Blackwell Reference Online

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The smallest and most elementary social unit, a dyad is a social group composed of two members while a triad is a social group composed of three members. The study of dyads and triads is significant in two respects. First, dyads and triads form the most basic elements of sociological analysis. That is, most structural conditions and social processes can be found in dyadic and triadic interaction. Second, the analysis of dyads and triads clearly demonstrates the poverty of strict psychological reductionism, and calls into question the validity of methodological individualism. These issues and others were first addressed by Georg Simmel (1950) in his pioneering work on pure social forms. A dyad differs from other quantitative social groupings in that each member interacts with only one other. Thus, in order to maintain the group both participants must construct reciprocal interaction with a high level of involvement with each other. Subsequently, a dyad is more fragile and precarious than other social units. If one person leaves or if one's attention is diverted elsewhere, the dyad dissolves. Because dyads are characterized by reciprocal interaction and relatively equal involvement, they tend to become egalitarian over time. This egalitarian element is enhanced by the tendency for each member to relate to the other as an individual and not in terms of a categorical identity. In ... log in or subscribe to read full text