Affiliative Ties Research Articles

Network dynamics of affiliative ties in preschool peer groups

This study investigated the network dynamics of affiliative ties in Portuguese preschool children, over three consecutive school years, using stochastic actor-based models. Our first goal was to test the extent to which different criteria to identify ties from observational data lead to different theoretical interpretations of model estimates. Contrary to past observational studies the data we use here takes into account the identities of children responsible for initiating social interactions. The second goal was to test the influence of two interaction effects involving reciprocity to analyze if reciprocity is constrained by the presence of transitive ties and if it constrains the creation and maintenance of new unreciprocated ties. Results showed that most effects were robust to changes in criteria to operationalize ties, supporting previous descriptions of preschool network dynamics. Also, contrary to recent findings in older samples, being embedded in a transitive triad did not make an unreciprocated dyad more likely to be maintained. Finally, results showed that the existence of reciprocal ties decreased preschool children’s tendency to create new ties.

Functional information characteristics of large-scale research collaboration: network measures and implications

This exploratory work sheds light on important functional information characteristics of the system of research collaboration by examining large-scale topological structures of co-authorship networks, created through the affiliative ties of scholarly articles published by collaborating researchers in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings. The model adopted in this work to understand the underlying collaboration system incorporates the strengths of collaborative coupling among the researchers. The questions we examine in this work are as follows: (1) What new functional characteristics emerge when combined structural effects of collaborative coupling and large-scale connectivity exist in the networks? (2) What information does a specific closeness distribution of collaborating researchers convey with regard to the flow of knowledge through collaborative activities? (3) What is the temporal dynamics of large-scale structure formation in these networks? The work involves a comparative study of these characteristics using the networks of two countries: India and the US. Our results have important implications for scientometric studies of collaboration research.

The therapeutic relationship in action: How therapists and clients co-manage relational disaffiliation

Over the past three decades a great deal of energy has been invested in examining the consequences of relational stresses and their repair. Less work has been done to examine how therapists and clients actually achieve re-affiliation through verbal and non-verbal resources, how such affiliation becomes vulnerable and at risk, and how therapists attempt to re-establish affiliative ties with the client—or fail to do so. We utilize the method of Conversation Analysis (CA) to examine clinical cases that involve extended episodes of disaffiliation. Clients with different styles of disaffiliation—confrontation and withdrawal—are compared. We show how disaffiliation is interactionally realized in different ways and how this is followed by more or less successful attempts at repair.

Exponential random graph models of preschool affiliative networks

Exponential random graph models were used to assess the relevance of reciprocity, popularity, transitivity controlling for effects based upon ego and alter sex, and sex homophily, on the formation of affiliative ties in 19 Portuguese preschool peer groups. The number of times two children were recorded as nearest neighbors in focal samples was used as an indicator of the relationship's strength. Independent parameter estimates of the different models (one for each group) were summarized, separately for the three age groups (“3-year-olds”, “4-year-olds” and “5-year-olds”) using a multi-level approach to meta-analysis. Results showed that affiliative ties between children were sex segregated, highly reciprocal, more likely to be directed to a restricted number of children and with a tendency to create transitive triads. The structural processes underlying the formation of affiliative ties were quite stable between classrooms.

Examination of the contribution of clique characteristics to children's adjustment: Clique type and perceived cohesion

In a sample of 473 4th- and 5th-grade students, we examined the interaction between the type of clique to which a child belongs and the clique's level of perceived cohesion on a clique member's social and emotional adjustment. Perceived cohesion of a clique was operationalized as the degree to which the clique was perceived as an entity and was measured by submitting peers' similarity judgments of same-gender peers to a multidimensional scaling (MDS) analysis. Clique types were determined based on clique members' average scores on a wide range of social behaviors. Correlation analyses indicated that the degree to which children were perceived to be similar to each other was highly related to the strength of their affiliative ties, providing support for a similarity-based assessment of the perceived cohesion of a clique. It was also found that perceived cohesion moderates the link between the type of clique to which a child belongs and self-reported social and emotional adjustment outcomes.Whether it is beneficial or not to belong to a highly cohesive clique appears to depend on the type of clique to which a child belongs.

