Typology of Personal States: a three-dimensional SUR model for analyzing psychological states
Internal state (S), external conditions (U), outcome (R). Three axes, twenty-seven combinations, one framework for diagnostics, counseling, and research.
- Author
- Vladyslav Novak
- Affiliation
- HandS Lab (Human & Synthetic Lab), Ukraine
- Status
- Completed manuscript · professional approbation (2025) · not yet peer-reviewed
- Manuscript version
- 2025
- Manuscript language
- Ukrainian
Abstract
Objective: to develop and substantiate a three-dimensional model for analyzing psychological states that integrates internal, external, and resultant factors.
Method: theoretical analysis of existing approaches to psychological states, followed by synthesis of a three-dimensional assessment model.
Results: the paper presents the “Typology of Personal States”, which describes a state through three equal dimensions: Internal State (S), External Conditions (U), and Outcome (R). Each dimension takes a positive (+), neutral (0), or negative (−) value, which gives 27 possible combinations.
Conclusion: the model offers a methodological framework for psychological diagnostics, counseling, and research. It makes it possible to assess how personal and environmental factors interact in forming behavioral patterns and their outcomes.
Keywords
- psychological state
- personality typology
- three-dimensional model
- psychodiagnostics
- interactionism
- systems approach
What the model proposes
Most approaches describe an inner state in isolation from the environment, or describe the person–environment interaction without treating the outcome as a separate dimension. The SUR model keeps all three in view at once: internal resources, external conditions, and the result that was actually achieved.
The three axes are equal. That is the reason for the 3×3×3 cube. A person can be internally gathered, work in hostile conditions, and still hit targets; calling that resilience hides its cost. Another person can be supported by the environment while the result erodes. Measuring only the inner state points the intervention at the wrong place.
Basis and approbation
The model was developed through theoretical analysis, expert evaluation of its structure (five experts: clinical psychologists and candidates of sciences in organizational behavior), and a pilot with 30 participants. The manuscript describes the questionnaire, the coding tables for the 27 combinations, and the interpretation rules.
On 11 November 2025 the Ukrainian Psychotherapeutic League (Department of Psychological Counseling) issued a certificate of approbation of the instrument. The certificate states that the instrument meets the quality requirements defined by the EFPA Test Review Model (2013) and the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (AERA, APA, NCME, 2014), and that the development confirms the soundness and practical suitability of the SUR model for psychotherapeutic, counseling, educational, and research practice.
Approbation is a professional assessment. Peer-reviewed journal publication is a separate step that has not happened yet.
Limits of the model
- The three-pole scale (−, 0, +) simplifies mixed and ambivalent states.
- The assessment relies on self-report, which carries memory and perception distortions; external or expert data are recommended alongside it.
- The outcome (R) is hard to define where there is no shared criterion of success, and perception of conditions (U) depends on mood.
- Cross-cultural validation has not been carried out.
- The model is not a clinical diagnostic system and is not a hiring or selection tool.
How to cite
Vladyslav Novak (2025). Typology of Personal States: a three-dimensional SUR model for analyzing psychological states. Manuscript. HandS Lab (Human & Synthetic Lab), Ukraine. https://handslab.org/en/research/sur-typology
The manuscript has not been published in a peer-reviewed venue. Cite it as a manuscript.