Just as the Earth isn’t flat, the brain isn’t only two dimensions. Ancient philosophers, Plato and Aristotle, knew there were three faculties of the mind: cognitive, affective and conative. The conative faculty is the part of the mind driven by instincts – the one and only truly predictive aspect of human behavior.
An individual’s instinctive methods of taking action are measurable and do not change over time. These results are not biased by gender, age or race.
Independent researchers, in study after study, have found that Kathy Kolbe’s theory works. She has created the only validated conative assessments to date.
Dynamynd’s evidence-based applications of Kathy Kolbe’s Theory of Conation have helped schools, community organizations and thousands of students recognize their strengths and how to leverage them for success.
Each Kolbe Action Mode is divided into three equally powerful Zones of Operation. Every person operates most effectively in a single zone in Fact Finder, Follow Thru, Quick Start and Implementor.
how one gathers and shares information
how one organizes and systematizes
how one deals with risk and uncertainty
how one handles space and tangibles
Results for people who complete the Kolbe A™ Index again after more than 10 years have a high correlation of reliability. To our knowledge, no human factors assessment study has been published that spans more than ten years, until now.
Research shows that students with the greatest difference from teachers’ conative MOs are significantly more likely to be diagnosed with ADD/ADHD. The study included 554 students aged 8-16 in four US states.
Undergraduate Computer Science students with the greatest need for a hands-on approach to learning were half as likely to reach upper level courses in their program. These students showed no significant difference in grades, failure rate or withdrawal rate compared to other students in the program.
In a study of conative stress, individuals who were expected to perform outside of their natural conative MO were significantly more likely to quit for job related reasons. Managers who received Kolbe training were able to cut the rate of turnover in half for mismatched employees.
“If therapists become aware of their instinctive action modes, much time and stress could be saved. Reduction in turnover and other costs associated with the behavior of unsatisfied workers could be minimized.” Dr. Beth Joe Phillips professor of physical therapy, CSUN.
In a study of hundreds of CEOs spanning more than ten years, only one individual was unable to continue working for the company. This was the only CEO whose conative MO significantly mismatched supervisor requirements and self-expectations. All other CEOs were retained, promoted or reached retirement.