SCARF draws us into community context, team context, and partnership context as it focuses on social contributors to our threat response. Once our social threat response has been triggered by any and all of the SCARF examples, it triggers a clear neuro-physiological response that sports psychology refers to in the Threat–Challenge dichotomy:
An athlete competing with others in an individually-focused sport (like running) or in a team-based sport (like basketball) will find herself facing the threat vs challenge dynamic again and again. Combining SCARF with sport psychology Theory of Threat vs Challenge creates a more complex matrix of opportunity in face of potential social threats:
Threat Challenge Reward
Fear-based Action-based Reward-based
Often isolating Pro-Social Pro-Self
Fight/Flight/Freeze/Fawn Respond & Overcome Feels good
Adrenaline + Cortisol Adrenaline + Oxytocin Dopamine
