Investigating the Fitness Arenas

Principles

The Q-Arenas are areas of psychosocial functioning within each Domain that meet the primal need of that Domain. The examination of this part of THEE took place over some years from 2020 and was posted in the Architecture Room.

At that time there was sufficient knowledge of 5 Domains—RL1-Action, RL2-Inquiry, RL4-Experience, RL5-Communication, and RL6-Purpose—to allow developing and testing generalizations.

Specifically: 

Arenas use the controlling level (PH•L6) of the next lower domain, which for RL3-Change is judgement-PH2L6. This function is under a psychosocial pressure for autonomy and it is qualified by a term from the Domain in question, which for Change is provisionally selected as "discriminating".

Arenas are activated by the G1 foundation of the next higher domain's effect, which, for Change, is attention-PsH4G1 in manifesting character-PsH4, and that is also under a psychosocial pressure for autonomy.

It is therefore conjectured that: 

PH'3Q Arenas of Fitting In, being a response to attention and involving discriminating judgements, probably leads to orientations. A person's orientation to any social settings is pressured by acceptability (the RL3-Change pressure) and subject to criticism (PH'3CsHK).

The presence of autonomy pressures in the context of a pressure for acceptability explains why the Fitting In Arenas can be particularly challenging for some, and potentially everyone, to handle in social life.

In developing the Q-expansion of RL3-Change here, the approaches and conclusions developed and refined in the Architecture Room will be used. Readers are encouraged to review arguments and analyses relating to Q-expansions in general, because there repetition here will be limited.

Two distinct forms of psychosocial pressure have been identified in Arenas: Identity Pressure and Operating Pressure.

These two pressures may conflict intra-psychically. However, there may be a facility, person or group implicitly dedicated to respond to these pressures. If the two pressures are concerns of separate entities, then there may be social conflict.

See the standard assignment to the Arenas here.

Identity Pressure

This is the Primary (1°) Pressure.

It is a formative constraint or precondition for the Q-arena's existence as an entity. It emerges from structure, and affects the nature of the Arena and its continuing existence.

Handling (or Operating) Pressure

This is the Secondary (2°) Pressure.

Once a particular Arena has come into existence, this is the pressure experienced by a person who is operating in its terms and has to handle the Arena. It influences choices and activities during real-time participation and drives the actual functioning.

The Style Hierarchy

Arenas are created by a Q-expansion of the Domain's Principal Typology. This expansion requires a 4-level Style Hierarchy (counted α, β, γ, δ) which is applied to each Type.

Style Hierarchies are very similar to each other and probably derive from some basic principle. Jaques suggested this was information-handling methods: 
α = declarative; β = cumulative; γ = serial processing; δ = parallel processing. However, abstract terms are not helpful in clarifying details of the Arenas and therefore concrete meaningful terms have been developed as shown in the Table below:

L PH'1Q•
Achieving		 PH'2Q•
Knowing		 PH'4Q•
Individualizing		 PH'5Q•
Associating		 PH'6Q•
Governing
δ Resolving Anchoring Anchoring Developing Anchoring
γ Challenging Evaluating Differentiating Systematizing Contesting
β Shaping Organizing Constraining Appraising Constraining
α Generating Grounding Activating Asserting Grounding

The PH'3 Typology contains Depiction Paradigms. We discovered that the depiction method affects what is taken as real, and the Style Hierarchy labels have been chosen to recognize this finding.

• The initial (α) declaration-assertion-grounding style is imposition.
• Following this, the (β) shaping-organising-constraining style is refinement.
• Then the (γ) challenging-differentiating-contesting style is a probe.
• Finally, the (δ) resolving-anchoring-developing style is a confirmation.

Here is the set tabulated:

L PH'3-T•
δ Confirming
γ Probing
β Refining
α Imposing

Next step:

Originally posted: 16-26-Jan-2026