While social geometry might entail other elements as well (or instead), Black's own explanation of the model includes five variable aspects: horizontal/morphological (the extent and frequency of interaction among participants), vertical (the unequal distribution of resources), corporate (the degree of organization, or of integration of individuals into organizations), cultural (the amount and frequency of symbolic expressions), and normative (the extent of previously being the target of social control).
For example, vertical space is reminiscent of Marxist concerns, morphological of Émile Durkheim, and cultural perhaps of Pierre Bourdieu.
Most significantly, Black's Social Geometry entails an epistemological departure from reliance on individualistic explanations, teleology, and even individuals as such.
That is, it is an instance of pure sociology, and thus uses a different logic and language than any precursors from whose work Black's ideas may said to be extended or derived.
Black also cites examples – particularly in The Behavior of Law (1976) – which indicate movement through social space, such as a society becoming more stratified, or the status (and collective liability) of an ethnic group changing over time.