New article in OBHDP (January 22nd, 2025)
The small-world illusion: Overestimating the frequency of in-person interactions with acquaintances
Nadav Klein
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749597824000797
In both our private and work lives, we have deep interpersonal relationships as well as acquaintances—relationships characterized by relatively low familiarity and intimacy. Although acquaintanceships are “weak ties,” they generate substantial benefits, such as providing access to professional and social opportunities. However, acquaintances typically do not have deep knowledge of one another’s schedules and do not plan their interactions ahead of time. The uncertain nature of interactions with acquaintances raises the possibility that people might not realize how often they actually occur. This paper proposes and finds that people overestimate the frequency of interacting with acquaintances, a phenomenon the author calls the “small-world illusion.” This overestimation occurs partly because instances of crossing paths with acquaintances are more top-of-mind and readily available than ways in which acquaintances might “miss” each other. One consequence of this illusion, is that people overestimate opportunities for receiving help from acquaintances and thus miss out on such opportunities. In sum, acquaintances do not interact as frequently as they think. This misperception can reduce the benefits that people might obtain from their social networks. Taken together, this research suggests that maintaining and benefitting from acquaintances requires intentional effort.
P.S. if you can’t access the full-text let us (m-kouchaki@kellogg.northwestern.edu or mikebaer@asu.edu) know and we’d be happy to share a copy.