Intransitivity in the structure of small closed groups

Abstract Observations of the structure of closed groups are presented which give rise to four observable tendencies within either a sociogram or the catij matrix as developed by Bernard and Killworth (1973) . These observations are used to form theories of social structure of varying degrees of complexity; all these theories, however, are somewhat unusual in that intransitivity of interpersonal sentiment, far from being an artifact, is proposed as an essential part of the structure of human groups, whereas recent papers have stressed the occurrence of transitivity within a group. A statistical theory including the earlier theories shows that at least three subgroups must exist within a group, even if only two are forced by external organization. One of these subgroups is formed of mutually unknown individuals who serve as connecting links between other subgroups formed by strong interpersonal sentiment.