The participants were shown an item, taken from the possessions of someone, who was believed to have had some form of contact with each of the participants at least once. The particular item was chosen, because it seemed most likely not to evoke associations other than its acquired operational characteristics. It was therefore considered to be better suited as an aid for the participants to delineate their personal networks without having to take into account any circumstances or events that had, at any point, led to or had contributed to the establishment [or modification] of the network [or any of its constituents part(s)] itself.