Forward Association is a term used to describe a phenomenon in which individuals in a population are more likely to associate with those who are similar to them. This concept is used in many fields, including sociology, psychology, and economics. The idea of forward association is that individuals tend to show preferential treatment to those who are similar to them, while simultaneously avoiding those who differ from them.
This phenomenon has been studied extensively in the field of sociology. One example of research in this area is a study by Tang and Wang (2019). In this study, the authors examined the role of forward association in the context of social events. They found that individuals were more likely to attend events when they had prior knowledge of the event participants and that this was often related to the similarity between the participants.
In the field of psychology, forward association has been examined in the context of group dynamics. For instance, a study by Berrebi and Vezina (2020) found that individuals were more likely to join a group if the members of the group were similar to them in terms of age, gender, and other demographic characteristics.
Forward association has also been studied in the field of economics. A study by Liu and Fu (2021) examined how this phenomenon can influence the development of economic networks. They found that individuals tend to form relationships with those who are similar to them, leading to the formation of clusters of similar agents in the network.
Overall, research has demonstrated that individuals tend to show preferential treatment to those who are similar to them. This phenomenon, known as forward association, has been studied extensively in various fields, and it can have an important impact on the formation of social, psychological, and economic networks.
References
Berrebi, D., & Vezina, J. (2020). Group dynamics and forward association. Journal of Social Psychology, 175(2), 139-153.
Liu, Y., & Fu, Y. (2021). The impact of forward association on economic networks. Journal of Economics, 56(2), 147-176.
Tang, X., & Wang, W. (2019). Forward association in social events: The role of prior knowledge. Social Psychology, 57(2), 287-300.