Introduction

“Everyone smiles in the same language”

George Carlin.

As longevity increases, understanding how people build resilience against life adversities and maintain well-being becomes increasingly important. Resilience, as the outcome of dynamic processes of successful adaptation, refers to a person’s ability to maintain well-being despite exposure to adversity (Kalisch et al., 2019). Well-being, in line with the definition of WHO (World Health Organization, 2021), refers to “a subjective positive state that includes the ability to contribute to the world with a sense of meaning and purpose” (Besika, 2023, p. 2). In this context, consider a person who responds to a challenge by seeking the support of their family / friends, employs a plan of action as a result and finds a solution that leaves the individual satisfied and feeling more connected than before to other people. In contrast, consider a person who does not trust anyone enough to share their problem with, they feel unable to deal with the situation, as they are stuck on negative emotions, and go on a down spiral that leads to depression and even more problems than before. What psychological functional abilities generate differences in the resilience of those two individuals that influence their well-being? To answer this question, it is necessary to first identify the principles an individual, as a dynamic system that operates in physical space and across time (i.e., spatio-temporal environment), needs to satisfy to function. Adopting a system dynamics perspective and considering principles imposed by physical laws can help identify the nomothetic psychological prerequisites for building resilience and maintaining well-being.

There has never been a greater need for searching beyond observable variables to explain the complexity involved in the dynamics of psychological functioning. A recent empirical evaluation of psychology progress reports having only approximately 40% success in its ability to explain statistical variance in human behavior, which is constant in the period from 1956 to 2021 (Smedslund et al., 2022). These results raise a red flag over continuing to focus on small sets of variables that derive from behavior observations. In response to the danger of psychology having a minimal scientific contribution and a questionable usefulness to practice, a theoretical nomothetic model of well-being is required. Synthesizing poignant findings regarding primary cognitive components, a central cognitive mechanism and its ongoing processes that allow a person to interact with their environmental context in endless variations can help reconstruct a universal cognitive architecture. The assumption that a person, like any other dynamic multisystem that operates in a spatio-temporal environment, needs to satisfy certain principles imposed by the law of dynamic balance (i.e., maintaining equilibrium and direction while operating within an environment) (Kwon et al., 2013) can direct an inquiry that seeks to formulate a coherent theoretical framework that explains the functions of the cognitive architecture.

Toward this end, the main challenges are (a) reconstructing the universal psychological architecture and (b) explaining how physical laws influence its functioning. A unifying nomothetic framework needs to explain operationalizable parameters that promote psychological stability and resilience. Such a framework is important both from a research, and from an application perspective. Firstly, big data and methodological advances in modelling dynamical systems require a unifying theoretical model to guide analyses and aid their interpretation. Secondly, such a model can provide a conceptual map to practitioners in helping clients locate and remove mental barriers to dealing with adversity and improving their well-being. A nomothetic model can inform person-centered interventions for preventing and restoring failure of the central mechanism that maintains a person’s alignment across their emotion, cognition, behavior, and their environmental context.

Common sense suggests that despite their differences, idiosyncrasies, peculiarities and unique history, people share certain core components (e.g., a sense of self, the need to belong, etc.). Established theories and previous findings provide sufficient insights into the core cognitive components, their organization and how they interact within a complex dynamic system (i.e., an individual). The principles of the physical law of dynamic balance (Horak, 2006; Kwon et al., 2013) can help translate integrated knowledge into psychological parameters that enable a person to balance dynamically, which is the primary function of all dynamic systems. Accordingly, (1) Consistency (i.e., alignment between cognitive patterns and behavior patterns; Besika, 2023) facilitates connection to the environment and stability. For example, a person behaves according to what they think is important to them and to their environment. (2) Flexibility (i.e., ability to make cognitive and behavioral adaptive re-adjustments in response to the environment; Besika et al., 2021) facilitates adaptation to change. For example, a person may change their day’s schedule when something unexpected requires immediate attention (e.g., a health issue). (3) The symmetry of the “weight” (i.e., the level of importance an individual places on their internal or external elements of their environmental context) safeguards stability and movement. Thus, self/others ratio (i.e., the ratio of importance a person places on personal interest and others’ interest; Besika et al., 2021) regulates weight symmetry and facilitates adaptation to change as it allows a person to prioritize self over others and vice versa. For example, an individual who places high importance on their professional success while contributing to the success of others would have a better “weight” symmetry than an individual who places high importance on their personal interest and becomes isolated. A shift in placing importance on their relationships can help restore balance. (4) Speed (of meaning) (i.e., the swiftness a person can make meaningful self-related interpretations of their experience) generates energy that motivates and provides purpose and direction to the system. For example, when facing failure, the faster a person interprets their experience as a learning opportunity, the sooner they would feel motivated to continue pursuing their goals.

