A Configuration Approach to Mindset Agency Theory: A Formative Trait Psychology with Affect, Cognition and Behaviour

by Maurice Yolles, Gerhard Fink

Overview

This book explains psychological, sociopolitical and organisational change in multidisciplinary settings. It shows how advanced techniques of contextual analysis can be applied to complex situations and offers a new cybernetic agency paradigm based on living systems theory. It models, diagnoses, and analyses complex, realworld situations to anticipate patterns of behaviour.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781108978330
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	07/27/2023
Pages:	727
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.45(d)

About the Author

Maurice Yolles is a retired Professor in Management Systems at Liverpool John Moores University, UK, and has a specialism in social cybernetics. He also headed the Centre for the Creation of Coherent Change and Knowledge.

Gerhard Fink was previously the Jean Monnet Professor of European Integration at Boston University, USA, and was the Director of the doctoral programs at Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria, between 2002–2009.

Table of Contents

Part I. Cybernetic Sociopsychology and Agency: 1. Mindset Agency Theory, an Underview; 2. An Exercise in Configuration; 3. Mindscapes; 4. Normative Personality; 5. Understanding Formative Traits and Behaviour; Part II. From Cognition to Affect: 6. Cognition Agency; 7. Cognition Personality; 8. Affect Types and Mindset Types; 9. Affect and Cognition; Part III. Modelling Identity Types through Agency; 10. Identity as a Component of Personality; 11. Modelling Identity Types: The Case of Donald Trump; 12. Agency, Personality and Multiple Identity Types: The Case of Theresa May; Part IV. Formalising Mindset Agency Theory: 13. Introduction to Psychohistory and Formalism; 14. Illustrating Psychohistory; Part V. Concluding Chapter: 15. Overview.

Editorial Reviews

‘What a bold intellectual venture! The proposed configuration approach provides a powerful framework and an innovative methodology for the analysis of personality, organization, and culture. It also delivers an operationalization of Magoroh Maruyama’s Mindscape Theory.’ Markus Schwaninger, Professor Emeritus, University of St. Gallen, Switzerland

'In the 1980s, I left Psychology, disillusioned by both its adherence to restrictive disciplinary boundaries and its narrow methodological focus. I entered the transdisciplinary field of Systems Science, where I encountered a wealth of systemic and cybernetic ideas. But I never got around to applying these back to my original ‘home’ discipline. So, when I saw that Maurice Yolles and Gerhard Fink had set out to bring systemic insights to Psychology, I couldn’t do anything but smile! Now I have this book in my hands, I am looking forward to a rewarding encounter between my past in Psychology, my present in Systems Science, and the potential for emerging future ideas!' Gerald Midgley, Co-Director of the Centre for Systems Studies, University of Hull, UK, and past President of the International Society for the Systems Sciences

'Yolles and Fink pull off one of the 'great tricks' of personality psychology. They center their analysis on complex systems of psychological mechanisms, yet produce a relatively straightforward, structured scheme for conceptualizing differences among individuals.' Daniel Cervone, Professor of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA

From the Publisher