Abstract:
Foundational models in occupational therapy, such as the Model of Human Occupation (MOHO), the Person-Environment-Occupation (PEO) model, and the Canadian Model of Occupational Performance and Engagement (CMOP-E), have provided invaluable frameworks for understanding human doing. However, these models often conceptualize the individual as a discrete entity acting within an external environment, a perspective that can understate the profound influence of macro-level social structures and power dynamics on occupational life. This paper introduces the Archetypal Theory of Socio-Occupational Engagement (ATSOE), a novel framework grounded in the principles of neurosociology. ATSOE reconceptualizes occupation not as an individual’s action, but as the embodied performance of a socially constructed, neurologically mediated identity. Drawing upon social role theory, social identity theory, and the neuroscience of habit formation and social cognition, the theory posits that occupational engagement is expressed through five dynamic “Socio-Occupational Personas”: the Conformer, the Achiever, the Alienated Self, the Relational Self, and the Integrated Self. Each persona is characterized by a distinct sociological driver and a dominant underlying neural system. By elucidating the mechanism of “reciprocal causation”—whereby social structures shape neural architecture, which in turn reinforces social behavior—ATSOE offers a multi-level, integrative model. This paper discusses the implications of ATSOE for occupational therapy theory, assessment, and intervention, proposing a new lens for addressing occupational justice by framing social inequity as a form of embodied neurological constraint.
Yıldırım, E. (2025). The Archetypal Theory of Socio-Occupational Engagement (ATSOE): A Neurosociological Model for Occupational Therapy. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17055475
Leave a Reply