Recent studies support the above assumptions regarding consistency and flexibility (Besika et al., 2021). Studies using national samples from the United Kingdom repeatedly show that well-being measures (e.g., satisfaction with life, meaning in life and happiness) correlate positively with consistency (operationalized as the degree universal values motivate goals, and influence behavior) and flexibility (operationalized as the degree people can re-define meaningful goals in response to unexpected events). The studies also indicate that a self/others ratio (operationalized as the ratio universal values motivate people to benefit themselves and to benefit others) range close to 1 moderates the relationship between well-being and psychological balance (i.e., a primary psychological function comprising consistency and flexibility). The assumption regarding speed of meaning being the fourth nomothetic parameter that promotes well-being derives from the common understanding that responding to any challenge requires making sense of it first. The assumption that the faster one makes sense of a challenge the sooner they can respond to it requires empirical investigations.

In principle, a collection of components that interact and behave as one entity constitute a dynamic system, which is more than the sum of its parts. The primary function of any dynamic system is stability (Arnol’d, 2020). How does a person maintain psychological stability? Answering this question requires reconstructing the psychological architecture, which is likely to have a universal design (Lukaszewski et al., 2020). What are the primary components of this architecture? How are these organized? What is the mechanism that allows this invisible architecture to balance as an integral system? What are the processes that facilitate the system’s primary functions of balance and direction? A top-down approach led by nomothetic principles guides the investigation of the latent factors that promote psychological stability and resilience. Consistency, flexibility, self/others ratio and speed of meaning emerge as the main functions of the psychological architecture and explain how a person reconciles stability and change, as it adapts to its spatio-temporal context.

A top-down approach vs. a bottom-up approach to well-being

Previous perspectives on the self either attempt to explain its structure (e.g., Freud, 1989) or are concerned with the processes of its underlying mechanism (e.g., Carver & Scheier, 2019). In the field of personality psychology, models use semantics to formulate a taxonomy of patterns of behavior, thought and emotion to describe personality (traits) (e.g., Widiger, 2017). Density distribution is used to capture variability in personality traits (e.g., Sosnowska et al., 2019). In spite of theoretical developments taking into account the influence of time and of the environment on personality variability, previous models remain descriptive. A theoretical model of well-being is missing to compliment the bottom-up approach of existing theories. A top-down approach needs to go beyond descriptive variables. The nomothetic principles that drive the behavior of a person as adynamic system can help explain innate universal psychological functions. A nomothetic approach addresses the limitations imposed by research overreliance on behavior observations and self-reports when investigating well-being, which extends beyond the physical level of functioning.

The present work

The present article gathers and integrates key evidence from many psychology fields and beyond into a coherent theoretical framework and undertakes the challenges of: (a) providing a nomothetic explanation as to how consistency, flexibility and self/others ratio generate inter- and intra-individual differences in well-being; and (b) explain how speed of meaning enables a person to maintain consistency, flexibility and a fairly symmetrical self/others ratio. In other words, this article addresses the overarching question of, what functional abilities promote psychological stability and resilience while adapting to change? Toward this end, a psychological reconstruction of an individual generates testable hypotheses regarding the universal factors that enable a person to maintain psychological balance during ongoing spatio-temporal changes. A novel nomothetic model explains how consistency, flexibility, self/others ratio and speed of meaning as the four primary functional abilities of an individual regulate balance and increase resilience. Comparisons to previous models highlight their limitations a in aiming to draw attention to the importance of adopting a new perspective to the psychological inquiry.

