I know that when I am driving to a sporting event at a nearby sports bar that I am feeling high (adrenaline) and happy (dopamine). We know that the “high” which gamblers often get is produced not by hitting the jackpot; rather, it occurs when they enter the casino or even when they are driving to the place (casino) where they anticipate a rewarding experience. Like me, their get their jolt of pleasure while enroute.
It should be noted that anticipation can be produced by a brief glimpse at something pleasurable (or something threatening). The anticipation comes in a flash. For instance, I get a jolt of pleasure when turning on the radio to find that I have turned to a piece of classical music that I enjoy. Conversely, if I tune on the radio and the piece of pleasurable music is about to conclude, then I get a bit depressed, knowing that I will not be able to enjoy this piece of music – unless like the noted cognitive theorist, Jerome Bruner (Sacks, 2008), I can replay the entire piece of music in my own mind.
In establishing this model of anticipation, I build on Peter Sterling’s model of Allostasis (Sterling, 2020). He proposes that the human body does not return to a state of Homeostasis; rather it is constantly changing the desired physiological state based on anticipated neurological activities (Sterling, 2024). He puts it this way:
“Nearly all physiological and biochemical regulation is continuously and primarily managed by prediction, even the smallest changes when a thought flashes through the mind and predicts something that needs either raising or lowering various systems to adjust to the predicted demand. Corrective feedback is used secondarily when predictions fail. To me, this is the origin and purpose of the brain, to manage these predictions. When our body returns to “normal” from a deviation, normal is not due to a set point but to the brain’s prediction that this is the most likely level of demand.”
For instance, we signal to our body that more physical energy will be needed because we anticipate that our body must continue to be active (running on a treadmill); our baseline of stored energy is adjusted given that we will temporarily be depleted of some energy. In alignment with Sterling, I propose that we operate in the world via something I call Polystasis. I suggest that we constantly adjust our baseline of desired outcomes and prepare our body for engagement in specific behaviors in anticipation of what we think is about to occur in our environment. We appraise, anticipate, adjust, and act (Bergquist, 2026a). And this process of Polystasis and accompanying psychology of anticipation occurs in groups setting associated with wisdom, courage and vision.
Wisdom: Specifically, I propose that a group that embraces an assumption concerning the presence of wisdom is actually holding three related assumptions. First, members of the group assume that the major challenges they face concern knowledge. The group is operating in an environment in which much is unknown or elusive. In contemporary times, with the prevalence of VUCA-Plus, there is a particularly strong need for knowledge. The second assumption is that a leader must be found who is knowledgeable (wise) and can guide the group to a high overall level of knowledge (collective intelligence: Arima, 2021; Seebacher and Legat, 2024).
