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dc.contributor.authorSaramäki, Jari*
dc.contributor.authorLeicht, Elizabeth A.*
dc.contributor.authorLopez, Eduardo*
dc.contributor.authorRoberts, Sam G. B.*
dc.contributor.authorReed-Tsochas, Felix*
dc.contributor.authorDunbar, Robin I. M.*
dc.date.accessioned2016-04-06T09:21:55Zen
dc.date.available2016-04-06T09:21:55Zen
dc.date.issued2014-01-06en
dc.identifier.citationSaramäki, J., Leicht, E. A., Lopez, E., Roberts, S. G. B., Reed-Tsochas, F. & Dunbar, R. I. M. (2014) Persistence of social signatures in human communication. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(3), 942-947. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1308540110en
dc.identifier.issn0027-8424
dc.identifier.doi10.1073/pnas.1308540110en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10034/604622en
dc.description.abstractThe social network maintained by a focal individual, or ego, is intrinsically dynamic and typically exhibits some turnover in membership over time as personal circumstances change. However, the consequences of such changes on the distribution of an ego’s network ties are not well understood. Here we use a unique 18-mo dataset that combines mobile phone calls and survey data to track changes in the ego networks and communication patterns of students making the transition from school to university or work. Our analysis reveals that individuals display a distinctive and robust social signature, captured by how interactions are distributed across different alters. Notably, for a given ego, these social signatures tend to persist over time, despite considerable turnover in the identity of alters in the ego network. Thus, as new network members are added, some old network members either are replaced or receive fewer calls, preserving the overall distribution of calls across network members. This is likely to reflect the consequences of finite resources such as the time available for communication, the cognitive and emotional effort required to sustain close relationships, and the ability to make emotional investments.
dc.relation.urlhttp://www.pnas.org/content/111/3/942.abstracten
dc.subjectQuantitative sociologyen
dc.subjectPersonal relationshipsen
dc.titlePersistence of social signatures in human communicationen
dc.typeArticleen
dc.identifier.eissn1091-6490en
dc.contributor.departmentAalto University School of Science; University of Oxford; University of Chesteren
dc.identifier.journalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciencesen
dc.date.accepted2013-11-11
rioxxterms.versionofrecordhttps://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1308540110
html.description.abstractThe social network maintained by a focal individual, or ego, is intrinsically dynamic and typically exhibits some turnover in membership over time as personal circumstances change. However, the consequences of such changes on the distribution of an ego’s network ties are not well understood. Here we use a unique 18-mo dataset that combines mobile phone calls and survey data to track changes in the ego networks and communication patterns of students making the transition from school to university or work. Our analysis reveals that individuals display a distinctive and robust social signature, captured by how interactions are distributed across different alters. Notably, for a given ego, these social signatures tend to persist over time, despite considerable turnover in the identity of alters in the ego network. Thus, as new network members are added, some old network members either are replaced or receive fewer calls, preserving the overall distribution of calls across network members. This is likely to reflect the consequences of finite resources such as the time available for communication, the cognitive and emotional effort required to sustain close relationships, and the ability to make emotional investments.


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