Affiliation promotes the transmission of a social custom: handclasp grooming among captive chimpanzees

Handclasp grooming is a unique social custom, known to occur regularly among some, but not all populations of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). As with other cultural behaviors, it is assumed that this distinctive grooming posture is learned socially by one individual from another. However, statistical comparisons among factors thought to influence how a behavior spreads within a group have never, to our knowledge, been conducted. In the present study, the origination and spread of handclasp grooming in a group of captive chimpanzees was followed throughout more than 1,500 h of observation over a period of 12 years. We report on the frequency, bout duration, and number and demography of performers throughout the study period, and compare these findings to those reported for wild populations. We predicted that dyads with strong affiliative ties, measured by time spent in proximity to and grooming one another, were likely to develop a handclasp grooming partnership during the study period. A quadratic assignment procedure was used to compare correlations among observed frequencies of grooming and proximity with handclasp grooming in all possible dyads within the group. As predicted, the formation of new handclasp grooming dyads was positively correlated with the rate of overall grooming and proximity within a dyad. In addition, in nearly all dyads formed, at least one individual had been previously observed to handclasp groom. We concluded that affiliation and individual experience determines the transmission of handclasp grooming among captive chimpanzees.

Play does not enhance social cohesion in a cooperative mammal

The social cohesion hypothesis of play asserts that the adaptive function of social play is to strengthen affiliative ties between group members, thereby increasing cohesion within the social group. Although this hypothesis is frequently cited, it has never been quantitatively tested. I used data collected from a wild population of cooperative mongoose (the meerkat, Suricata suricatta) to test four predictions arising from the hypothesis: first, that an individual's frequency of play, and mean number of play partners, will be positively correlated with group size (because individuals in large groups must strengthen ties with a greater number of animals); second, an individual's frequency of play will be positively related to frequency of other affiliative interactions such as allogrooming; third, an individual's frequency of play will be positively correlated with level of contribution to cooperative group activities (based on the assumption that individuals that are closely bonded to their group will invest more heavily in the group than those with weak ties); and finally, an individual's frequency of play will be positively correlated with duration of tenancy in the natal group. The behaviour of young meerkats failed to fulfil any of these predictions, and I conclude that social play is unlikely to have the capacity to promote social cohesion in mammals.

Sex Differences in Empathy and Its Relation to Juvenile Offending

Implicit in most theoretical accounts of sex differences in offending is the assumption that females are less likely than males to engage in crime—especially serious, violent crime—in part because of their comparatively higher levels of concern for others and stronger affiliative ties. Much research suggests that significant sex differences in both empathy and serious offending emerge in adolescence, with females displaying notably higher levels of empathy and males engaging in notably higher levels of serious offending. However, there has been little empirical work assessing the degree to which sex differences in empathy among adolescents can account for sex differences in offending. This research uses data from a sample of adolescents attending public high schools in Philadelphia (<italic>n</italic> = 425) and a sample of adolescents incarcerated in the California Youth Authority (CYA) (<italic>n</italic> = 232) to examine the relation between empathy and serious offending. Results suggest that empathy acts as a protective factor for both males and females but that there are subtle differences among males and females in the relation between empathy and offending.

Differences in Partisan Style and Ideology Between Female and Male State Party Committee Members

ABSTRACT This study examines differences in partisan style and ideology between male and female state political party committee members. Based on a 1994 survey, the study finds no gender differences in partisan style among Republicans and only minor differences among Democrats. There is only a minor ideological gender gap in both parties. The survey showed that both men and women have similar affiliative ties to the political party (e.g., years of service, numbers and types of positions held). It is argued that activists with closer affiliative ties to the party may encounter similar socializing experiences that mitigate possible gender differences.

