Goodness of figure and social structure

Discusses the relative "goodness of figure" of structures having some resemblance to the linear ordering. Completely connected structures made of asymmetric relations tend toward the linear ordering and produce strain to the extent that they depart from it. The M. G. Kendall and B. B. Smith coefficient of consistency is proposed as an index of departure from the linear ordering, and predicts ease of learning very well in an experiment in which 102 undergraduates learned social structures based on the relation "influences." The coefficient is modified to deal with incomplete structures and structures composed of both symmetric and asymmetric relations. Reanalysis of previously published data demonstrates that the modified coefficient powerfully predicts ease of learning of various such structures. (27 ref.)