Blackwell Reference Online

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Weak ties are relationships between individuals marked by relatively low intensity and emotional closeness. By contrast, strong ties are relationships that involve high levels of intensity and emotional closeness. The importance of weak ties to a variety of sociological phenomena has been most influentially articulated by Mark Granovetter (1973) in one of the best-cited articles in sociology, “The Strength of Weak Ties” (SWT). Figure 1. Simplified diagram of Granovetter's concept of a bridging tie. Points depict nodes, or individuals, and lines depict relations. The solid lines represent strong ties and the dashed line represents a weak bridging tie. Granovetter argues that most people intuitively expect strong ties to generally be more important than weak ties, because those to whom we are closely tied are more motivated to help us, and are also more likely to be stronger sources of social influence and social support. However, basing his argument on principles of social psychology, Granovetter argues that weak ties are – paradoxically – more important for a variety of phenomena, from helping people obtain a job, to the diffusion of ideas and innovations, to facilitating collective action. Granovetter also argues that insights provided by the “strength of weak ties” principle have implications for understanding the linkages between the micro and macro levels of social reality. ... log in or subscribe to read full text