Overview of Dynamic Network Theory

Dynamic network theory is a multidisciplinary framework that shows how social networks influence goal pursuits in social, organizational, and international systems (Westaby, 2012). It integrates social network analysis and psychological science to provide new perspectives on goal achievement, social influence, social capital, and human complexity. This document presents a brief sampling of the new concepts and methods in the theory. As a brief summary, the theory proposes the following: (1) network motivation toward goals (activated by goal strivers and system supporters in social networks) positively influences goal achievement and performance, (2) network resistance (activated by goal preventers and supportive resistors) negatively influences performance, and (3) network reactance roles (activated by system negators and system reactors) and peripheral roles (activated by interactants and observers) have variable effects on performance, depending on the situation. System competency is also predicted to influence performance. Important network regulation processes are proposed, such as the (1) monitoring, feedback, and change process, and (2) the network rippling of emotions process, which shows how emotions flow across social networks in predictable ways after goal achievement (or failure). The theory also introduces the new dynamic network chart method to show exactly how social networks influence goal pursuits in specific cases. The theory has various implications for understanding human behavior, performance, emotional contagion, and conflict in various network systems. Please use the following reference when referring to theoretical and methodological concepts in this overview document  Westaby, J. D. (2012). Dynamic network theory: How social networks influence goal pursuit. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. This book presents complete details about the scientific underpinnings and methodologies in this work as well an extensive bibliography. Overview of Dynamic Network Theory Page 3 Brief Background “New advances across the social sciences are highlighting social networks as phenomena that can motivate people and change lives. But what the literature has not addressed is what gives social networks such power. How do they facilitate and regulate change?” (Westaby, 2012, p. vii). In response to such queries, the new research on dynamic network theory examines how social networks influence human goal pursuit (Westaby, 2012). This scholarship formally integrates the science of social networks and the science of human goal pursuit, which have normally been studied in separate literatures. This is a timely integration given the ever increasing importance of social networks in our daily lives (in person or electronically). The theory has novel implications for understanding the complexities of human behavior in diverse areas. It also provides a new dynamic network chart methodology, syntax, and measurement approach to show exactly how social networks are quantitatively linked to specific goal pursuit cases in social, organizational, or international settings. Dynamic network surveys also allow researchers to empirically examine how key social network variables in the theory are related to goal achievement, performance, and target behaviors of interest across larger samples. The following presents a brief sampling of the new concepts in the theory, which are italicized. Please refer to the book for definitions and a complete discussion of the scientific evidence supporting each of the concepts and propositions. The Eight Social Network Roles The theory uniquely postulates how goal achievement, performance, and target behaviors of interest are predicted by the activation of only eight social network roles in dynamic network systems. Dynamic network systems are defined as “The totality of entities and social network roles directly or indirectly involved in targeted goal pursuits” (Westaby, 2012, p. 5). Each of the social network roles are illustrated next and visually illustrated in Figure 1 below. See Chapter 2 for complete definitions, scientific underpinnings, and practical examples. Network Motivation Roles Metaphorically, “network motivation serves as the glue that holds social networks together in goal pursuit” (Westaby, 2012, p. 11). Without it, many social structures would collapse, according to the theory. Network motivation is technically defined as “a social network’s general pursuit of goals, which is activated through goal striver (G) and system supporter roles (S)” (Westaby, 2012, p. 33):  Goal strivers (G): entities that are directly trying to pursue the goal or behavior.  System supporters (S): entities that are supporting others in the goal pursuit. The activation of network motivation roles is predicted to have a universal positive effect on goal achievement and performance by capitalizing on motivational goal mechanisms that drive human performance. Intuitively, more success should be found when more individuals are striving toward a goal and supporting each other as needed in the process. Network power emerges when the activated goal strivers and system supporters also have high system competency in the goal pursuit (Westaby, 2012, p. 88-90). Metaphorically, network power represents “the strength of the glue that holds social networks together in goal pursuit” (Westaby, 2012, p. 88). System competency also helps social networks from becoming overly dense and inefficient. The Overview of Dynamic Network Theory Page 4 network power concept is theorized to provide a stronger prediction of goal achievement and performance than mainstream “centrality” and “social capital” conceptualizations alone. Network Resistance Roles Network resistance is “a social network’s intentional behaviors that work against goals and that are universally implemented through goal preventer and supportive resistor roles” (Westaby, 2012, p. 43):  Goal preventers (G`): entities that are trying to prevent or thwart the goal pursuit.  