Racism explained in terms of structural balance theory
The New York Times article “Friendship’s Dark Side: ‘We Need a Common Enemy’” describes the imbalance of a triadic relationship by sharing a unique example as it points to how the two positive relationships can cause damage not only to the third tie but to society and acquaintances beyond. The structural balance theory explains the connection when looking at a pair within a group. The pair can either have a “+” or “-” connection. After looking at the pair, we can look at the group and in our case 3 people. There are certain connections that have social research supporting pairings of relationships. A group is considered balanced if there is 3 positive connections, or 1 positive and 2 negative connections. An unbalanced example would explain how two people share a positive relationship while the other has a negative. This negative tie is considered the enemy and since the two others are friends, this negative connection is their common enemy.
The article above explains the implications of a relationship where two people are friends and do not accept others that are not similar to them. This blockade causes the third person to be the common enemy. The article points out to examples where specific examples where homophily causes people to choose friends who are most similar to them. Expanding beyond the dangers of an unbalanced relationship, the article points out to how homophily can cause racism as people push those not like them outside of their circles and begin to segregate them.
A study was conducted to test whether the participant’s interests would influence their likelihood to reciprocate their feelings. Associating the participant’s political affiliation into the scenario, it was found that people are more likely to be empathetic for people who shared similar political beliefs. This seems like a basic concept of agreeing with things you strongly believe in, however, it can create danger as homogenous opinions continue to develop.
Resources
Angier, Natalie. “Friendship’s Dark Side: ‘We Need a Common Enemy’.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 16 Apr. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/04/16/science/friendship-discrimination.html.
Easley, David, and Jon Kleinberg. Networks, Crowds, and Markets Reasoning about a Highly Connected World. Cambridge University Press, 2010.