Office Location:
226A ThmpsTC Affiliations:
Educational Background
- Ph.D., Social and Organizational Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- B.A., Psychology (honors), University of Wisconsin - Madison
- Post-Doctoral Scholar, Penn State University
Scholarly Interests
Areas:
- Important life decision making in social, organizational, and leadership settings
- The A.I. Decision Making Calculator: Helping people make stronger decisions
- Infusing A.I. into life decision making: The good, the bad, and the ugly
- Dynamic network theory: How social networks influence goal pursuit and performance for individuals, teams, and organizations
- New A.I. apps to promote goal striving, achievement, and well-being
- Social interaction analysis of dyads, couples, and groups
Founder: www.DynamicNetworkLab.Org
Selected Publications
APPLIED DECISION RESEARCH
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Westaby, J. D., Rosemarino, N. M., & Elliot, A. J. (2025). How Behavioral Reasoning may Further Explain the Belief-to-Behavior Connection: Exploring the Role of Primary Reasons, Counter Reasons, and Comparative Reasoning Facets. Psychological Inquiry, 36 (1), 67-74. Open Access / Free Download: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/1047840X.2025.2482353?needAccess=true
- Westaby, J. D. (2005). Behavioral reasoning theory: Identifying new linkages underlying intentions and behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 98, 97-120.
- Wagner, M., & Westaby, J. D. (2020). Changing pay systems in organizations: Using behavioral reasoning theory to understand employee support for pay-for-performance (or Not). Journal of Applied Behavioral Science.
- Westaby, J. D., Probst, T. M., & Lee, B. C. (2010). Leadership decision-making: A behavioral reasoning theory analysis. Leadership Quarterly, 21, 481-495.
- Westaby, J. D., & Lowe, J. K. (2005). Risk taking orientation and injury among youth workers: Examining the social influence of supervisors, coworkers, and parents. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90, 1297-1305.
- Westaby, J. D., Versenyi, A., & Hausmann, R. C. (2005). Intentions to work during terminal illness: An exploratory study of antecedent conditions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90, 1027-1035.
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Lee, B. C., Westaby, J. D., & Berg, D. (2004). Impact of a National Rural Youth Health and Safety Initiative: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial. American Journal of Public Health, 94, 1743 -1749.
DYNAMIC NETWORK THEORY
- Westaby, J. D., Pfaff, D. L., & Redding, N. (2014). Psychology and social networks: A dynamic network theory perspective. American Psychologist, 69, 269-284. Click Here:
- Wang, W., Stark, T., Westaby, J. D., Parr, A. K., & Newman, D. A. (2023). Social network analysis in psychology: Recent breakthroughs in methods and theories. In H. Cooper, M. N. Coutanche, L. M. McMullen, A. T. Panter, D. Rindskopf, & J. Sher (Eds.), APA handbook of research methods in psychology: Data analysis and research publication (pp. 501–537). American Psychological Association.
- Westaby, J. D. (2012). Dynamic network theory: How social networks influence goal pursuit. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
- Westaby, J. D., & Parr, A. K. (2020). The network goal analysis of social and organizational systems: Testing dynamic network theory in complex social networks. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 56, 107-129. Click Here: Network goal analysis paper (Westaby & Parr, 2020)
- Westaby, J. D., & Shon, D. (2017). Simulating the Social Networks in Human Goal Striving. In R. R. Vallacher, S. J., Read, & A. Nowak (Eds.), Computational models in social psychology (1st ed.). pp. 231-257. New York, NY: Psychology Press (Frontiers of Psychology series).
- Westaby, J. D., & Echtenkamp, A. (2017). Humor and Organizational Networks: Functions and Dysfunctions. In C. Robert (Ed.), Humor in the workplace (1st ed.). pp. 45-59. Routledge.
- Westaby, J. D., & Redding, N. (2014). Social networks, social media, and conflict resolution. In P.T. Coleman, M. Deutsch, & E.C. Marcus (Eds.), The handbook of conflict resolution: Theory and practice (3rd ed.). pp. 998-1022. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
- Westaby, J. D., Woods, N., & Pfaff, D. L. (2016). Extending dynamic network theory to group and social interaction analysis: Uncovering key behavioral elements, cycles, and emergent states. Organizational Psychology Review.
Related Articles
Attachments
Dynamic Network Theory
Psychology and social networks: A dynamic network theory perspective. American Psychologist, 69, 269-284