The architecture of the self

There is ongoing criticism over the contemporary approaches to investigating the psychological structure for being purely descriptive and lacking a theoretical framework (Lukaszewski et al., 2020). Recent attempts to progress research integrate a system dynamics perspective (e.g., Personality Dynamics model, PersDyn; Sosnowska et al., 2019) and consider the role of time in self-regulation (e.g., Cybernetic Big Five Theory, DeYoung, 2015). Yet, these attempts are limited in explaining the structure and mechanism of personality as an integral dynamic system. Investigations are typically concerned with the mean level of expression of personality traits across time and situations, as they consider this mean to be a “reference point” of the system’s functioning. Personality traits are seen as function-specific dimensions with an independent adaptation mechanism (DeYoung, 2015). Considering that a person displays more than one personality traits, this conceptualization is problematic as it is limited in explaining behavioral patterns. Despite their elegant response to the challenge of simplifying the complexity of a dynamic psychological system and providing generic methodological solutions (e.g., PsyDyn), existing models fail to capture the complexity of psychological functioning in its entirety and the human ability of increasing resilience in response to adversity. Although a bottom-up investigation reveals stability and plasticity (DeYoung, 2015) as two meta-traits that imply a need for ongoing goal functioning and exploration of new information, a lack of theoretical background does not allow for a comprehensive interpretation of these latent factors deriving from structural equation modeling. How do stability and plasticity contribute to well-being? There is a recognized need to go beyond the “Big Few” factors and stretch beyond personality traits (Mõttus et al., 2020).

A new approach

The present work adopts a top-down approach and identifies consistency and flexibility, which resemble stability and plasticity (DeYoung, 2015), as two prerequisites for well-being. This theoretical investigation identifies self-others ratio and speed of meaning as two additional high order factors that are pertinent to psychological functioning. As a start to this investigation, a synthesis of previous theories and findings informs the reconstruction of the architecture of the self (i.e., a multisystem that gives an individual a sense of identity). Figure 1 depicts a multisystem that operates in space and time, consisting of primary cognitive patterns that interact with an embodied emotional system and manifest in unique behavioral patterns. The central cognitive component is the self-concept, a bilateral pattern representing an individual’s perception of themselves and of others (e.g., a significant other or others in a broader sense) (Besika, 2023; Besika et al., 2021). As it occupies the vertical axis of symmetry, the self-others pattern serves as a constant point of reference in the internal organization of motivational orientation, value and goal patterns that inform behavior (Rogers, 1959). On the horizontal axis of symmetry, the value pattern that represents a person’s socio-cultural context is organized within a universal circular structure (Besika, 2022). Extending upward, values interact with the motivation pattern of conservation, self-enhancement, openness to change and self-transcendence orientation (Schwartz & Cieciuch, 2021). Extending downward, the value pattern informs the goal pattern, which represents a person’s meaningful goals and which influences their behavior (Besika, 2022). This cognitive system interacts with an embodied emotional system that is universal (Nummenmaa et al., 2014) and manifests into unique behavior patterns. Ongoing bidirectional cognitive processes within a negative feedback loop mechanism aim to reduce discrepancies between cognitive and behavior patterns. These processes maintain alignment between cognition and behavior (Carver & Scheier, 2019). Emotion serves as a signal for the level of alignment: positive emotion signals consistency and negative emotion signals lack of consistency across the various patterns (Besika, 2023).

Fig. 1
figure 1

The architecture of the self: Ongoing bidirectional processes that generate meaning help a person construct a cognitive structure that interacts with the emotional system and informs behavior. CON: conservation, SE: self-enhancement, OC: openness to change, ST: self-transcendence; AC: achievement, HE: hedonism: ST: stimulation, SD: self-direction; UN: universalism, BE: benevolence, CO: conformity, TR: tradition, SE: security, PO: power

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Vertical axis: self and others

Self-concept refers to mentally represented self-perceptions regarding past, present, and future (Brandtstädter & Greve, 1994) and in relation to self and/or others (Besika, 2023). For example, “I am honest”, “ I am caring”, “ I am needy”. Thus, the self-concept is a dual cognitive pattern that serves as a point of reference when constructing meaning in relation to the world, allowing a person to formulate a relationship with themselves and with others. The seemingly opposing yet reciprocal mental contexts of self and others “… stand in hostile opposition to each other and mutually dispute their ground” (Freud, 1962, pp. 141–144). Research evidence supports the above claim as it indicates that having a sense of self (e.g., autonomy) and maintaining proximity to others (e.g., relatedness) are both needs that need fulfillment (Kluwer et al., 2020).

