Research

Professor Cornwell's research focuses on social networks comprised of relationships among individuals and organizations. His work explores the implications of interpersonal and associational networks for individual outcomes, the production of social capital, and the reproduction of social stratification. Cornwell has documented the importance of individuals' integration in social networks for their health, social influence, and employment outcomes - as well as for the visibility and success of larger organizations (especially unions) in the community, and for the availability of credit in early American religious sects.

Given the rapid growth of the older segment of the population, Cornwell's recent work has focused in particular on older adults' social networks. Older adults may have a particular need for social support and the other resources to which social networks yield access. Therefore, his recent work examines factors that affect older adults' access to network ties, their willingness to exchange health information with their network members, and their ability to retain power and independence in their social lives by occupying advantageous positions within social and exchange network structures.

Publications

The following is a list of some recent publications. A complete list is available here.

York, Erin, and Benjamin Cornwell. 2008. "Access to Expertise as a Form of Social Capital: An Examination of Race- and Class-Based Disparities in Network Ties to Experts." Forthcoming, Sociological Perspectives.

Cornwell, Benjamin, Edward O. Laumann, and L. Philip Schumm. 2008. "The Social Connectedness of Older Adults: A National Profile." American Sociological Review 73:185-203.

Cornwell, Benjamin. 2007. "The Protestant Sect Credit Machine: Social Capital and the Rise of Capitalism." Journal of Classical Sociology 7:267-90.

Jacobs, David, and Benjamin Cornwell. 2007. "Labor Markets and Organizations: A Screening Theory of Hiring Networks and Racially Homogenous Employment." Research in Social Stratification and Mobility 25:39-55.

Payne, Danielle, and Benjamin Cornwell. 2007. "Modeling Peer Influences on Delinquency: Beyond the Direct Contact Hypothesis." Journal of Quantitative Criminology 23:127-150.

York, Erin, and Benjamin Cornwell. 2006. "Status on Trial: Social Characteristics and Influence in the Jury Room." Social Forces 85:455-77.

Cornwell, Benjamin. 2005. "Contextualizing Closeness Centrality: Incorporating Disconnectedness via the Complement." Connections 26:70-81.

Cornwell, Benjamin, and Jill Ann Harrison. 2004. "Union Members and Voluntary Associations: Membership Overlap as a Case of Organizational Embeddedness." American Sociological Review 69:862-81.