Chapter 12: Big Social Interactions
Many of the psychological questions we have discussed in the book have focused on the mind and brain of the individual. However, humans are a social species, and social interactions shape our ways of thinking from birth to old age. Recently, these interactions have transformed, as the internet has become an essential thread to how we connect with people. This chapter discusses psychological principles of social networks, and how to quantify social networks via graph theory. The chapter examines the small world phenomenon and the role of social ties via these graph theory measures. We then look at the case of online social networks, what can be learned about you from your profile, and how their use impacts psychological measures. The chapter concludes by showcasing findings on social network representations in the brain, and touching on ethical questions related to social media privacy concerns and AI-based social interactions.
- Analyze social networks in fiction
- How many degrees from Kevin Bacon?
- What do Venmo transactions reveal about you?
Here is a website discussing graph theoretic analyses of for analyzing data from A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) by George R.R. Martin. The post is accompanied by a Github repository so you can test the data yourself.
The Oracle of Bacon lets you input any actor or actress and it will tell you the degrees of separation from actor Kevin Bacon. Can you find someone who is farther than six degrees from Kevin Bacon?
The Public by Default project by Hang Do Thi Duc looks at how public Venmo transactions can reveal too much information about people.