Personality, Pathology and Sagiv-Schwartz Mindscapes

Abstract:     
This is a conceptual paper that initiates a new line of theory to provide a coherent framework for existing theory and programs of research in normative personality and agency theory. It does this by introducing a social agency meta-model that comes from cybernetic “living systems” theory. The agency is adaptive and has a normative personality that operates through formative traits, the function of which is control. We establish theory for the development of Sagiv-Schwartz mindscapes that can be used to anticipate agency behaviour in situational analysis. A core part of the modelling process involves understanding the role of pathologies, the density of which is suggestive of a degree of personality abnormality. As such this research creates a structural model that has the potential to distinguish between normal and abnormal personalities in the same framework.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 35

Keywords: agency, normative personality, living systems, traits, Sagiv-Schwartz mindscapes, pathologies, abnormal personality

working papers series