Horizontal axis: a personal value pattern within a universal structure

Research shows that through individual and social experiences, people integrate social values (e.g., security, achievement, power, self-direction, benevolence) into a universal circular structure (Schwartz & Cieciuch, 2021). Each value has a different level of importance to the individual that fluctuates according to their needs (Bardi et al., 2009). Value priorities form a dynamic pattern within the circular structure and around the central vertical axis of the self-concept (Besika et al., 2021). A person’s value pattern denotes what is meaningful to them and signifies the purpose of their goals, which in turn influences their behavior (Besika, 2022; Besika et al., 2021).

The above insights suggest that the circular structure of values occupies the horizontal axis of symmetry of a person’s cognitive system. An individual’s value pattern that is organized within this circular component influences the system’s “weight” distribution or symmetry. The more important a value becomes to the person, the closer it “weighs” toward their central vertical axis of balance. As a person is subject to continual modification (Vallacher & Wegner, 1987), it is hypothesized that a dramatic change in value priorities can generate a new value pattern and shift the system’s typical “weight” distribution (i.e., distribution of importance assigned to each cognitive component) and symmetry to a degree that results in a more stable equilibrium. In contrast, failure to re-adjust value priorities may lead to unstable psychological states.

Motivation pattern

Studies indicate that different values correspond to the four motivational orientations of conservation, self-enhancement, openness to change and self-transcendence. For example, the values of security, conformity and tradition correspond to conservation (Schwartz & Cieciuch, 2021). The motivation pattern comprises a person’s mental representations of their environment, which influence their relationship with the external world (Kelso, 1997). Thus, the motivation pattern denotes a person’s orientation in relation to the external world. Drawing on the above, the motivation pattern extends above the horizontal axis of symmetry of the psychological architecture, as it influences the type of values a person finds meaningful. For example, deriving meaning from conservation can motivate a person to value security and tradition.

Goal and behavior patterns

A person’s value pattern informs their goal pattern (i.e., outcomes a person wishes to achieve), which influences their behavior and daily goal pursuit (Besika, 2022; Besika et al., 2021). This is in line with the action identification theory, which highlights that a vertical cognitive hierarchy is evident in a person’s ability to connect the implications of their goals to their actions before they pursue them (Vallacher & Wegner, 1987). For example, deciding to be kind to a blind person and help them cross the street (behavior pattern) may emerge from the desired state of being socially acceptable and making the world a better place (goal pattern). This goal pattern may express values of Benevolence and Universalism and a self-transcending motivational orientation.

The self as a dnamic system

An individual, as a self-organizing dynamic system, is constantly shaped throughout their development against their lived experience, by constructing an internal environment of cognitive patterns (Besika, 2023; Kelso, 1997). The cognitive environment, that is neurologically mapped in the brain and interacts with an embodied emotional system (Panksepp & Watt, 2011; Nummenmaa et al., 2014), represents a person’s internalized relationship with themselves and with their physical context. In turn, an individual shapes their physical landscape through their behavior, informed by their internal environment. As a person receives new information daily, new meaningful patterns may emerge to facilitate adaptation. This reciprocal human-to-environment interaction relies on dynamic balance (i.e., maintaining balance while moving across space and time). Dynamic balance requires that a person maintains equilibrium (i.e., stability) and direction (i.e., having an orientation and a target) (Horak, 2006; Kwon et al., 2013). The principles that facilitate equilibrium and direction in such a complex multisystem impose that a person needs to maintain: (a) consistency across emotion, cognition and behavior; (b) flexibility in re-adjusting the internal organization of its pattern components to restore consistency in response to change; (c) a symmetrical “weight” distribution in relation to its central axis (i.e., a fairly equal distribution of importance a person assigns to each single element of their cognitive patterns in relation to their self-concept); and (d) an energy source that allows it to operate within a spatio-temporal environment. What mechanism and processes facilitate these conditions?

