Personal networks

Personal relationships are vital to human beings. Moreover, society could not exist without them. The set of personal relationships an individual has is called his or her personal network. Some people have large personal networks, others have small ones. Some networks are solely composed of relatives, others mainly include colleagues and friends. This book provides an explanation of the diversity in personal network size and composition. The explanation is based on rational-choice theory, which states that people assess the costs and benefits of the alternatives available to them and choose the most profitable one.