Your Brain@Work: Post #10--SCARF

S-C-A-R-F: One of the BIG findings that David Rock offers is that we have five social domains that can feel to the brain either like basic survival threats or rewards. The five are Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, and Fairness (SCARF). Status: When we threaten the status of another by putting them down, boasting about ourselves, or acting superior, we threaten others and their defenses go up. Certainty: When we come into a new company or club and our position threatens the certainty of others, their defenses go up. Autonomy: When we tell people what to do and make demands instead of asking questions, their autonomy gets threatened and they resist. Relatedness: When we appear to exclude people or distrust them, relatedness gets threatened. Fairness: When people feel unfairly treated, watch out, because people will want to right the wrong with a vengeance.