The Integration of People and Networks

Social networks involve ties (and their absence) between people in social settings such as organizations. Yet much social network research, given its roots in sociology, ignores the individuality of people in emphasizing the constraints of the structural positions that people occupy. A recent movement to bring people back into social network research draws on the rich history of social psychological research to show that (a) personality (i.e., self-monitoring) is key to understanding individuals' occupation of social network positions, (b) individuals' perceptions of social networks relate to important outcomes, and (c) relational energy is transmitted through social network connections. Research at different levels of analysis includes the network around the individual (the ego network), dyadic ties, triadic structures, and whole networks of interacting individuals. We call for future research concerning personality and structure, social network change, perceptions of networks, and cross-cultural differences in how social network connections are understood.