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Although negative ties may cause stress and harm well-being, they are also considered fundamental in close and ongoing relationships. This study distinguishes positive, negative, and – when characterized by both valences – ambivalent ties. Analyzing almost 10,000 personal networks from the Swiss CH-X study shows that: (1) ambivalence among family members is more prevalent than among non-family members, (2) ambivalent family dyads or triads are not negatively associated with well-being, and (3) certain balanced family triads are associated with higher well-being and an unbalanced non-family triad is associated with lower well-being. These results suggest that conflicts are not necessarily detrimental to young adults' well-being. • Ambivalence among family members is more prevalent than among non-family members. • Ambivalent family dyads or triads are not associated with lower well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Dyadic intergroup relations adapt when placed in triadic structures. • The adaptation of relation from positive to negative is driven by norm of reciprocity. • The adaptation of relation from positive to negative is driven by structural balance. • The adaptation of relation from negative to positive is driven by structural balance. Abstract Structural balance theory explains how ties are formed in signed networks. A balanced triad, however, could be incidentally caused by balance-unrelated mechanisms. Teasing apart the multiple mechanisms that lead to balanced networks helps clarify the explanatory power of a theory. In a behavioral experiment, we investigated the transition of intergroup relations across the positive/negative boundary. Voluntary participants, recruited from mainland China and Taiwan, were placed in triadic networks, each facing two alters. We manipulated the attributes and relationships of the alters to examine how people adjust their relationships. Our experiment shows that people are more likely to change from behaving negatively to positively to an alter when they know the alter is negatively treated by the other alter. Conversely, people are more likely to change from behaving positively to negatively to an alter when they know the alter negatively treats the other alter. Beyond these effects, people are more likely to turn from positive to negative and vice versa to an alter when doing so achieves structural balance in a triad. Our study provides new experimental evidence for the structural balance theory in predicting the formation of signed networks when other conflating mechanisms are controlled for. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We model the social and structural bases of a strong component using ERGM. [•] While mutual reachability in strong components suggests parity, we find hierarchy. [•] Some nodes are densely interconnected; others are weakly attached to the component. [•] Strong components stem from triadic clustering and lack of preferential attachment. [•] These structural processes link to multiplicity of social connectivity in Florence. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Social status and social capital frameworks are used to derive competing hypotheses about the emergence and structure of advice relations in organizations. Although both approaches build on a social exchange framework, they differ in their behavioral micro-foundations. From a status perspective, advice giving is a means to generate prestige, whereas asking advice decreases one''s relative standing. At a structural level these motivations are expected to result in an overrepresentation of non-reciprocal dyads and non-cyclical triadic structures in the advice network, as well as in active advice seekers being unlikely to be approached for advice, especially by active advice givers. From a social capital perspective, advice seeking creates obligations for the advice seeker. At the structural level, this results in an overrepresentation of reciprocal dyads and cyclical triads, and active advice seekers to be unpopular as targets of advice seeking, especially for active advice givers. Analyses of four waves of a longitudinal sociometric study of 57 employees of a Dutch Housing Corporation provide partial support for both approaches. In line with the social capital perspective, we find reciprocal advice relations to be overrepresented at the dyad level. Results at the triad level support the social status arguments, according to which high status individuals will avoid asking advice from low status individuals. The implications for macro-structural properties of intra-organizational advice network are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper inquires into structural explanations for triadic closure in networks of confidants with whom one discusses important personal matters. Building upon the assumption that meeting opportunities affect network characteristics, we primarily argue that the social contexts in which network members meet, substantially affect triadic closure. The main empirical findings are (a) that about sixty percent of the triads in core discussion networks are closed triads, which also means that a substantial part of one''s strong relations is unconnected, and (b) that meeting network members in the same social contexts is an important condition for, but certainly does not guarantee triadic closure. Importantly, the specific characteristics of social contexts explain why sharing certain contexts positively affects triadic closure, while sharing other contexts does not. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Evidence from many sources shows that triadic tendencies are important structural features of social networks (e.g. transitivity or triadic closure) and triadic configurations are the basis for both theoretical claims and substantive outcomes (e.g. strength of weak ties, tie stability, or trust). A contrasting line of research demonstrates that triads in empirical social networks are well predicted by lower order graph features (density and dyads), accounting for around 90% of the variability in triad distributions when comparing different social networks (Faust, 2006, 2007, 2008). These two sets of results present a puzzle: how can substantial triadic tendencies occur when triads in empirical social networks are largely explained by lower order graph features? This paper provides insight into the puzzle by considering constraints that lower order graph features place on the triad census. Taking a comparative perspective, it shows that triad censuses from 159 social networks of diverse species and social relations are largely explained by their lower order graph features (the dyad census) through formal constraints that force triads to occur in narrow range of configurations. Nevertheless, within these constraints, a majority of networks exhibit significant triadic patterning by departing from expectation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Previous research demonstrated that information contained in triad censuses from heterogeneous collections of social networks occupies a high dimensional space. Regions of this space, and locations of triad censuses within it, are largely defined by lower order network properties: network density and dyad distributions [Faust, K., 2006. Comparing social networks: size, density, and local structure. Metodološki Zvezki (Advances in Methodology and Statistics) 3 (2), 185–216; Faust, K., 2007. Very local structure in social networks. Sociological Methodology 37, 209–256]. The current paper extends comparative work on triad censuses by addressing three related issues. First, it determines and interprets the space occupied by triad censuses for 128 friendship networks gathered using a limited choice sociometric protocol. Second, it constructs a theoretical space for triad censuses expected given lower order graph properties and examines the dimensionality and shape of this space. Third, it brings together these lines of investigation to determine where the empirical triad censuses reside within the theoretical space. Results show that the empirical triad censuses are almost perfectly represented in one dimension (explaining 99% of the data) and that network density explains over 96% of the variance in locations on this dimension. In contrast, the theoretical space for triad censuses is at least four-dimensional, with distinctive regions defined by network density and dyad distributions. Within this theoretical space, the empirical triad censuses occupy a restricted region that closely tracks triad censuses expected given network density. Results differ markedly from prior findings that the space occupied by triad censuses from heterogeneous social networks is of high dimensionality. Results also reinforce observations about constraints that network size and density place on graph level indices. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article develops a cultural agreement approach to organizational culture that emphasizes how clusters of individuals reinforce potentially idiosyncratic understandings of many aspects of culture including the structure of network relations. Building on recent work concerning Simmelian tied dyads (defined as dyads embedded in three-person cliques), the research examines perceptions concerning advice and friendship relations in three entrepreneurial firms. The results support the idea that Simmelian tied dyads (relative to dyads in general) reach higher agreement concerning who is tied to whom, and who are embedded together in triads in organizations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]