The Micro-Macro Link in Social Networks

Abstract

Important questions in the social sciences are concerned with the link between micro-level behavior and aggregate macro-level outcomes. This article proposes that studies of the micro-macro link in social systems can utilize conceptual representations and analytical strategies from the field of social networks, and that micro-macro dynamics can be investigated by combining state-of-the-art statistical network models with research strategies from agent-based network modeling. An empirical case study illustrates how stochastic actor-oriented models can be applied as empirically calibrated agent-based simulations. The fruitfulness of this approach is demonstrated by a Schelling-inspired case study on the emergence of segregation in social networks. It is shown that even individuals without homophilous preferences may find themselves in segregated structures due to the complex interaction of different network mechanisms. The example thereby illustrates how social networks can serve as a conceptual and analytical framework to study the micro-macro link in dynamic, interdependent, and multi-mechanistic social systems.

Keywords: social networks, micro-macro link, analytical sociology, SAOM, SIENA, agent-based modeling, social network analysis