Essays on networks and social interaction

Abstract

This dissertation presents new models and experimental designs for understanding network behavior and social interaction. The first paper develops a model for a new kind of data, "path data," that represents the sequential decisions made by actors navigating social, geographic, and other kinds of networks. The model is validated in a benchmark test, then used to measure sectarian influences in the ways that Sunni and Shia individuals navigate the streets of Baghdad in a smartphone-based field activity. The second paper uses a novel experimental design to examine the social network search patterns employed by both sects. Using smartphone and self-reported data, the paper shows that differing search strategies result in differential access to public services in Baghdad. The third paper presents a new model for measuring rhetorical style and other modes of speech in political deliberation. The model is validated in a benchmark test of conflictual speech in political debates.