Supportive resistors (S`): entities that are supporting others in their network resistance efforts. These role activations are predicted to have a universal negative effect on goal achievement and performance, such as through competition, conflict, and rivalry mechanisms. For example, the more people that are trying to resist a person’s efforts at a goal or behavioral pursuit, the less likely that person will be successful. Network Reactance Roles Network reactance represents “a social network’s negative interpersonal relations in regard to those involved with goal pursuit or resistance processes” (Westaby, 2012, p. 46). Network reactance is technically activated through system negator and system reactor roles:  System negators (R`): entities that are negatively reacting to others that are pursuing the goal.  System reactors (R): entities that are negatively reacting to others that are showing network resistance or negativity toward the goal pursuit. The activation of these roles is predicted to have variable/moderator effects on performance, depending on the situation. To illustrate, on one hand, system negators (e.g., who disapprove of someone’s goal pursuit) may implicitly or explicitly alert goal strivers about problems in their strategy, which can aid the goal striver’s learning and performance. This extends control theory and cybernetic models as delineated in the monitoring, feedback, and change process in dynamic network theory (Westaby, 2012, p. 67-71). On the other hand, when system negation is activated in different situations, some goal strivers may become so distracted by the negativity that it reduces their performance in the system. Hence, being able to constructively manage negative feedback is important in the theory. Network reactance is further postulated to underlie the emergence of negative climates and conflict in social, organizational, and international systems. Generally speaking, the theory also uses the network motivation ratio and network affirmation ratio to quantitatively describe the relative level of motivation and positivity/negativity in the systems. Peripheral Roles The last two social network roles in the theory flesh-out the remaining peripheral forces involved in goal pursuits and achievement. Entities exclusively activating these roles are not intentionally helping or hurting the goal pursuit, but may be in the vicinity, which could influence outcomes in the system. These peripheral roles include:  Interactants (I): entities that are encountering others involved in the goal pursuit.  Observers (O): entities that are “observing (or aware of) the people involved in the target behavior/goal pursuit context or situation” (Westaby, 2012, p. 5). Overview of Dynamic Network Theory Page 5 Peripheral role activations are predicted to have variable/moderators effects on performance depending on the situation, such as when observers in a social network can motivate goal strivers that are highly experienced through social facilitation (and priming) effects, but distract other goal strivers that are just learning how to pursue the goal, such as by increasing their stress and anxiety (Westaby, 2012, p. 5558). Exclusive interactants may also inadvertently cause accidents in some settings, which can reduce a system’s performance. FIGURE 1: Key concepts in dynamic network theory (Westaby, 2012) Network Rippling of Emotions and Human Conflict Dynamic network theory uniquely shows how emotions spread across social networks. This occurs through the network rippling of emotions process in the theory (Westaby, 2012): When goals are achieved, the goal strivers and system supporters in the social network will have positive emotional reactions, while entities activating exclusive interactant and observer roles will experience less network rippling of emotions (e.g., your goal accomplishment will result in your happiness and your supporters’ happiness, while bystanders in that social network will have less intense emotional reactions). Further, if goal preventers and supportive resistors also exist in the dynamic network system, they would be expected to experience a negative network rippling of emotions (e.g., the people trying to prevent your goal achievement, such as rivals, will be upset by your success). Furthermore, they would be expected to target negative emotions or even hostilities toward the goal strivers and system supporters first. The network rippling of emotions can also explain the ways in which various forms of human conflict emerge and potentially become intractable in social networks. See Chapter 2 in Westaby (2012) for more details about related processes and their implications for managing complex conflicts at the national level of analysis, including important issues associated with promoting large-scale goals at the global level. D e c is io n -M a k in g P ro c e s s e s * [a n d r e s o u rc e c a p a c it ie s ] Goal achievement, performance levels, or target behavior execution Network Regulation • Monitoring, feedback, and change process • Network rippling of emotions Network Resistance 3. Goal preventers (G`) 4. Supportive resistors (S`) Network Motivation 1. Goal strivers (G) 2. System supporters (S)