Interpersonal Proximity in Social and Cognitive Space

We explore how humans solve some problems of living in a social world. In particular, we focus on the ability to see affiliation or alliance patterns in social communities. We draw on data from two naturalistic studies in which subjects were observed interacting and required to reveal their perceptions of the patterning of that interaction. In both cases, the observed interaction patterns and the subjects' reports correspond closely. But in both cases, subjects are shown to simplify and exaggerate the observed patterning. Individual subjects, moreover, appear able to reveal more details about interaction patterns among those with whom they interact frequently, while they gloss over details involving interaction among others with whom their own interaction is infrequent.