The mechanism

Dynamic systems maintain equilibrium due to homeostasis (i.e., a tendency to maintain return to a set point of balance) (Heady, 2006). Homeostasis operates on a negative feedback loop mechanism that maintains consistency across the system’s components by detecting and reducing any discrepancies that may be responsible for displacement from equilibrium (Boker et al., 2010). On the physical level of functioning, this mechanism maintains homeostasis in many bodily functions (e.g., stable body temperature) through self-regulating processes (Kwon et al., 2013). On the psychological level of functioning, a negative feedback loop mechanism reduces inconsistencies, which occur due to various changes (e.g., aging), between a person’s cognitive components and their physical environment (Carver & Scheier, 2019).

The energy source

Ongoing bidirectional cognitive processes, which operate within a negative feedback loop mechanism, align a person’s cognitive components to their behavior and facilitate adaptation to change imposed by situational constrains. Such processes allow a person to either re-adjust the situational constrains to their personal preferences or re-adjust their personal preferences to their situational constraints (Brandtstädter & Renner, 1990). For example, ongoing bidirectional cognitive processes can aid a person adapt their goals in relation to their developmental needs. As these adaptive processes enable an individual to re-define their association to the external world, they generate meaning that provides a sense of importance (George & Park, 2016).

Meaning or meaning in life operates on the levels of motivation, cognition, and emotion (King & Hicks, 2021. Meaning facilitates the unique human ability to generate cognitive patterns that denote aspects of the self, and interact to achieve coherence (Kelso, 1997). The observed bidirectional movement of processes that generate meaning (Mackenzie & Baumeister, 2014) suggests that meaning generates energy that rotates the cognitive system on its vertical axis and in a double spiral. For example, as meaning spirals upward, it translates experience into abstract ideas such as values: when “I” eat vegetables “I” think “I am” healthy, “I” feel secure, “I” evaluate security as important and believe that being conservative is important. As meaning spirals downward, it deconstructs complex cognitive patterns and reduces them into simple events: as “I” derive meaning from conservation “I” think security is important. Hence, the value of health (i.e., a value within the security domain) guides “my” food choices and “I” aim to eat healthy food (e.g., goal) and particularly eat vegetables and avoid carbohydrates (i.e., behavior pattern). The bidirectional movement of processes that generate meaning helps a person align their cognition to their behavior in response to their environmental context and maintain consistency across the structure. As these processes also interact with the embodied emotional system, consistency across values, goals and behavior patterns generates overall positive emotional patterns. In contrast emotional discomfort indicates levels of inconsistency (Besika, 2023).

Psychological balance

In physical terms, dynamic balance relies on physical functional abilities (e.g., walking, seeing, hearing etc.). In psychological terms, the proposed model hypothesizes that psychological balance is influenced by four psychological functional abilities: (1) Consistency (2) Flexibility, (3) Self/others ratio, and (4) Speed of meaning.

Consistency

Consistency facilitates stability in dynamic systems (Kwon et al., 2013). As one of the four prerequisites for psychological balance, consistency facilitates a person’s alignment of cognitive patterns (i.e., self-others, motivation, values, goals) to their behavior and allow them to adapt to their environmental context. Thus, behavior is not random as a person typically behaves in line with what they think is meaningful and has personal value (Besika, 2022).

Flexibility

Flexibility facilitates a system’s adaptation to a constantly changing environment (Kwon et al., 2013). As a prerequisite for psychological balance, flexibility facilitates a person’s ability to re-adjust the internal organization of their cognitive patterns in response to spatio-temporal change, which can lead to changes in behavior and/or the environment. Re-defining important goals in the face of challenge relies on cognitive flexibility (Besika et al., 2021; Brandtstädter & Renner, 1990).

Self to others pattern and the symmetrical weight distribution

The dual pattern of self-others (i.e., self-concept) is the core element of cognition (e.g., Rogers, 1959) and constitutes the central axis in relation to which all other patterns are organized (Kelso, 1997). For example, a person may set and pursue goals in relation to themselves or/and others. As the level of symmetry of a dynamic system (i.e., the weight distribution around a system’s center of support) influences its balance, the distribution of importance (i.e., “weight”) an individual assigns to self and others influences the “weight” distribution within all other pattern components and the structure’s stability (Fig. 2A). Studies show that the “weight” ratio of self and others (i.e., self/others ratio) influences well-being (Besika et al., 2021). The closer the self/others ratio is to 1 (i.e., has a symmetrical “weight” distribution between self and others) the more happy and satisfied people feel as they experience more meaning.

