David Rock’s SCARF model focuses on social factors that can influence how people experience and respond to situations. The model is based on the premise that social experiences can be perceived as threatening or rewarding and may consequently influence cognition and behaviour. Rock introduced the model in 2008 in SCARF: A Brain-Based Model for Collaborating with and Influencing Others.
The model comprises five domains of social experience: (1) Status, (2) Certainty, (3) Autonomy, (4) Relatedness and (5) Fairness. These domains concern, respectively, a person’s perceived position relative to others, the predictability of events, perceived influence over what happens, social safety in relationships and the perceived fairness of social exchanges (Rock, 2008).
Foundations of the SCARF model
The SCARF model is rooted in social, cognitive and affective neuroscience. Rock draws on research regarding threat and reward, approach and avoidance responses, and the way socially relevant information is processed. SCARF brings findings from these areas together within five domains of social experience that may give rise to perceptions of threat or reward.
The model is based on three central assumptions. First, social experiences can be perceived as threatening or rewarding. Second, these responses may influence cognition and behaviour. Third, the five domains provide useful categories for organising important sources of social threat and reward (Rock, 2008; Rock & Cox, 2012). This does not imply that the five domains correspond to five separate systems in the brain. Nor does the underlying research suggest that the five domains provide a complete explanation of social behaviour. SCARF is a conceptual framework that groups together different processes involved in social experience.
The five domains of the SCARF model
Domain 1: Status
Status concerns a person’s perceived position relative to others. Rock associates status with relative position, rank and seniority. It is not limited to a formal role or position within a hierarchy, but also includes how people perceive their own position compared with others (Rock, 2008).
A perceived rise in relative position can be experienced as rewarding, whereas a possible or actual decline may be experienced as threatening. Status is therefore relevant when people are evaluated, compared with others, or receive information that may affect how they perceive their standing. Rock refers to interactions such as giving advice, instructions and feedback. These may threaten status if they imply that someone is less knowledgeable, competent or effective than previously assumed.
Status does not depend solely on comparisons with other people. People may also compare their current performance with their own previous performance. Progress, learning and improvement can therefore contribute to a positive experience of status. Recognition and positive feedback may likewise increase perceived status. Status is consequently not necessarily zero-sum. An increase in one person’s perceived status does not necessarily require a decrease in another person’s status. The relevant comparison may be with others, one’s own previous performance, or what is valued within a particular social or professional environment (Ibid).
Domain 2: Certainty
Certainty concerns the extent to which people are able to predict what will happen. Rock’s premise is that people continually recognise patterns and use previous experiences to form expectations about future events. When a situation corresponds with existing expectations, it becomes easier to anticipate what is likely to happen next. When relevant information is missing or events are difficult to predict, uncertainty increases (Ibid).
Within SCARF, uncertainty becomes socially relevant when it concerns events that matter to the person involved. Uncertainty about expectations, future changes or one’s own position may therefore be experienced as threatening. Conversely, making a situation more predictable may increase perceived certainty.
Certainty does, however, not require the final outcome to be known. Perceived Certainty can increase even when a situation remains fundamentally uncertain. Greater clarity about the process, the next step, what is expected, or when further information will become available may already make the situation more predictable.
Domain 3: Autonomy
Autonomy concerns the degree of control people feel they have over events and the extent to which they feel they have choices. Central to autonomy is the extent to which a person feels able to influence what happens (Ibid).
A reduction in perceived control may be experienced as threatening. Rock uses micromanagement as an example. When increasingly detailed instructions are given about what someone should do and how it should be done, that person has less space to influence how the work is carried out. Conversely, autonomy may increase when someone has genuine choices or can make decisions independently within certain boundaries.
Autonomy, however, does not require complete freedom. Limited but meaningful choices may also increase perceived autonomy. Rock refers, for example, to having some freedom to organise one’s own work, determine working hours within agreed boundaries or make choices about how learning takes place.
Rock also points to an inherent tension between individual autonomy and collaboration. Working in a team inevitably places some constraints on individual freedom because collective agreements and other team members have to be taken into account. Changes in other domains, such as greater certainty, relatedness or status, may also be relevant.
It is important to note that autonomy is distinct from certainty. A person may know exactly what is going to happen while having no influence over it. Conversely, someone may have considerable freedom of choice while remaining uncertain about the outcome.
Domain 4: Relatedness
Relatedness concerns the degree of social safety a person experiences in relationships with others. Rock originally describes this in terms of whether another person is perceived as “friend or foe”. It concerns the extent to which another person is perceived as belonging to one’s social environment and as sufficiently familiar (Ibid).
