triad

(noun)

a group of three people

Related Terms

Examples of triad in the following topics:

  • Transitivity

    • Triads allow for a much wider range of possible sets of relations.
    • One approach is to divide the number of transitive triads by the total number of triads of all kinds (720).
    • This shows that 20.28% of all triads are transitive.
    • Perhaps more meaningful is to norm the number of transitive triads by the number of cases where a single link could complete the triad.
    • That is, norm the number of {AB, BC, AC} triads by the number of {AB, BC, anything} triads.

  • Introduction

    • The smallest social structure that has the true character of a "society" is the triad - any "triple" {A, B, C} of actors.
    • Such a structure "embeds" dyadic relations in a structure where "other" is present along with "ego" and "alter. " The analysis of triads, and the prevalence of different types of triads in populations has been a staple of sociometry and social network analysis.
    • In (directed) triads, we can see the emergence of tendencies toward equilibrium and consistency -- institutionalization -- of social structures (balance and transitivity).
    • Triads are also the simplest structures in which we can see the emergence of hierarchy.

  • F-groups

    • F-groups identifies maximal groups made up of "strongly transitive" and "weakly transitive" triads.
    • A strong tie triad is formed when, if there is a tie XY and a tie YZ, there is also a tie XZ that is equal in value to the XY and YZ ties.
    • A weakly transitive triad is formed if the ties XY and YZ are both stronger than the tie XZ, but the tie XZ is greater than some cut-off value.

  • Summary

    • Individuals are embedded (usually simultaneously) in dyads, triads, face-to-face local groups of neighbors, and larger organizational and categorical social structures.

  • Effects of Group Size on Attitude and Behavior

    • Dyads and triads are the smallest social groups.
    • A triad is more stable than a dyad because one member can act as a mediator should the relationship between the other two become strained.

  • Study Questions

    • " For a triad with undirected relations, how many possible configurations of ties are there?
    • Are triads transitive?

  • Introduction: Groups and sub-structures

    • The dyads, triads, and ego-centered neighborhoods that we examined earlier can all be thought of as sub-structures.
    • Many of the approaches to understanding the structure of a network emphasize how dense connections are built-up from simpler dyads and triads to more extended dense clusters such as "cliques."
    • If you look closely, you will see that dyads and triads are the most common sub-graphs here -- and despite the substantial connectivity of the graph, tight groupings larger than this seem to be few.

  • Understanding Social Interaction

    • Social interaction can be studied between groups of two (dyads), three (triads) or larger social groups.

  • Summary

    • One focus in basic network analysis is on the immediate neighborhood of each actor: the dyads and triads in which they are involved.
    • Most of the time and effort of most social actors is spent in very local contexts -- interacting in dyads and triads.

  • Krackhardt's Graph Theoretical Dimensions of Hierarchy

    • Embedding of actors in dyads, triads, neighborhoods, clusters, and groups are all ways in which the social structure of a population may display "texture. " All of these forms of embedding structures speak to the issue of the "horizontal differentiation" of the population -- separate, but not necessarily ranked or unequal groupings.