Is there a special way to arrange guests' seats?

If everyone already knows each other, I like to mix it up and make them sit apart from significant others and the people they talk to most frequently. However, if it's a group of people that don't know one another, I like to give them a "lifeline" in the form of someone they're comfortable with right next to them.

If everyone already knows each other, I like to mix it up and make them sit apart from significant others and the people they talk to most frequently. However, if it's a group of people that don't know one another, I like to give them a "lifeline" in the form of someone they're comfortable with right next to them.