Coexistence of balance and hierarchies: An ego perspective to explain empirical networks.

ABSTRACT: The formation of positive and negative relations between individuals in social networks can be described by different approaches. Two prominent mechanisms are structural balance and status hierarchies. Balance motivates stability among friends and enemies in triads (e.g. an enemy of my friend is my enemy). Status considers respect and disregard originating from social hierarchy (e.g. positive relations towards those we respect). We demonstrate that integrating the two mechanisms through the concept of ego dynamics is key to understanding observable patterns in many social groups. We propose an agent-based model where dynamical changes result from agents aiming to resolve inconsistencies with structural balance and status. In contrast to previous models, our approach employs the ego perspec

SUBMITTER: Gorski PJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12080543 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature