Race and Academic Status as Determinants of Friendship Formation: A Field Study

Abstract

Milgram's “small world” method was modified to trace interpersonal bonds among members of a university International House containing 154 male and female, graduate and undergraduate, and Australian and Overseas students. Sixteen résidents, balanced for race, academic status and sex, served as starters for chain booklets circulating through the House from friend to friend. Social networks were inferred from the circulation pattern of the booklets. It was predicted that both race similarity and academic status congruence would contribute to affiliation, but that academic status would be a more salient détérminant in the undergraduate condition, whereas race would be more salient in the graduate group. Fifteen chains progresséd beyond their respective starters, and 111 transactions generated by 77 different individuals (or 50% of all the résidents) were recorded. The data were in accord with all theoretical expectations.