Lee, Jung Won; (2020) Three essays on the interplay between the psychology of actors and their network structures. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

This thesis explores the psychological antecedents and consequences of network structures. Although a wealth of research has identified the types of network positions and relationships that benefit individuals and organizations, we still know little about the psychological consequences of pursuing advantageous network positions. Nor have we examined how psychological experiences affect perceiving and acting on opportunities provided by network relationships. This thesis examines these questions in three essays. The first essay examines the extent to which individuals’ pursuits of seemingly advantageous network positions impose psychological costs that lead to deleterious consequences. Specifically, I examine the consequences of network brokerage, defined as the process of connecting actors across gaps in the social structure. Brokerage facilitates organizational activity and provides instrumental benefits for individual brokers. But despite its advantages, brokerage can be costly. In the first essay, I demonstrate that a certain type of brokerage led to brokers’ burnout and abusive behaviors. The second essay examines the psychological barriers that prevent individuals from forming advantageous ties in organizations with higher-ranking persons. I show that people experience a higher level of rejection anxiety when networking with a higher- ranking target (versus peer), and the salience of power, but not status, underlies the rejection sensitivity. When people see a higher-ranking person through the lens of status, they experience a lower level of rejection sensitivity and are more likely to engage in upward networking. The third essay explores how lay beliefs about relationships affect the construal of network ties and the mobilization of resources available from the relationships. People vary in the extent to which they believe that relationships can grow or be fixed. Extending this research to the context of dormant relations, I show that lay beliefs of social relations affect the way people construe their dormant contacts and whether they seek help from them.

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