What do centrality measures measure in psychological networks?

Centrality indices are a popular tool to analyze structural aspects of psychological networks. As centrality indices were originally developed in the context of social networks, it is unclear to what extent these indices are suitable in a psychological network context. In this article we critically examine several issues with the use of the most popular centrality indices in psychological networks: degree, betweenness, and closeness centrality. We show that problems with centrality indices discussed in the social network literature also apply to the psychological networks. Assumptions underlying centrality indices, such as presence of a flow and shortest paths, may not correspond with a general theory of how…

• EC
  European Commission

  Award: 681466
• Z
  ZonMw

  Awards: 451001029, 016.156.019
• NO
  Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek

  Awards: 016.156.019, 451001029, 016.195.261