Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 22, 2025

The HoneyComb Paradigm for Research on Collective Human Behavior
Published on: January 19, 2019
The conceptual structure of human relationships across modern and historical cultures
Xi Cheng1, Haroon Popal1,2, Huanqing Wang1
1State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
Abstract:
A defining characteristic of social complexity in Homo sapiens is the diversity of our relationships. We build connections of various types in our families, workplaces, neighbourhoods and online communities. How do we make sense of such complex systems of human relationships? The basic organization of relationships has long been studied in the social sciences, but no consensus has been reached. Here, by using online surveys, laboratory cognitive tasks and natural language processing in diverse modern cultures across the world (n = 20,427) and ancient cultures spanning 3,000 years of history, we examined universality and cultural variability in the ways that people conceptualize relationships. We discovered a universal representational space for relationship concepts, comprising five principal dimensions (formality, activeness, valence, exchange and equality) and three core categories (hostile, public and private relationships). Our work reveals the fundamental cognitive constructs and cultural principles of human relationship knowledge and advances our understanding of human sociality.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Social Exchange Theory
Relationship Formation
Humanistic Psychology
This approach...
Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood
Horney's Sociocultural Approach
Cultural Influences on Personality

