While Damasio’s somatic template concerns how our body is operating and “feeling”, the psychosocial template associated with Polystasis concerns how we are seeing and “feeling about” the world in which we are operating. The psychosocial template is a component of (or at least closely associated with) something called a schema (Young, Klosko, and Weishaar, 2006). While the psychosocial template, like the somatic template, is constantly shifting, the schema remains stable and changes only slowly over time. The schema is founded on our sense of self and a set of assumptions we make about our relationships with other people and circumstances in our world. One of the more prominent schemas for many of us concerns money. Our sense of self and our relationships in the world are centered in part on this monetary schema. Dynamic money-based psychosocial templates are anchored in this monetary schema but shift from moment to moment depending on what we are thinking and feeling, as well as those with whom we are relating. Many of us are strongly influenced by our own monetary schema. This schema, like all schemas, frames the fundamental perspective we hold regarding the role of money in our life. This schema includes an assumption about the relative importance of money in our life (“my money or my life”) and how much control we have over the money we do have or could have.
As Daniel Gilbert has proposed, the matter of control might be a key ingredient in determining happiness. This being the case, then a money-based schema, built on the assumption that we have no control over something as highly valued as money, would lead us to a feeling of powerlessness accompanied by profound unhappiness. While our monetary template might shift a bit when we are feeling either comfortable or anxious, this template will inevitably swing back toward a state of depressing helplessness and hopelessness.
It is also important to note that we have only tacit (rather than explicit/conscious) knowledge of templates (Polanyi, 2009). We lack full awareness of either Damasio’s somatic template or our psychosocial templates, even though they both strongly influence the decisions we make and actions we take. Schemas are equally inaccessible to immediate awareness. With a monetary schema founded on a sense of powerlessness, we are likely to often feel discouraged and depressed, without knowing why. We are also likely to set our tightrope at a very low level without quite knowing why. On the other hand, a monetary schema founded on the sense of hopefulness and a strong sense of internal control is likely to produce energy, optimism, and the setting of a high, risk-oriented tightrope.
Another connection is important to mention. Our psychosocial templates may be closely tied to the somatic template. This being the case, energy is likely to be on full display in our somatic template if our monetary template is attuned to control and opportunity. We are financially “well-healed.” By contrast, our somatic template is likely in disarray if our monetary scheme is filled with powerlessness. We become “sick” of being powerless and poor. Our body cries out in despair and unhappiness.
Polystatic Adjustment: Having completed our appraisal, based on the application of unconscious templates and schemas, we are ready to make some psychosocial changes. We Adjust if the current baseline of desired functioning is no longer appropriate. As Sterling proposes, we identify a new level of functioning. An alternative (“allo”) stasis is based on predictions regarding the probability of success in achieving this baseline (stasis). At the psychosocial level, we adjust our planned actions based on predictions regarding the probable success of these actions. Baselines are likely to be adjusted along with the plans.
