Extraverts Have Larger Social Network Layers
Pollet, Roberts and Dunbar examine how extraversion relates to the size of the different layers of a social network, and to the emotional intensity of the relationships inside them, across 117 individuals. Earlier work had shown extraversion influencing overall network size without establishing where in the structure the difference sits. The results show extraverts having larger networks at every layer, from the support clique through the sympathy group to the outer layer. The findings were robust and not attributable to potential confounds such as sex, and the authors are explicit that the associations were modest in size, with raw correlations between extraversion and layer size at the lower end. This publication cites the paper for the point that variation exists within the framework, while noting that variation around a mean is not the absence of a mean.
Pollet, Roberts and Dunbar examine how extraversion relates to the size of the different layers of a social network, and to the emotional intensity of the relationships inside them, across 117 individuals. Earlier work had shown extraversion influencing overall network size without establishing where in the structure the difference sits. The results show extraverts having larger networks at every layer, from the support clique through the sympathy group to the outer layer. The findings were robust and not attributable to potential confounds such as sex, and the authors are explicit that the associations were modest in size, with raw correlations between extraversion and layer size at the lower end. This publication cites the paper for the point that variation exists within the framework, while noting that variation around a mean is not the absence of a mean.
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Pollet, T. V., Roberts, S. G. B., & Dunbar, R. I. M. (2011). 'Extraverts have larger social network layers.' Journal of Individual Differences, 32(3), 161-169. Extraverts had larger networks at every layer; the associations were modest in size. doi:10.1027/1614-0001/a000048
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- How Many Friends You Can Actually Keep, Why We Gather
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The source
https://doi.org/10.1027/1614-0001/a000048
DOI: 10.1027/1614-0001/a000048