Over the last two decades, Social Network Analysis (SNA)
has become a standard tool in various social science disciplines. In social psychology, however, the use of SNA methodology remains scarce. This research identifies gaps in
SNA use in Social Psychology and offers pathways for its
further development. It reviews all empirical papers using
SNA published in high-ranking social psychology journals
over the last three decades. Findings reveal that SNA has
been used across striking diversity of fields and subdomains
central to the discipline, confirming its relevance for any
field in Social Psychology in which the role of interpersonal
or intergroup relationships is central to understand psychological and behavioural outcomes. However, the use of
SNA in Social Psychology has been mostly limited to nonexperimental and non-longitudinal studies, using student
samples and with a focus on basic measurements of network
structures such as density and centrality. The contributions
of SNA to the understanding of psychosocial mechanisms
have therefore remained modest. We propose several strategies by which such gaps can be filled in future research and
the full potential of SNA for social psychology realized.
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