STOCHASTIC PROCESS OF SOCIAL CONTACTS

R ainio , K. Stochastic process of social contacts. Scand. J. Psychol ., 1961, 2, 113–128.—The author applies Bush & Mosteller's stochastic learning model (Two Operator Model) to a social interaction situation, assuming that the probabilities which determine the choice of the individual with whom the contact is made change according to this model. Referring to Homans, the author assumes that experienced agreement of opinion is a rewarding and experienced disagreement of opinion a punishing factor (the former increases and the latter decreases the probability of choosing the same individual as the contactee). To test these hypotheses the author has developed a six-person laboratory test, in which the contact experiences can be controlled and systematically varied. The empirical results strongly support the hypotheses.