Editing Small-world experiment (section)

====Results and Findings====
#Overestimation of Social Distances: Participants in the experiment overestimated the number of intermediaries needed to connect to a random person. While Milgram’s study suggested an average of six degrees of separation, Killworth and Bernard found that people often believed longer chains were necessary. This suggests that humans have difficulty perceiving their true connectivity within a social network.
#Higher Completion Rates in Reverse Networks: The reversal method produced higher completion rates compared to Milgram’s forward method. This suggested that targets were better at identifying people who could link them to participants than participants were at identifying paths forward and social networks are structured in a way where certain central individuals (hubs) play a crucial role in connectivity.
#Network Clustering and Social Categories: Killworth and Bernard found that people tend to cluster into distinct social categories, such as: family networks, workplace/professional networks, friendship networks and community/religious groups. Interestingly, different networks exhibited varying levels of efficiency in message passing. Professional networks tended to be more interconnected, while family networks were more closed but highly efficient within small groups.
#Limitations of Milgram’s Forward Routing: One of the most significant findings was that Milgram’s experiment might have underestimated the number of connections needed to reach a target. Since many messages in Milgram’s study never reached their destination, his estimate of “six degrees of separation” may have been biased. Killworth and Bernard’s reverse approach suggested that actual connectivity varied widely based on network structure.
#Role of “Hubs” in Social Connectivity: The reversal experiment highlighted that certain individuals act as highly connected nodes, or hubs, in social networks. These individuals often play a disproportionate role in connecting distant groups, reinforcing the idea that social networks are not random but structured around a few key connectors.<ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Killworth |first1=Peter D. |author-link1=Peter Killworth |last2=Bernard |first2=H. Russell |date=1978 |title=The Reversal Small-World Experiment |url=http://snap.stanford.edu/class/cs224w-readings/killworth78smallworld.pdf |location= |publisher=Elsevier Sequoia S.A., Lausanne |access-date=25 March 2025}}</ref>