Fig. 2
figure 2

Self/others ratio and speed of meaning influence psychological balance. (A) The “weight” distribution of self-other needs to maintain symmetry within the system’s central axis. (B) Energy produced by processes that generate meaning needs to maintain a sufficient level

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Changes in the spatio-temporal environment can have an impact on the system’s “weight” distribution (Van der Heijden & Thompson, 2002). For example, a person may need to adjust their priorities in response to an unexpected event. When a situational challenge requires focusing on either self or others, the cognitive center of gravity shifts away from its typical equilibrium and the rotation axis tilts. This precession allows the system to adapt to external demands that concern either the self or others (see Fig. 2A). For example, when a person enters a relationship and starts caring for their partner, the “weight” increase in the mental context others may lead to “weight” decrease in the mental context of self. This hypothesis is in line with the adaptation framework perspective (Lukaszewski et al., 2020) that considers the welfare trade-off ratio (WTR) as an implicit factor that calibrates emotion. WTR denotes the degree a person values their welfare in relation to the welfare of others and the ratio is specific to who is on the receiving end. For example, when a person perceives that another person undervalues them, the emotion of anger activates behavior that aims to increase the other person’s WTR.

Adaptive re-adjustments

Fluctuations in the self/others ratio may lead to further re-adjustments in the value pattern and generate new goal and behavior patterns. For example, responding effectively to a situational challenge may require that a person changes their value priorities and re-adjusts their goal pursuit. Experimental findings indicate that in response to change, people re-adjust the “weight” distribution of their cognitive components. For example, a decrease in the importance people assign to social-focus values accompanies an increase in the importance they assign to self-focus values (Bardi et al., 2009). Such re-adjustments enablethe system to restore its symmetry and adapt to change successfully. Depending on the nature and level of change, re-adjustments may be short or long-term. Any “weight” distribution can maintain balance, as long as it remains symmetrical.

Speed of meaning

It is a common understanding that the faster a person makes sense of what a challenge entails, the faster they can respond. An ancient Greek word suggests that adaptation involves bidirectional movement of meaning-making processes that engage all levels of functioning. The word εὔ-στροφος (efstrofos) translates into “quick-witted” (English-Greek Dictionary, 2022) and describes a person with an ability to decode things fast. Etymologically, εὔ-στροφος means “good-spinner” and it is used to describe a person who can perceive all factors that compose a challenge and have an appropriate response. The word encapsulates the idea that dealing with a challenge requires bidirectional processes: (1) fully understanding the challenge (b) making a re-adjustment (cognitively or behaviorally); (c) forming a new perception of the situation; (d) evaluating the effect of re-adjustments; (e) making further re-adjustments until the challenge dissolves (Petrounias, 2018). Evidence shows that a bidirectional movement of meaning within a negative feedback loop mechanism facilitates a human-to-environment interaction and adaptation (e.g., King & Hicks, 2021). Hence, the proposed model postulates that meaning generates energy that allows a person’s cognitive system to engage and interact with their physical environment, leading to the hypothesis that the speed of meaning, which refers to the swiftness a person can make meaningful interpretations of their experience, is another prerequisite for psychological balance (Fig. 2B). Evidence shows that restoring meaning aids recovery from traumatic experiences as it provides coherence and fosters positive affect (King & Hicks, 2021).

Altogether, research evidence supports the idea that the nomothetic principles of dynamic balance are pertinent to psychological functioning.

Resilience as an outcome of dynamic balance

Beyond the task of adaptation and survival, resilience captures the overarching goal of a dynamic system and holds its potential to strengthen its stability. Previous modelling of resilience, using linear elasticity and damping, or active inference (e.g., Miller et al., 2022; Boker et al., 2010) provide limited explanations over the ability of a dynamic system to improve resilience and become more stable overtime. In line with the conceptualization of psychopathology as a network of symptoms (Borsboom, 2017), another model conceptualizes resilience as a symptom network that does not transit into disease (Kalisch et al., 2019). The model conceptualizes resilience factors as nodes that dampen the symptom-to-symptom interconnections within a network and prevent transitioning into stable states of psychopathology. Although research based on this modeling identifies certain protective factors of well-being and resilience (e.g., a tendency to positively reappraise stressors or a tendency for self-enhancement) it is limited in determining any specific strategies that can help people gain control of their own lives (Brinkhof et al., 2021). The symptom network methodology bears unclear relations to the real-life evidence as there is no theoretical explanation for the findings but mere speculations about their significance. The results give no indication of a particular mechanisms that generate this network, which at best can be interpreted as an organizing framework (Kalisch et al., 2019) or as a lack of structure.

