Inferring social structure from continuous‐time interaction data

Abstract

Relational event data, which consist of events involving pairs of actors over time, are now commonly available at the finest of temporal resolutions. Existing continuous‐time methods for modeling such data are based on point processes and directly model interaction “contagion,” whereby one interaction increases the propensity of future interactions among actors, often as dictated by some latent variable structure. In this article, we present an alternative approach to using temporal‐relational point process models for continuous‐time event data. We characterize interactions between a pair of actors as either spurious or as resulting from an underlying, persistent connection in a latent social network. We argue that consistent deviations from expected behavior, rather than solely high frequency counts, are crucial for identifying well‐established underlying social relationships. This study aims to explore these latent network structures in two contexts: one comprising of college students and another involving barn swallows.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Oct 20, 2017
Source ID
10.1002/asmb.2285

Entities

People

  • Bailey Fosdick
  • Tyler H. McCormick
  • Wesley Lee

Organizations

  • Colorado State University
  • Elizabeth McCormick Memorial Fund
  • National Science Foundation
  • United States Army Aeromedical Research Lab
  • University of Washington

Tags

Readers

  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Psychological Intervention/Treatment for Stress, Anxiety, PTSD, and Related Emotional and Cognitive Health Symptoms.
  • Theoretical Analysis.

Technology Areas

  • AI & ML
  • AI & ML - Bayesian Inference