Daniel H. Pink’s (2009) book – Drive – examines human motivation through the ages. For our early ancestors roaming the savannahs, Motivation 1.0 was a simple matter of survival – for food, shelter, sex. As nomadism gave way to agriculture, the principle of minimising risk and maximising reward took on a more sophisticated form with […]
The SCARF model describes five domains considered important in explaining, for a social setting, a key organising principle of the brain – minimise danger, maximise reward. Denoting status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness and fairness, SCARF brings to sharp relief the findings from social cognitive neuroscience that social needs are just as paramount as the physical.
The Frenchman Michel Foucault was one of the leading figures in twentieth century philosophy. His theories and constructs made a profound impact across many social movements and institutions including women’s liberation and psychiatry. A Foucaultian analysis surfaces deep insights into the political context in which the individual operates. The reality an individual experiences cannot be […]
Game Theory was popularised by the 2001 film “A Beautiful Mind”. Status, being a relative concept, makes for an interesting game theory candidate. If you take N people in a closed system all vying to improve their social status ranking you have the makings of a zero-sum-game. One person’s gain can only come at another’s […]