The Theory of Reasoned Action as Parallel Constraint Satisfaction: Towards a Dynamic Computational Model of Health Behavior
Figure 1
The Theory of Reasoned Action as a constraint satisfaction system.
Each belief is split among two processing units; one to capture positive valence (red circles) and the other to capture negative valence (grey circles). The numbers within each unit index the belief (1 = belief one…14 = belief fourteen). Inter-bank connections: The constraint between valence units within a belief is always inhibitory (see the blue connecting lines between units). There are no constraints between units that are both a different belief and different valence. Intra-bank connections: Within each valence bank, the beliefs are fully connected (i.e., each belief can constrain all other beliefs of the same valence (see the curved green arrows next to each valence bank). These constraints, called internal processing constraints, are modifiable, through learning, from a set of input patterns which represent past social context/situations regarding others’ beliefs. Dynamics: External input to the system (not shown here) directly activates the belief units and represents others’ beliefs (called external processing constraints). The state of the system at any time point is a function of both the internal and external processing constraints; a constraint satisfaction algorithm dictates the specific form of this function.