C025

Sense of Internal Coherence

B03 Social Cognition & Self-Direction
Core LayerMML-1

Version v1.3.2

Definition

A stable felt sense that life and the world are broadly intelligible and connected: events have causes, effort can lead to outcomes, and one’s inner experience can be integrated into an understandable model, even if complex.

Poles

Each HES element is a spectrum, not a category: the Low and High poles describe how it presents at its two extremes, while the Reference marks the typical, everyday middle. The poles map variation across the range — neither end is inherently better or worse.

Low Pole

Internal incoherence: reality is experienced as chaotic and poorly explainable; inner experience contains many “non-fitting” parts, with a sense of meaning fragmentation and difficulty sustaining a coherent narrative.

High Pole

A durable sense of coherence and explainability; even under stress, the person can integrate events into a workable model and maintain inner footing.

Reference

Generally coherent, but major change/crisis can destabilize the model and require time to re-integrate.

Measure

Stability of a coherent inner model: how readily the person maintains (or restores) a connected explanatory framework under conflicting information and life disruption.

Measuring Methods

• Narrative interview: coherence and integration of life events (cross-checked against facts where possible).
• Diary: frequency and duration of “nothing makes sense / it’s all falling apart” phases.
• Conflicting-information scenarios: capacity to integrate without total model collapse.

Empirical Anchor

Sense of coherence / SOC (Antonovsky, 1987); identity coherence (Erikson, 1968); self-concept clarity (Campbell et al., 1996).

Notes

• Distinct from C024Uncertainty Tolerance: C024 deals with external ambiguity; C025 is the internal coherence scaffold.
• Risks at MIN: vulnerability to ready-made explanatory systems (including pseudoscience), increased suggestibility.
• Risks at MAX: excessive self-consistency via rationalization—maintaining coherence by discounting evidence.

Citation

APA

Human Elements System. (2026). Sense of Internal Coherence (HES Passport C025, v1.3.2). hestable.com. https://hestable.com/passport/C025

BibTeX

@misc{hes_C025, author = {{Human Elements System}}, title = {{Sense of Internal Coherence}}, year = {2026}, note = {HES Passport C025, v1.3.2}, howpublished = {\url{https://hestable.com/passport/C025}} }