Variation in conciliatory tendency and relationship quality across groups of pigtail macaques

Previous studies suggest that the tendency for primates to reconcile after agonistic conflict is related to the quality of relationships between opponents: the ‘relationship quality’ hypothesis. In addition, reconciliation frequency seems to covary with other social variables such as the rate of allogrooming, the intensity of aggression and the outcome of approaches: the ‘systematic variation’ hypothesis. It is proposed that such systematic variation should be present not only between different species but also between different groups of the same species. To test these hypotheses, data were collected from two large corral-housed groups of pigtail macaques, Macaca nemestrina, over 7 months. The two groups lived in identical environments but one was well established, the other newly formed. In both groups, conflicts were more frequently reconciled between opponents with strong affiliative ties, as predicted by the relationship quality hypothesis. Members of the well-established group reconciled roughly twice as often as members of the newly formed group. Contrary to the predictions of the systematic variation hypothesis, other social variables did not vary between groups. Members of the well-established group, however, distributed their affiliative behaviour less evenly, focusing their efforts on a relatively small number of partners. The concentrated social networks in the well-established group apparently produced more intense ties, hence increasing the likelihood of reconciliation after conflict. These results show that detailed analyses of social networks provide a tool to investigate the systematic variation hypothesis when variation is subtle, such as between groups of the same species. The study confirms the relationship quality hypothesis at both the within- and between-group level, provides support for a more sophisticated concept of systematic variation, and illustrates the special usefulness of reconciliation measures as a gauge of social integration.

Conflict and reconciliation in two groups of crab-eating monkeys differing in social status by birth

Two groups of captive macaques (M. fascicularis) were studied at Kassel University, Germany. One included animals whose mothers were high-ranking, another, those whose mothers were low-ranking. The first group was a despotic community in which conflicts were severe and occurred mainly between single individuals; the reconciliation tendency was weak, the male leader was the controlling animal, and the affiliative preferences were marked. The second group was an egalitarian community split into two mutually hostile conalitions; the conflicts were less severe, the tendency for reconciliation was strong, the male leader could control only his own bloc and had no strong affiliative ties with other group members.

Harassment of sexual interactions among stumptail macaques, Macaca arctoides

Behavioural and endocrine parameters were studied in a large colony of stumptail macaques. This paper deals with harassment behaviour during copulation, and its possible underlying motivation. The study corroborates some findings of other studies such as that harassment is triggered by ejaculation and is directed at the mating male. Both males and females harassed most frequently around puberty, but only females continued to harass when adult, although at a lower rate, especially when pregnant. Harassment was seldom retaliated, even when severe aggression to dominant mating males was involved. Social factors that correlated with harassment included family ties, affiliative ties and reciprocity between harasser and female copulant, dominance status and aggression between harasser and male copulant. Motivational factors appeared not to be exclusively associated with the harassers' attitude towards the female copulant, as other studies suggested, but also involved the harassers' attitude towards the male copulant since the behaviour was invariably directed at him. In addition to possessiveness, it is suggested that revanchism may be a motive. Because of aggression received earlier, monkeys take ‘revenge’ when they have an opportunity, i.e. when the opponent is mating and at the moment of orgasm. It is suggested that, as an evolutionary mechanism, harassment reinforces power structures in the group. Harassers may unwittingly serve as sentinels for top-ranking males who thus become better able to monopolize fathership. As an additional effect, high-ranking matrilines can grow at the cost of low-ranking ones because of the preference of top-ranking males for high-ranking females.

