The use of artificial neural networks and multiple linear regression in modelling work–health relationships: Translating theory into analytical practice

Although psychological theory acknowledges the existence of complex systems and the importance of nonlinear effects, linear statistical models have been traditionally used to examine relationships between environmental stimuli and outcomes. The way we analyse these relationships does not seem to reflect the way we conceptualize them. The present study investigated the application of connectionism (artificial neural networks) to modelling the relationships between work characteristics and employee health by comparing it with a more conventional statistical linear approach (multiple linear regression) on a sample of 1003 individuals in employment. Comparisons of performance metrics indicated differences in model fit, with neural networks to some extent outperforming the linear regression models, such that R ² for worn-out and job satisfaction were significantly higher in the neural networks. Most importantly, comparisons revealed that the predictors in the two approaches differed in their relative importance for predicting outcomes. The improvement is attributed to the ability of the neural networks to model complex nonlinear relationships. Being unconstrained by assumptions of linearity, they can provide a better approximation of such psychosocial phenomena. Nonlinear approaches are often better fitted for purpose, as they conform to the need for correspondence between theory, method, and data.     

Extended network learning error: A new way of conceptualising chronic fatigue syndrome

Abstract

The cause of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is controversial: psychological, hypothalamic and immune mechanisms have been proposed as well as the possibility of some form of interaction between these mechanisms. Patients' own conceptual models vary and sometimes adversely affect self-management. This paper suggests an interactional way of conceptualising CFS using developments in complexity theory (networks, parallel processing or connectionism). I propose that the neurological, immune and endocrine systems are pan of a single, self-regulatory, extended brain-body network. Furthermore, that CFS is caused by self-organisational change in this extended network created by normally adaptive error-sensitive learning rules that malfunction when physiological and psychological challenges coincide. This psychoneuroimniunoendocrinological model shows how previously proposed mechanisms could interact to cause CFS. explains the heterogeneity of the presentation of the disease, and provides a conceptual model that may be acceptable to patients but is also consistent with effective self-management.     

Call for Papers: National Conference in Sales Management

This article combines a constructivist grounded theory approach with a focus on structuration theory to propose a new mental model for understanding motivation in the context of solving complex problems in contemporary business-to-business (B2B) settings. This study uses the interpretative tradition of qualitative research to conduct in-depth interviews of 24 B2B sales professionals and subsequently analyze their lived experiences. Findings indicate that intrinsic motivation stems attitudinally from a need to foster an identity of helping customers, introducing a concept called “interpersonal identification” with customers. That identity motivates the development of more cognitively intense sales proposals using a more holistic proposal development process – referred to herein as “systems-savvy selling.” While interpersonal relationships have long been components of B2B relationships, this study challenges laypeople’s stereotypes of salespeople who use interpersonal relationships to improve business outcomes. Instead, systems-savvy selling helps salespeople build interpersonal relationships and use business outcomes as feedback to strengthen interpersonal relationships and their identification with customers. Unexpectedly, it also finds that dual-role sales managers, who have roles both in selling and managing, confront a paradox of self versus others when managing systems-savvy selling processes. By sampling within an industry in which the research team benefits from significant expertise, the constructivist grounded theory approach relying on semistructured, in-depth interviews used herein leverages the research team’s expertise while controlling for industry-level effects.     

Close Ties,Intercessory Prayer,and Optimism Among American Adults: Locating God in the Social Support Network

Prayer is often an interpersonal phenomenon. It represents not only a form of social support shared between or among people, but also a means of embedding an unobservable actor (God) within a conventionally observable social network. This study considers whether the receipt of intercessory prayer from close network ties is associated with future‐oriented well‐being. Analyses use social network module data from the Portraits of American Life Study (PALS), a nationally representative study of American adults containing a breadth of information not available in prior studies of networks, prayer, and well‐being. Despite experiencing more instances of recent adversity (mental or physical health problem, financial trouble, and unemployment), prayed‐for PALS respondents report the highest levels of optimism. Furthermore, the association between network prayer and optimism is robust to inclusion of individual‐level indicators of religiosity. Finally, other forms of social support that an individual receives from his or her close ties do not explain the benefits of intercessory prayer.     

Priming Effects on Cooperative Behavior in Social Dilemmas: Considering the Prime and the Person

We test whether people with a relatively more intrinsic vs. extrinsic value orientation (RIEVO) are particularly likely to enact cooperative behavior in resource dilemmas when they are primed with relatedness goals. In Study 1, high RIEVO participants primed with relatedness exhibited more restrained fishing behavior in a resource dilemma than their unprimed counterparts or participants low in RIEVO. Study 2 replicated this effect and further showed that the prime must signal the possibility of satisfying a valued goal (relatedness satisfaction) in order to elicit the value-consistent behavior. We discuss these results in the context of recent process models of goal priming, and also discuss how these findings contribute to our understanding of cooperative behavior and the predictive power of value constructs more broadly.     

A learning rule that explains how rewards teach attention

Many theories propose that top-down attentional signals control processing in sensory cortices by modulating neural activity. But who controls the controller? Here we investigate how a biologically plausible neural reinforcement learning scheme can create higher order representations and top-down attentional signals. The learning scheme trains neural networks using two factors that gate Hebbian plasticity: (1) an attentional feedback signal from the response-selection stage to earlier processing levels; and (2) a globally available neuromodulator that encodes the reward prediction error. We demonstrate how the neural network learns to direct attention to one of two coloured stimuli that are arranged in a rank-order. Like monkeys trained on this task, the network develops units that are tuned to the rank-order of the colours and it generalizes this newly learned rule to previously unseen colour combinations. These results provide new insight into how individuals can learn to control attention as a function of reward contingency.     

When Birds of a Feather Flock Together: The Role of Core-Self Evaluations and Moral Intensity in the Relationship Between Network Unethicality and Unethical Choice

Leveraging perspectives from social cognitive theory, the attention-based view, and social networks literatures, we tested the relationship between unethical choice and network unethicality, which we define as respondents’ perceptions of their peer advisors’ unethical choices. Although social cognitive theory predicts that perceptions of peer advisor unethical choice are positively associated with unethical choice, we theorize that the nature of this relationship depends on the personality of the actor (core self-evaluation) and the situation (moral intensity). Results from a lagged study suggest that individual and situational variables may act as key buffers to the adverse impact of unethical social influence on ethical choice. Strengths, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.