Skip to main content

Birds of a feather: Homophily in social networks

Publication ,  Journal Article
McPherson, M; Smith-Lovin, L; Cook, JM
Published in: Annual Review of Sociology
January 1, 2001

Similarity breeds connection. This principle - the homophily principle - structures network ties of every type, including marriage, friendship, work, advice, support, information transfer, exchange, comembership, and other types of relationship. The result is that people's personal networks are homogeneous with regard to many sociodemographic, behavioral, and intrapersonal characteristics. Homophily limits people's social worlds in a way that has powerful implications for the information they receive, the attitudes they form, and the interactions they experience. Homophily in race and ethnicity creates the strongest divides in our personal environments, with age, religion, education, occupation, and gender following in roughly that order. Geographic propinquity, families, organizations, and isomorphic positions in social systems all create contexts in which homophilous relations form. Ties between nonsimilar individuals also dissolve at a higher rate, which sets the stage for the formation of niches (localized positions) within social space. We argue for more research on: (a) the basic ecological processes that link organizations, associations, cultural communities, social movements, and many other social forms; (b) the impact of multiplex ties on the patterns of homophily; and (c) the dynamics of network change over time through which networks and other social entities co-evolve. Copyright © 2001 by Annual Reviews. All rights reserved.

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

Annual Review of Sociology

DOI

ISSN

0360-0572

Publication Date

January 1, 2001

Volume

27

Start / End Page

415 / 444

Related Subject Headings

  • Sociology
  • 4410 Sociology
  • 1608 Sociology
  • 1505 Marketing
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
McPherson, M., Smith-Lovin, L., & Cook, J. M. (2001). Birds of a feather: Homophily in social networks. Annual Review of Sociology, 27, 415–444. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.27.1.415
McPherson, M., L. Smith-Lovin, and J. M. Cook. “Birds of a feather: Homophily in social networks.” Annual Review of Sociology 27 (January 1, 2001): 415–44. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.27.1.415.
McPherson M, Smith-Lovin L, Cook JM. Birds of a feather: Homophily in social networks. Annual Review of Sociology. 2001 Jan 1;27:415–44.
McPherson, M., et al. “Birds of a feather: Homophily in social networks.” Annual Review of Sociology, vol. 27, Jan. 2001, pp. 415–44. Scopus, doi:10.1146/annurev.soc.27.1.415.
McPherson M, Smith-Lovin L, Cook JM. Birds of a feather: Homophily in social networks. Annual Review of Sociology. 2001 Jan 1;27:415–444.

Published In

Annual Review of Sociology

DOI

ISSN

0360-0572

Publication Date

January 1, 2001

Volume

27

Start / End Page

415 / 444

Related Subject Headings

  • Sociology
  • 4410 Sociology
  • 1608 Sociology
  • 1505 Marketing