Social Network Blog - y7

Small University Experiment Part 1

Target: Susan Yoon, Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Education

1. The first person I gave my folder to was June Chu, the Director of the Pan Asian American Community House. June is an Asian American female and also a staff member of the University. According to Milgram, gender is an important characteristic because “participants were three times as likely to send the folder to someone of the same sex as to someone of the opposite sex”.(65) Following that argument, June’s gender increases the probability of it reaching the target. Milgram also discusses race in another study. June’s race, is an advantage because she is probably more likely with the communication structures of Asians on Penn’s campus. June and Susan also have similar educational interests- they both have P.H.D’s in education/psychology/type fields. Lastly, June’s position as a director of a cultural resource center on campus gives her access to a variety of people. She, like Lois Weisberg, is a “connector” with many weak ties just steps away (Gladwell). June knows both student, faculty and staff and “the larger and more varied the pool of acquaintances a participant can draw on, the grater the opportunity of choosing an effective link” (Milgram, 107). In addition, according to Milgram, occupational similarity was a factor that increased the chances of having the folder delivered to the target.

2. June and I would have what classifies as a “strong tie”. We spend a decent amount of time together in many different contexts and is someone I can trust and depend on. This relationship of trust will increase the likelihood of my folder reaching the target because I trust her and can depend on her to participate and complete the task in a timely manner. This is an important factor because, like Milgram stated, “126 dropped out…these chains die before completion because on each remove a certain proportion of participants simply do not cooperate and fail to send on the folder” (65).

3. I think that Suasn’s personal characteristics make it more likely for me to get the folder to her, but her structural position poses a challenge . Why? Susan is an assistant professor at the School of Education, a Graduate students. Not many undergraduate students take classes there or in the building. This limits the number of people I know who could potentially be in contact with her. The student population and class size at the Graduate School of Education is definitely smaller than the other schools, which also is an obstacle. However, the fact that we are both Asian females does, according to Milgram, increase the chances of her receiving it because as his study in his 1970 shows, 80% of the incomplete African American target chains never crossed the racial barrier.

4. I’ve passed my folder onto June who knows Susan.

5. 1 Person, 2-3 Days.