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I am confused by the notion of negative relationships.  It seems to me
that if there are two poles to the meaning of a relationship it should
be modeled as two relationships and not as one relationship with
positive and negative values.  I see the presence or absence of a
relationship as a question independent of the strength and meaning of a
relationship if one exists.  Perhaps this is a question of the
distinction between strength of relationship and meaning
(interpretation) of a relationship.  How can the strength of a
relationship be negative when zero represents the absence of a
relationship?  Measures of things like love and hate are not necessarily
mutually exclusive in a linear way.  Also, is it more intuitive to
represent the strength of a relationship by the thickness or color of
the line rather than by the length of the line (or the distance between
the nodes)?  Does a long line between nodes intuitively suggest a strong
association (the length of the line) or a weak association (the distance
between nodes)?

 

Bruce

 

 

 


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