Social balance theory
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Social balance theory is a class of theories within social network theory which attempts to describe how individual desires to reduce affective cognitive dissonance influence in a group of network structures. It originated in balance theory, as developed by pscyhologist Fritz Heider.
This theory evolved over time to produce models more closely resembling real-world social networks. Cartwright and Harary introduced clustering to account for multiple social cliques. Davis introduced hierarchal clustering to account for asymmetric relations. Social balance theory later developed into what is now called transitivity.
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[edit] External references
- Cartwright, D., and Harary, F. (1956). Structural balance: A generalization of Heider’s theory. Psychological Review. 63, 277-292.
- Davis, J.A. (1970). Clustering and hierarchy in interpersonal relations: Testing two theoretical models on 742 sociograms. American Sociological Review. 35, 843-852.
- Heider, F. (1946). Attitudes and cognitive organization. Journal of Psychology. 21, 107-112.
