School of Business Administration, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, South Korea.
Soc Sci Res. 2013 Nov;42(6):1457-66. doi: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2013.06.003. Epub 2013 Jun 21.
This paper uses social exchange theory to address a classic question posed by Simmel (1964) regarding dyads and triads. The question is whether exchanges in a triad will generate more cohesion at the group level than exchanges in an isolated dyad. The main hypotheses, integrating several ideas from Simmel and social exchange theories, are as follows. First, triads generate less variability of behavior than dyads; that is, there is more uniformity or convergence in triads. Second, in the context of repeated exchange, we predict higher levels of cohesion in triads than in dyads. Third, positive emotion or affect has a stronger impact on cohesion in dyads than in triads, whereas uncertainty reduction has a stronger impact on cohesion in triads. To test these hypotheses, an experiment compared isolated dyads to dyads nested in a triadic exchange network. Subjects engaged in exchanges across a series of distinct episodes, using standard experimental procedures from research on relational cohesion (Lawler and Yoon, 1996) and exchange networks (Molm and Cook, 1995; Willer, 1999). Consistent with the hypotheses, the results reveal more convergence of behavior and higher cohesion in triads than in dyads; moreover, uncertainty reduction is the primary basis for cohesion in the triad, whereas positive affect was the primary basis for cohesion in the dyad. These results are discussed in relation to Simmelian dyad-triad dynamics and the theory of relational cohesion.
本文运用社会交换理论来探讨西美尔（Simmel）（1964）提出的关于二元组和三元组的经典问题。问题是三元组中的交换是否会比孤立的二元组中的交换在群体层面产生更多的凝聚力。主要假设综合了西美尔和社会交换理论的几个观点，如下所述。首先，三元组产生的行为变化比二元组更小；也就是说，三元组中存在更多的一致性或趋同。其次，在重复交换的背景下，我们预测三元组中的凝聚力会高于二元组。第三，积极的情感或影响对二元组的凝聚力的影响大于三元组，而不确定性减少对三元组的凝聚力的影响更大。为了检验这些假设，一项实验将孤立的二元组与嵌套在三元交换网络中的二元组进行了比较。参与者在一系列不同的情境中进行了交换，使用了关系凝聚力研究（Lawler and Yoon, 1996）和交换网络研究（Molm and Cook, 1995; Willer, 1999）中的标准实验程序。与假设一致，结果表明三元组中的行为趋同和凝聚力高于二元组；此外，不确定性减少是三元组凝聚力的主要基础，而积极影响是二元组凝聚力的主要基础。这些结果在西美尔二元组-三元组动力学和关系凝聚力理论的背景下进行了讨论。
