social distance

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social distance Refers to similarity or closeness based upon social variables or networks—as in occupational mobility, or the Bogardus social distance scale based upon willingness to allow various ethnic groups to degrees of intimacy (for example, ‘Would you accept a [Saudi Arabian] as a member of your golf club? … as a husband to your daughter?’). Methods of multi-dimensional scaling are often used to represent such social space and distance.

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