Whether close or far: Social distance effects on perceived balance in friendship networks.

David M. Krackhardt, Martin J. Kilduff·1999·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
DOI 10.1037//0022-3514.76.5.770

Abstract

Under what circumstances are individuals' perceptions of friendship relations shaped by the balance schema? Using data from 4 organizations varying in size from 21 to 33 members, the authors investigated how ego's perception of the social distance from ego to alter affected the proportion of alter's friendships perceived by ego as balanced. Balance involves both (a) reciprocated friendships between 2 people, and (b) transitive triplets, in which 2 friends of a person are themselves friends. Graphical and regression analyses supported a composite curvilinear model that combined the predictions of emotional tension and cognitive miser perspectives: People tended to perceive relations close to and distant from themselves as more balanced than relations of intermediate distance.

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Cited by (4)

  1. Network Structure and Knowledge Transfer: The Effects of Cohesion and Range
    Reagans, Ray, McEvily, Bill · 2003 · Administrative Science Quarterly
  2. 8 Social Hierarchy: The Self‐Reinforcing Nature of Power and Status
    Magee, Joe C., Galinsky, Adam D. · 2008 · Academy of Management Annals
  3. Zooming In and Out: Connecting Individuals and Collectivities at the Frontiers of Organizational Network Research
    Ibarra, Herminia, Kilduff, Martin, Tsai, Wenpin · 2005 · Organization Science
  4. The Missing Link: The Effect of Customers on the Formation of Relationships Among Producers in the Multiplex Triads
    Shipilov, Andrew V., Li, Stan Xiao · 2012 · Organization Science

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Whether close or far: Social distance effects on perceived balance in friendship networks. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1037//0022-3514.76.5.770
The paper
Krackhardt, D. M., & Kilduff, M. J. (1999). Whether close or far: Social distance effects on perceived balance in friendship networks. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.76.5.770

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