The microstructures of network recall: How social networks are encoded and represented in human memory
Year: 2014
Type: article
Abstract: A growing number of studies indicate that aspects of psychology and cognition influence network structure, but much remains to be learned about how network information is stored and retrieved from memory. Are networks recalled as dyads, as triads, or more generally as sub-groups? We employ an experimental design coupled with exponential random graph models to address this issue. We find that respondents flexibly encode social information as triads or groups, depending on the network, but not as dyads. This supports prior research showing that networks are stored using “compression heuristics”, but also provides evidence of cognitive flexibility in the process of encoding relational information.
Source: Social Networks
Authors: Matthew E. Brashears, Eric Quintane
Institutions: Cornell University, Universidad de Los Andes
Language: English
Subfield: Statistical and Nonlinear Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,520
Funder: National Science Foundation
OpenAlex ID: W2085355170