AST Glossary
This glossary centralizes AST variables, equation symbols, and core terms in one place. It is designed as a quick reference when reading the Overview, Core Concepts, Key Equations, Falsifiability, and AST Tracker pages.
How to use this page: Start with the variables table for equation terms, then use the concept glossary for definitions. When needed, return to Core Concepts and Key Equations for deeper context.
Core Variables and Symbols
Symbols shown below match AST equations. Prime notation (') indicates adjusted, weighted, or transformed values.
| Term / Symbol | Name | Definition |
|---|---|---|
MAT |
Material Access Tension | The structural mismatch between what is needed for stable living and what is actually available to the person. |
MSI |
Mood Stability Index | A composite measure of affective stability that captures emotional regulation under current social conditions. |
SED' |
Socialization Exposure Dose (effective) | The meaningful social learning dose after context, weighting, and quality of exposure are applied. |
AE |
Agency Expectancy | The learned expectation that one can successfully act, influence outcomes, and sustain intentional behavior. |
BCI |
Behavioral Coherence Index | The degree to which behavior remains organized, consistent, and aligned with goals over time. |
ΔMSI |
Change in MSI | The stepwise mood stability update produced by incoming exposure and current context moderation. |
ΔAE |
Change in AE | The recursive update to agency expectancy as repeated outcomes reinforce or weaken perceived efficacy. |
ΔBCI |
Change in BCI | The incremental change in behavior coherence based on current mood stability, strain, and agency patterns. |
CCC |
Collective Cognitive Clarity | A context-level indicator of shared understanding, interpretive alignment, and social signal readability. |
HMC |
Horizontal Mutuality Coefficient | A context variable representing cooperative, non-coercive reciprocity and peer-level support patterns. |
HV |
Hierarchical Volatility | A context variable capturing instability, coercive pressure, arbitrary authority swings, and predatory uncertainty. |
RPQ |
Revolutionary Pathology Quotient | A synthetic indicator used to estimate when social pathology is becoming structurally acute and self-reinforcing. |
t |
Time Step | The recursive update interval used in longitudinal modeling (daily, weekly, or other chosen cadence). |
α, β, γ, λ |
Model Coefficients | Parameters that weight pathway strength, damping, amplification, and interaction effects in AST equations. |
Key Concepts and Mechanisms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Mood Grooves | Durable affective pathways formed through repeated emotional experience under stable structural conditions. |
| Affective Conditioning | The process by which environment repeatedly shapes neural-emotional states, reinforcing some responses while pruning others. |
| Recursive Social Learning | The feedback loop where context shapes people, people reproduce context, and the updated context shapes the next cycle. |
| Neuroplasticity Window | Periods where learning systems are highly adaptable and thus especially sensitive to social environment quality. |
| Pruning | The adaptive loss of unused or unsupported pathways as other pathways are repeatedly reinforced. |
| Determinism (AST frame) | The claim that behavior emerges from structured conditioning histories, not isolated acts of unconstrained will. |
| Microclimates | Localized social environments intentionally designed to increase stability, trust, cooperation, and collective agency. |
Three Zones (State-Level Orientation)
| Zone | State Pattern | Likely Learning Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Green Zone | Safety, regulated affect, relational trust, and cognitive openness. | Higher integration, flexible learning, cooperation, and long-horizon planning. |
| Yellow Zone | Intermittent stress with unstable but recoverable regulation. | Mixed learning quality, variable consistency, and fragile agency maintenance. |
| Red Zone | Chronic threat, coercive volatility, hypervigilance, or shutdown adaptation. | Narrowed learning bandwidth, survival-prioritized behavior, and reduced coherence. |
Interpretation Notes
- Glossary definitions are standardized short forms for readability across AST pages.
- When page-level wording differs slightly, this glossary should be treated as a quick-reference map, not a replacement for full technical exposition.
- Coefficient values and threshold cutoffs remain provisional unless explicitly validated in published empirical studies.
Next Step
Use this glossary as your anchor page, then move into deeper AST modules depending on what you are studying.