People are people, so why should it be…
The SCARF model in a Nutshell
People are people, so why should it be […] And different people have different needs […] Help me understand…
People are complex bio-psycho-social systems and no two are alike. This trait complicates our cooperation and often leads to surprises when interacting with each other. Not only in the Depeche Mode song cited above but also in our daily lives.
A little more clarity about why people react differently to supposedly the same circumstance is offered by the SCARF model. First presented by David Rock in his book “Your Brain at Work” 2009¹, it explains our emotions and reactions in social exchanges. Based on neuroscientific findings, the SCARF model can help us understand how to reduce social threats in order to keep the general level of alert and stress low. This is the only way that people can be fully engaged in the long term and develop all their potential.
SCARF is the acronym for five interpersonal primary rewards or threats resulting that are important in social exchanges: Status — Certainty — Autonomy — Relatedness — Fairness.
All of us are attracted to pleasant, rewarding feelings, and flee from threats, even if they are only thoughts. The increase of a SCARF factor generally makes us feel comfortable and safe; a decrease puts us on alert and feeling unsafe. Threats can make us feel psychologically unsafe and can trigger powerful responses that make it impossible to think creatively, collaborate with others productively and make informed decisions.
Unfortunately, what is considered as a threat or a reward differs from person to person and even from situation to situation. There is no defined point that triggers escape reflexes or pleasant reward feelings equally in everyone. Depending on how we value each of the five SCARF factors, we have different needs and want to be approached accordingly. Also, we can think of these factors as biases that we use in our social contexts.
Status
Status² reflects our need to be regarded highly and valued. It derives how we
- see ourselves
- compare ourselves to others, and
- think how others see us or should see us.
Status can refer to different domains, e.g., hierarchy, age, expertise, professional role, length of time within a company. Depending on how important status is for a person, the following, for example, differ: the importance of public praise and recognition, the way how criticism and feedback for improvement is delivered, or the effect of status rewards.
Certainty
Consider the brain as a “big prediction machine”³. When it feels oriented, it feels safe. The need for certainty defines to which extent our mental capacity is bound until a sufficient level of clarity is achieved.
Certainty includes our need for predictability and clarity, binding mental capacity until clarity is achieved:
- Security
- Consistency
- Commitment
- (no) Change.
Persons with a high certainty score may focus on promises being kept. They tend to know many details, e.g. about processes and procedures. They want detailed information on what is expected of them and want to know about risks. They appreciate ample opportunities for all their questions. People with a low certainty score do not care as much about these factors. They may even be annoyed by too many details or guidelines.
Autonomy
Autonomy describes our need to feel that we have control over our environment and that we have some degree of choices. People with a high need for autonomy may be satisfied by getting the big picture and freedom to figure out themselves how to get there. They won’t appreciate advice they haven’t asked for. They want to have choices, and they detest over-communication and ultimatums. People with a lower individual need for autonomy may prefer clear direction and are happy following the decisions of others.
Relatedness
Relatedness refers to our social need of belonging to some group and our tendency to protect our “tribe”:
- Friend or foe
- Belonging
- Trust.
People for whom relatedness matters a lot, appreciate a wording that emphasizes the team (e.g. “we” instead of “I”). They welcome openness and sharing on a personal level for establishing commonality. They expect and show loyalty, empathy and have the ability to bring people together. They feel threatened by the prospect of or actually being excluded or rejected. People at the other end of the relatedness spectrum may prefer working alone and do not like to be forced to join in groups. They may be reluctant to comply to rituals, traditions, or norms and do not respond to “inclusion” or “loyalty” rewards.
Fairness
Fairness describes our need to engage in and experience fair exchanges, both to us and to others.
People who value fairness highly, expect policies to be applied fairly to everyone. They disdain favouritism, faint praise, or unearned rewards. They want to contribute and expect their voice to be heard. Equity in exchanges and expectations matters to them as well as transparency, especially in decision making processes. The opposite of these people are persons who may value outcomes over processes and methods, results over political correctness, and dislike discussions about social justice.
So how can we apply SCARF?
The SCARF model explains a set of social factors that can make us feel psychologically unsafe and trigger strong defence reactions. As a conclusion, there are two practical application areas:
1. Apply SCARF to Oneself
How important is each of these five SCARF factors for you? How far do the individual SCARF factors have to be fulfilled for us to feel comfortable and safe? What threshold must be crossed before a strong emotional reaction is triggered that temporarily knocks out our rational capabilities?
The more we are aware of our stress factors and the trigger points that are activating our “away” or escape reflex (converted into correspondingly high stress), the better we can react and cope with the situation. And if it means taking ourselves out of the situation for a few minutes until we can think clearly and act rationally again.
2. Applying SCARF when interacting with Others
How can we interact with others in a way that allows everyone to stay in their safe zone and in a low-stress mode? Considering the five SCARF factors can be helpful in manifold contexts such as designing and announcing organizational change, role changes, team set-ups, group discussions, workshop facilitation, etc. It is a way for minimizing unnecessary resistance, stress and friction and achieving a motivating atmosphere for everyone.
Or as David Rock puts it: “[…] if you can find ways to increase several of the elements of SCARF at the same time, either in yourself or in others, you have a powerful tool not just for feeling great but for improving performance, too.”⁴
¹ Rock, David 2009: Your Brain at Work. Strategies for overcoming distraction, regaining focus, and working smarter all day long. New York, p. 195ff. In “Managing with the Brain in Mind”, in Strategy+Business Issue 56, Autumn 2009 ( https://www.strategy-business.com/article/09306?pg=all, accessed on 04.05.2021), D. Rock illustrates the relation between neuroscientific findings, the SCARF factors and their impact on management and leadership. This all applies on working with teams, too.
² In Radecki, Dan/Hull, Leonie et al. 2018: Psychological Safety. The key to happy, high-performing people and teams, the authors elaborated the S.A.F.E.T.Y model which is similar to the SCARF model. Based on neuroscientific findings which are extensively explained, they relate it to psychological safety. The acronym stands for security, autonomy, fairness, esteem, trust, you (individual factors). For convenience reasons, the SCARF model is mapped with the descriptions of the different factors in the S.A.F.E.T.Y model in the following paragraphs (status — esteem, certainty — security, autonomy — autonomy, relatedness — trust, fairness — fairness).
³ Ibid, p. 49
