Behind The Ten States

Why use this guide?

The invention of AgileBrain® is a watershed moment in the field of human assessment. For the first time, coaches and organizations have access to an affordable, scalable applied neuroscientific emotional and motivational measurement tool. If you are reading this AgileBrain Ten States Field Guide, then you’ve probably already taken AgileBrain yourself and have experienced the power and promise of emotional-motivational profiling as a diagnostic tool for identifying this most elusive and powerful set of human needs.

As Complex as Human Emotions

Like fingerprints, no two AgileBrain® profiles are identical. AgileBrain assesses twenty-four different emotional needs, the positive and negative energies associated with the twelve cells of the motivational matrix. If we reduced the AgileBrain algorithm to a simple binary “on vs. off” for each of these twenty-four needs, we would still end up with 6.204484e+23 (that’s 23 decimal places or 620 sextillion, more than the total number of gallons of water on earth!) possible combinations. But wait! AgileBrain goes even further by incorporating the latency of response to each image. The resulting algorithm results in a nearly infinite number of possible combinations (a level of complexity to match human emotions themselves). With so many possible combinations, it can be difficult to “get your head around” the differences among AgileBrain Profiles (even subsequent profiles for the same client). For this reason, AgileBrain developed a more manageable set of ten prototypical emotional need states.

Introduction

To understand the fundamental patterns of human motivation, Leading Indicator Systems (LIS) conducted a series of six large scale nationally-representative online surveys semi-annually in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.

Using AgileBrain® and k-means segmentation algorithms, our analysis revealed the existence of ten distinct need states, each with its own unique pattern of motivations. In order to develop a holistic view of each state, the analysis was enriched through the inclusion of a variety of standard psychological inventories including the “Big Five” (openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism), the Rokeach Values Survey, the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (PHQ-9, GAD-7), the Perceived Stress Scale, the Brief COPE assessment of coping styles, a series of well-being indicators, and full demographics. This field guide reports the results of these studies in terms of each state’s emotional needs, tensions in their work and lives overall, and how these needs show up in a broad array of choices, lifestyles, and activities.

The ten states are evidence-based, using quantitative analysis of large datasets. The algorithm that classifies the ten states is astoundingly precise, reproducing them with 97 percent accuracy. Through this simple, three-minute image selection exercise, a wealth of information about client emotional needs, and their motivation to change, is instantly unlocked.

Executive Summary

The AgileBrain framework, grounded in a peer-reviewed, comprehensive model of human motivation, integrating every major theory, mapping human emotions across four life domains: self, material, social, and spiritual, each having three levels of aspiration: foundational, experiential, and aspirational. This framework encapsulates a holistic approach to understanding human needs, ranging from basic safety to the pursuit of a higher purpose, offering a revolutionary model to comprehend and cater to the intricate patterns of human emotional needs.

As you delve into the AgileBrain Ten States Field Guide, we anticipate that you will uncover a rich vein of insights pertinent to your clients, facilitating more effective and empathetic engagements. This groundbreaking approach promises to continually evolve, incorporating emerging trends and psychological constructs to provide timely and rich insights, revolutionizing the landscape of human understanding.

Minutes and Milliseconds, Continuously

Incredibly, all of this insight is instantly knowable when we marry a 3-minute AgileBrain® exercise with the Ten States classification algorithm – a process that takes milliseconds. Better yet, the algorithm works with an astounding 97 percent accuracy! The AgileBrain team is continuously running profiling studies to incorporate emerging trends and psychological constructs to ensure that the information available is as rich and timely as possible.