Mindset agency theory
Mindset Agency Theory (MAT) is an interdisciplinary framework for modelling the cognitive, affective and behavioural dispositions—labelled mindsets—of social agents such as individuals, organisations and cultures.[1]
Developed by systems theorist Maurice Yolles and organisational-psychology scholar Gerhard Fink, MAT extends earlier autonomous and cultural variants of agency theory by adding three orthogonal trait dimensions—cognitive, figurative and operative—derived from second-order cybernetics and trait psychology. The framework has been cited in systems-theory research on viable organisations.[2]
Concept
MAT depicts every agent as a viable system characterised by three bipolar axes:[3]
- Cognitive orientation – information-processing and sense-making style
- Figurative orientation – values, norms and self-conception
- Operative orientation – preferred decision and action patterns
Combining positive and negative poles on each axis yields eight extremal mindset archetypes, analogous to those in the Sagiv–Schwartz value framework.[4]
Mathematical model
MAT formalises personality as
where , and are vectors on the cognitive, figurative and operative dimensions. Recursive feedback between these vectors is proposed to maintain internal coherence and support adaptation.[1]
Applications
- Organisational diagnosis – a 2024 study applies MAT to distinguish idiosyncratic from generic agency patterns in multicultural enterprises.[5]
- Marketing research – MAT has been used to frame value co-creation as recursive dialogue among “living-system” market actors.[6]
- Psychological profiling – MAT helps differentiate normal and pathological identity configurations.[7]
Critique
Independent systems scholars have questioned MAT’s empirical tractability and accessibility, noting its meta-theoretical abstraction,[2] while proponents argue that it is intended primarily as a generative modelling schema rather than a predictive metric.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Yolles, Maurice; Fink, Gerhard (2021). A Configuration Approach to Mindset Agency Theory: A Formative Trait Psychology with Affect, Cognition and Behaviour. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-83332-8 Check
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- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Espejo, Raúl; Reyes, Angel (2011). Organisational Systems: Managing Complexity with the Viable System Model. Springer. pp. 178–180. ISBN 978-3-642-11603-2. Search this book on
- ↑ Yolles, Maurice; Fink, Gerhard (2015). "Exploring Mindset Agency Theory". Kybernetes. 44 (3): 350–373. doi:10.1108/K-03-2014-0049.
- ↑ Di Fatta, Davide; Yolles, Maurice (2017). "Diagram of the eight mindset types". Kybernetes. 46 (8): 1281–1302. doi:10.1108/K-04-2017-0123.
- ↑ Yolles, Maurice; Rautakivi, Tomi (2024). "Diagnosing Complex Organisations with Diverse Cultures – Part 1". Systems. 12 (1): 8. doi:10.3390/systems12010008.
- ↑ Dominici, Gandolfo; Yolles, Maurice (2016). "Decoding the XXI-century marketing shift: an agency-theory framework". Systems. 4 (4): 35. doi:10.3390/systems4040035.
- ↑ Di Fatta, Davide; Yolles, Maurice (2017). "Modelling identity types through agency: Part 2". Kybernetes. 46 (8): 1303–1321. doi:10.1108/K-11-2016-0316.
External links
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