How social exclusion distorts social network perceptions

In two studies we investigate whether social exclusion—a well-studied, common and quite painful social experience-influences people’s perceptions of novel social networks. In a first study, exclusion experiences led people to report that novel networks were more dense relative to those who had not been excluded. As predicted, this was true only for social networks; exclusion had no impact on perceptions when networks were described as geographical. In a follow-up experiment, participants watched a custom-created video, depicting avatars interacting in social scenes and they were asked to report the ties among the avatars in the video. Exclusion experiences led people to see network ties where none exist (i.e., false positives), though there was no effect for exclusion (versus inclusion) on reports of false negatives. Results indicate that common social experiences systematically shape network perceptions, leading people to seeing novel social networks as more densely connected than they are. To seize profitable opportunities in social networks, people must rst spot the opportunity. This means they need to have an accurate ead on who is in a network and who is tied to whom. Once this erceptual hurdle of seeing ties as they are is cleared, people can ove on to craft a strategy for maneuvering into high-potential ositions or for exploiting the network in other ways. Failure to ccurately perceive the network, however, can interfere with effiient and effective network exploitation, preventing people from uilding useful alliances and getting things done (Krackhardt and anson, 1993). Seeing a tie where none exists, for instance, would iscourage enterprising actors from playing a profitable bridging ole. Seeing a gap between actors when in fact they have a relaionship could lead one to invest resources in building a redundant ridge. The importance of accurate network cognition has led esearchers to investigate what people see and what they miss hen they report on their own networks (Casciaro et al., 1999; ilduff et al., 2008; Kumbasar et al., 1994) and as they learn novel etwork structures (Brashears, 2013; De Soto, 1960; Flynn et al., 010; Janicik and Larrick, 2005; Simpson et al., 2011). Some of this ork shows that individual traits like positive affectivity (Casciaro t al., 1999), for instance, improves the accuracy of actors’ network erceptions, while a trait like need for closure (Flynn et al., 2010) iminishes it. So, too, can unfamiliarity with particular network tructures interfere with people’s ability to recognize and learn ∗ Corresponding author at: 317 Sage Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853, United States. el.: +1 607 255 9102; fax: +1 607 254 4590. E-mail address: [email protected] (K.M. O’Connor). ttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socnet.2014.09.002 378-8733/© 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. novel structures (Janicik and Larrick, 2005). Mounting evidence then suggests that accurately reading a network, even one’s own, is no easy task, and one subject to systematic error. Building on research that examines the psychological bases for network behavior, in general (Kilduff et al., 2008; Krackhardt, 1992; Krackhardt and Kilduff, 1999; Michaelson and Contractor, 1992; Smith and Collins, 2009), and network perceptual accuracy in particular (Casciaro, 1998; Janicik and Larrick, 2005; Simpson and Borch, 2005), we investigate a social antecedent that is likely to impact network accuracy. Specifically, we test whether and how people’s recent (negative) social experiences can affect their perceptions of unfamiliar social networks. In two studies we examine how a common, powerful, and especially distressing human experience—social exclusion—undermines a basic social judgment—who knows whom. Our findings are intended to make two contributions. First, we argue that an individual’s experience with a group will affect how he or she perceives the underlying network structure of other groups. Second, we explore whether and how the particular experience of social exclusion can undermine (or enhance) social network accuracy. To the extent that an accurate read of one’s social situation is critical for restoring the connections that are broken through exclusion, getting the ties right is fundamental to overcoming the painful and powerful effects of exclusion. Social experience and social cognition Network cognition is a precursor to strategic network behavior. People who seek to move into positions rich in social capital need to recognize opportunity by accurately gauging who is connected