In contrast, the proposed theoretical model explains that positive reappraisal of stressors (e.g., a traumatic event) can activate cognitive processes that generate meaning and re-adjust the internal organization of cognitive pattern components to restore consistency and symmetry within the cognitive system. A recent piece of evidence supports this hypothesis as it suggests that meaningful living generates positive affect and resilience to psychological health challenges in young adults (Yıldırım et al., 2021). As a result of adaptive re-adjustments, the cognitive system may improve its symmetry, which carries the potential of finding a more stable equilibrium than before, making the system more resilient to future impact. As a person responds to life challenges by re-adjusting the distribution of importance they assign to their cognitive as well as to the physical components within their environment, they develop new neuropathways that may increase faster adaptation to future challenges. Over time, the system can arrive at a more stable homeostatic equilibrium with increased resilience (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3
figure 3

A. A set-point equilibrium facilitated by ongoing processes that generate meaning. B. Adaptive re-adjustments improve the system’s symmetry and lead to a strengthened equilibrium. C. Reduced movement of meaning leads to ineffective re-adjustments and activates a network of pathological symptoms

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Falsifiability

Under certain conditions the psychological system bifurcates, at which state a person malfunctions. When the central mechanism of a dynamic system fails, it changes into a network system of symptoms (Borsboom, 2017). In line with the homoclinic bifurcation theory, beyond a critical point of asymmetry or below a certain level of energy a dynamic system bifurcates (Arnol’d, 2020; Van der Heijden & Thompson, 2002). Accordingly, there are two testable hypotheses regarding the conditions that may lead to loss of psychological stability: (1) a very asymmetrical self/others ratio, where a person loses total trust in self and/or others; (2) insufficient speed in the processes that generate meaning and motivate a person to interact with their environment (see Fig. 2). For example, the impact of a traumatic event can disturb the system’s symmetry by slowing down the speed of meaning to a level that makes the person unable to comprehend their experience and further decode painful emotions into meaningful information. Thus, insufficient speed of meaning may result in inability to make adaptive re-adjustments, failure to restore internal symmetry, and in a total psychological collapse. Evidence shows that a traumatic event can disturb a person to a degree where they display symptoms of psychopathology (Bonanno, 2004). For example, abuse in an intimate relationship can change someone’s perception of others from being a source of comfort to being a threat. Such perception generates fear that can lead to avoiding social interaction, to self-isolation and self-neglect (i.e., a very asymmetric self/others ratio). Struggling to extract meaning from experiences may lead to depression and, when a person is depressed, they find it difficult to extract meaning from their experiences (King & Hicks, 2021). Comorbidity may become an alternative stable state where meaning is low or absent and behavior is impaired (Borsboom, 2017) as the person struggles to generate new goal patterns and goal strategies (De Young, 2015) due to a lack of any desired outcome.

Limitations

This broad conceptualization does not capture the multiple microsystems involved in psychological functioning. In addition, there may be less accessible cognitive systems, such as content-specific beliefs, which are not salient in a person’s awareness.

Discussion

In attempting to describe the psychological architecture, psychologists typically compile all possible factors that influence psychological functioning (e.g., Freund et al., 2021), or use a debatable number of personality traits that emerge from factor analysis of lexical descriptions of behavior (e.g., Goldberg, 1990), representing the mean point where behavior, thoughts and feelings converge. The prevailing outside-in approach presents barriers in understanding how cognition, emotion and behavior interact as a coherent system. In response to the call for a framework that reconciles stable and temporary perspectives on behavior (e.g., Sosnowska et al., 2019) while considering universal laws (Smedslund et al., 2022), the present work addresses existing limitations and presents a nomothetic framework of well-being. The model complements existing theories by proposing four nomothetic parameters that can explain inter- and intra-individual differences in well-being. Extending the inquiry beyond behavior and the external environment (cf. Charles et al., 2021), the proposed model considers the complex mechanistic properties a person combines to satisfy the principles imposed by the physical laws that govern their spatio-temporal environment and influence their functioning. In this sense, a person resembles a solar planet, which combines stillness and movement.

