused on frequencies of various social acts that constitute interaction; little attention has been given to patterns related to time. In a brief overview we describe how existing social psychological knowledge regarding the link between structure and action can be extended to predict durations of social acts by group members. In particular, we theorize how three social structures-status structure, authority structure, and sentiment structure-may govern the durations of social acts and their relations to perceptions of social influence. The incorporation of act duration suggests how combinations of social structures either increase or decrease the efficiency with which social influence is exercised. We offer an initial test of arguments generated by our theoretical framework on data from experimental groups. Our results suggest that the effects of these social structures on duration patterns are generally consistent with our claims, but subtle. We discuss the implications of these findings and directions for further research on time in social interaction.