Socialization of Party Activists: National Convention Delegates, 1972-81

When unconventional political activists captured the 1972 Democratic national convention, many feared that these activists who rejected traditional party norms would destroy that party. However, analysis of the Center for Political Studies' (CPS) 1972-81 panel survey of national convention delegates shows that by 1981 the less conventional 1972 Democratic delegates had adopted more traditional attitudes about the role of the party organization, and they were more willing to compromise. Their socialization was largely the result of increased affiliative ties with their political party over the nine-year period. While their socialization had obvious potential benefits for their party's ability to aggregate demands and sustain unity, socialization also helped sustain involvement of certain types of activists: those who initially saw few reasons for political involvement and those highly committed to policy goals. Traditional party norms helped sustain these activists' interest in an organization that requires compromise. However, socialization is not necessary for sustained involvement. The implications of these findings for political parties are discussed.

Rethinking Internal Labor Markets: New Insights from a Comparative Perspective

Internal labor markets take different forms in the capitalist and the socialistfirm as the distinctive organizational problems in each economic system produce differing but comparable institutional solutions. Analysis of systemic uncertainties and the organizational responses of workers and managers yields a comparative model of mirrored opposition: in economies in which the firm operates in a market environment, systemic uncertainties regarding labor are reduced through internal bureaucratic rules operating according to a classificatory logic. In the socialist economy, by contrast, where systemic uncertainties are produced by a bureaucratic environment, the firm responds through internal market transactions based on affiliative ties. The market-like character of these internal mechanisms is brought into even sharper relief in an analysis of the recent establishment in Hungary of semi-autonomous subcontracting units inside the enterprise.

Movement toward the Familiar

A study is reported of the direction of people's escape from a fire in a large-scale room containing an entrance and emergency fire exit in opposite corners. The affiliative model tested predicts that in a situation of potential entrapment people would move toward familiar persons and places. This model of behavior is contrasted with physical science and complementary panic concepts underlying escape route design. These assume a deterministic relationship between the physical availability and proximity of an emergency exit and its subsequent use. Although proximity to an exit was important, support was also found for the affiliative model in the statistical interrelationships found. In general, staff left by the fire exit whereas individual members of the public separated from other group members located themselves toward the entrance end and left that way. Choice of location and exit used were mediated by person and place affiliations. Future research should examine the degree to which people's direction of movement is influenced by affiliative ties in a variety of fires. Place affiliation, it is argued, is not addressed sufficiently in escape route design.

Primate harassment of matings

The phenomenon of harassment during matings in primates, in which individuals in the vicinity of a mating approach close to the mating pair, is reviewed. The hypothesis that harassment is a tactic to reduce the reproductive potential of competitors is best supported for dominant adult males. Such individuals are the most successful in interrupting copulations by others, and can do so by mere glances, approaches, or by direct aggression. An alternative tactic, used by subordinate males, is to follow consort pairs and mate opportunistically with the female. Harassment by adult females, which is generally less disruptive than that by adult males, is less obviously an expression of direct intrasexual competition but many reflect competition over future environmental resources. A detailed study of stumptailed macaques failed to support the hypothesis that harassment serves to protect the mating female from aggression by the mating male. Such harassment has instead been interpreted as a response to the perceived threat of affiliative ties being weakened. The motivation underlying harassment, at least in adults, is sometimes sexual arousal. Most harassment is reported in immature primates, and this has been interpreted in terms of excitement, observational learning, and parent-offspring conflict. The data suggest that much harassment by offspring reflects separation anxiety, and express parent—offspring conflict. Several variables likely to influence harassment are identified, and directions for further research suggested.

Widowhood, Morale, and Affiliation

Data from sample surveys in five nations are examined in an assessment of the attitudes and affiliative ties of widowed and married persons. Results suggest that (1) neither self-theory nor role-theory perspectives are adequate to explain the differentials which appear, and (2) the negative, long-term consequences of widowhood seem to derive from socioeconomic deprivation rather than widowhood itself The widowed have seemed to have lower morale and to be less affiliated than the married because they are much poorer than married people. Researchers must apply adequate controls for economic status if the social and psychological impacts of widowhood are to be distinguished from the effects of poverty.