SOCIAL NETWORKS

Centrality, Peripherality, and Centralization

GS 457 –L1/CH5
DR. SIMEON MAGLIVERAS
CENTRALITY
Many Competing Concepts of Centrality

What do all concepts have in common?

• Point Centrality - concern for the
relative centrality of the points of the
graph
• Many formal measures of centrality
CENTRALITY
loosely defined
Structural importance of a node

• One way, removing a node may disconnect the structure

• Another way, a node maybe highly central, eg. flow of information
• Yet another, in virtue of its position
CENTRALITY VS. CENTRALIZATION
Avoiding Confusion
CENTRALITY
• Refers to point centrality
CENTRALIZATION
• Refers to particular properties of the
graph structure as a whole
• Refers to the overall
cohesion/integration of the graph
• Not to the relative prominence of points
CENTRALITY

Removing a node may disconnect the

structure
CENTRALITY
LOCAL CENTRALITY POINTS
Locally central …
• has a large number of connection with
the other points in the immediate area
• emphasizes the relative prominence of
a focal point
GLOBAL CENTRALITY POINTS
Globally central ….
• has a strategic significance in the
overall structure of the network
• concerns with the importance
within the whole network
CENTRALITY

Node highly central

eg. flow of information

filter
gatekeeper
CENTRALITY /SOCIOLOGICALLY

Central nodes are referred to as:

• Prominent, Influencers, Leaders, Gatekeepers
• Having great Autonomy, Control, Visibility
• Power and Prestige etc.

These are not definitions but properties of centrality

DEGREE CENTRALITY

THE NUMBER OF DIRECT AN ENTITY WITH HIGH

RELATIONSHIPS OF AN ENTITY. DEGREE CENTRALITY:
• Generally an active player in the network.
• Often a connector or hub in the network.
• Not necessarily the most connected entity in the network
• an entity may have a large number of relationships
• the majority of which point to low-level entities).
• May be in an advantaged position in the network.
• May have alternative avenues to satisfy needs, and may be less
dependent on other individuals.
• Is often identified as 3rd parties/deal makers.
DEGREE CENTRALITY

• Alice has the highest degree centrality

• She is quite active in the network.
• However, she is not necessarily the most powerful person because she is only
directly connected within one degree to people in her neighborhood
• She has to go through Rafael to get to other components.
BETWEENNESS CENTRALITY

IDENTIFIES AN ENTITY'S POSITION WITHIN A AN ENTITY WITH A HIGH BETWEENNESS

NETWORK: ITS ABILITY TO MAKE CONNECTIONS CENTRALITY GENERALLY:
TO OTHER PAIRS/GROUPS IN A NETWORK.

• Holds a favored/powerful position in

the network.
• Represents a single point of failure
• take the single betweenness spanner out
of a network and you sever ties between
components.

• Has a greater amount of influence

over what happens in a network.
BETWEENNESS CENTRALITY

• Rafael has the highest betweenness because he is between Alice and Aldo,
who are between other entities.
• Alice and Aldo have a slightly lower betweenness because they are
essentially only between their own neighborhoods.
• Therefore, although Alice has a higher degree centrality, Rafael has more
importance in the network in certain respects.
CLOSENESS CENTRALITY
MEASURES HOW QUICKLY AN ENTITY CAN
ACCESS MORE ENTITIES IN A NETWORK.
AN ENTITY WITH A HIGH
CLOSENESS CENTRALITY
GENERALLY:
• Has quick access to other entities in a
network.
• Has a short path to other entities.
• Is close to other entities.
• Has high visibility as to what is
happening in the network.
CLOSENESS CENTRALITY

• Rafael has the highest closeness centrality because he can reach more entities
through shorter paths.
• As such, Rafael's placement allows him to connect to entities in his own clique, and to
entities that span clusters.

• Note: If the network contains any entities that are un-linked (ie. not linked to
any other entities), the Closeness value for all entities in the network is 0.
This is due to formulas and algorithms established in SNA.
EIGENVALUE
MEASURES HOW CLOSE AN A HIGH EIGENVALUE
ENTITY IS TO OTHER HIGHLY GENERALLY:
CLOSE ENTITIES WITHIN A
NETWORK.
• Indicates an actor that is more central to the
main pattern of distances among all entities.
• Is a reasonable measure of one aspect of
centrality in terms of positional advantage.

• Alice and Rafael are closer to other highly close

entities in the network.
IE. EIGENVALUE IDENTIFIES THE MOST • Bob and Frederica are also highly close, but to a
CENTRAL ENTITIES IN TERMS OF THE GLOBAL lesser value.
OR OVERALL MAKEUP OF THE NETWORK.