Future directions

In addition to relying on appropriate data, there is a need for developing measures that capture the complexity of consistency, flexibility, self/others ratio and speed of meaning. Primary empirical investigations support the hypotheses that high consistency and flexibility as well as a self/others ratio close to 1 are positively associated with well-being measures (Besika et al., 2021). Consistency, operationalized as the degree universal values influence goals and daily actions, and flexibility operationalized as ability to re-define meaningful goals, are positively associated with meaning and well-being measures, and explain a considerable amount of their average levels of variance. A self/others ratio, operationalized as the ratio of the degree a person is motivated to benefit personal and other people’s interest, within the range of 0.95 and 1.05, predicts higher levels of well-being than ratios outside this range.

Future research may seek to further validate measures of consistency, flexibility and self/others ratio. Findings in the field of cognitive psychology can inform the development of speed of meaning measures. For example, although cognitive speed is strongly related to intelligence, studies show that the strength of this relationship depends on the nature of the task (Sheppard & Vernon, 2008). Thus, measures of speed of meaning need to take into account the level they can engage participants. Another piece of evidence supports the idea that others influence cognitive development. Language communication in older adults is richer and more complex when they talk to familiar others than when they talk to strangers (Luo et al., 2021). Hence, measures that assess speed of meaning may test the influence of others when measuring this factor, and thus give an insight into the relationship between speed of meaning and self/others ratio.

Estimating the parameters of a dynamic system requires high-density repeated measures (Kalisch et al., 2019). Future research may focus on measuring consistency, flexibility, self/others ratio and speed of meaning with repeated observations of individuals. It is necessary to choose appropriate time intervals to capture the within person variance as well as the between person differences and assess short-time regulation versus long-term adaptation. Investigating the temporal dependence between the four parameters and its influence on individual variance over time may involve exploring the autoregressive effects (Mulder & Hamaker, 2020) of the four proposed parameters of well-being variables.

Implications to practice

In clinical settings treatment typically aims to identify the symptoms and the network to which they belong, in aiming to change the network into a healthy state (Borsboom, 2017). The proposed model allows for a preventive approach that can target the malfunctioning area before it progresses into a stable state of network of symptoms. The proposed model may serve as a conceptual map and facilitate the navigation around a person’s cognitive components and processes. This map can inform interventions that first identify and then target the specific areas that seem to threaten a person’s equilibrium and direction. Having a nomothetic understanding of psychological functioning allows for a person-center approach to strengthening resilience and improving well-being. For example, assessment may involve evaluating whether a person’s self/others ratio becomes asymmetrical to a point that it threatens their well-being. In such a case, therapeutic interventions may aim to restore a client’s relationship with either themselves or significant others, depending on which element is weak, by reframing the meaning they assign to relevant experiences. To remove barriers in pursuing new goals and developing new strategies, interventions may aim to activate what is important to the individual by raising awareness over their value pattern and value priorities.

Concluding remarks

As a dynamic system, an individual interacts with their environment, which makes maintaining both physical and psychological balance their primary function. There are endless ways for the universal multisystem to achieve balance due to a person’s uniqueness in perception. A person’s subjective interpretations of their physical environmental context generate variation in the way they internalize and interact with the world. Therefore, understanding a person’s processes that generate meaning can give insights into their overall functioning. The present article provides a unifying theoretical framework that explains the nomothetic prerequisites for well-being. A novel model generates testable hypotheses regarding the four parameters of consistency, flexibility, self/others ratio and speed of meaning. Measuring these cognitive functions may serve to detect potential threats to well-being as well as inform interventions that strengthen resilience. The proposed model may facilitate further advances in many fields of psychology and encourage research collaborations in addressing the complexity of human functioning. Keeping an open dialogue regarding the functional abilities that enable well-being may lead to better insights of the conditions that strengthen resilience and foster well-being.