Open AccessStructure and function in human and primate social networks: implications for diffusion, network stability and health
Author(s) -
R. I. M. Dunbar
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
proceedings - royal society. mathematical, physical and engineering sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1471-2946
pISSN - 1364-5021
DOI - 10.1098/rspa.2020.0446
Subject(s) - constraint (computer aided design) , cognition , network structure , stability (learning theory) , fragmentation (computing) , restructuring , social network (sociolinguistics) , economic geography , psychology , cognitive psychology , computer science , economics , mathematics , neuroscience , theoretical computer science , geometry , finance , machine learning , world wide web , social media , operating system
The human social world is orders of magnitude smaller than our highly urbanized world might lead us to suppose. In addition, human social networks have a very distinct fractal structure similar to that observed in other primates. In part, this reflects a cognitive constraint, and in part a time constraint, on the capacity for interaction. Structured networks of this kind have a significant effect on the rates of transmission of both disease and information. Because the cognitive mechanism underpinning network structure is based on trust, internal and external threats that undermine trust or constrain interaction inevitably result in the fragmentation and restructuring of networks. In contexts where network sizes are smaller, this is likely to have significant impacts on psychological and physical health risks.