Relatedness is not simply about liking someone or being friends with them. It concerns the nature of the social relationship and whether that relationship is experienced as safe. Someone familiar is therefore perceived differently from someone unfamiliar, distant or experienced as socially unsafe.
Relatedness is also associated with group formation. People distinguish between those they regard as belonging to their own group and those they regard as being outside it. This distinction may affect trust, cooperation and willingness to share information.
Relatedness is, however, not necessarily fixed. Personal contact, sharing information and building a relationship may increase familiarity, reduce social distance and contribute to a greater sense of connection.
Domain 5: Fairness
Fairness concerns how fair people perceive exchanges with others to be. The emphasis is therefore on perception. What matters is not only the outcome itself, but also whether the person involved perceives the outcome and the exchange between those involved as fair (Ibid). Perceived unfairness may trigger a threat response, whereas greater perceived fairness may be experienced as rewarding.
People may respond strongly to differences in treatment or outcomes even when their own outcome is not unfavourable in absolute terms. Fairness is therefore relational. People assess an exchange partly by comparing it with what others receive, what they expected, and the agreements they believe apply. The same outcome may consequently be perceived differently depending on the context.
Rock also relates perceived fairness to transparency and clarity about expectations and agreements. When people understand the basis on which decisions are made, or are involved in establishing the rules that apply, this may increase perceived fairness.
It is important to mention that fairness within SCARF is not a theory of objective fairness. It concerns how fair social exchanges are perceived to be. It does not prescribe how outcomes should be distributed, nor does it imply that equal treatment is necessarily fair.
How do the domains relate to one another?
According to Rock and Cox (2012), the five domains do not necessarily operate independently. Threats and rewards across different domains may reinforce one another or may, to some extent, compensate for one another. An organisational change may affect several domains at the same time. Losing responsibilities may reduce perceived autonomy and also be experienced as a loss of status. If it is unclear why the change is taking place, Certainty may be affected. If the decision-making process is perceived as arbitrary, fairness may become relevant as well. SCARF should therefore not be treated as a classification system in which each event is assigned to a single domain. Several domains may be relevant to the same situation. Individual differences also need to be taken into account. People do not necessarily respond with the same intensity to changes in status, uncertainty, loss of control, social distance or perceived unfairness. Rock and Cox (2012) discuss such differences, but they do not present an empirically validated typology of individual SCARF profiles.
Applying the SCARF model
The SCARF model can be used to examine a specific social situation and identify possible ways to reduce threats and/or increase rewards. It is important not to assume that a particular behaviour can be explained by one of the SCARF domains. The analysis should first establish what is actually happening and how those involved perceive the situation. The following approach provides an example of how such an analysis can be carried out.
Step 1: Define the situation
Begin by describing the event or interaction being examined and distinguish, as far as possible, between what has actually happened and how it has been interpreted. Saying that “employees are resisting the reorganisation”, for example, is not yet a sufficient basis for a SCARF analysis. It is first necessary to establish what has changed. Have responsibilities changed? Is relevant information unavailable? Do employees have less scope to make decisions? Have existing teams changed? Or is it unclear how certain decisions were made?
Step 2: Determine whose perspective is relevant
Because SCARF concerns how social situations are perceived, it is important to establish whose perspective is being considered. The same decision may be experienced differently by different people. Giving someone a new responsibility may increase that person’s perceived Status and autonomy, while a colleague who loses the same responsibility may experience a threat to those domains.
Step 3: Analyse the five domains
The next step is to examine what the situation may mean within each of the five SCARF domains.
For status, the focus is on perceived position relative to others. Does the situation affect a person’s responsibilities, recognition, perceived expertise or influence relative to others?
For certainty, the focus is on predictability. Is it clear what is happening, what is expected of the person, and which events or decisions will follow?
For autonomy, the focus is on perceived control. What opportunities does the person have to make choices or influence what happens?
For relatedness, the social relationship is key. Are the other people involved perceived as familiar and socially safe, or is there distance or distrust?
For fairness, the focus is on perceived fairness. Is it clear how a decision was reached, why certain choices were made, and which principles underlie differences in treatment or outcomes?
Not every domain needs to be relevant in every situation. The purpose of the analysis is to establish which domains actually play a role.
Step 4: Determine where threat and reward arise
Once the relevant domains have been identified, the next step is to examine whether and how the situation gives rise to threat or reward within those domains. Suppose a project manager loses responsibility for an important project without prior consultation. The event itself is the loss of responsibility for the project. If the project manager experiences this as a reduction in their relative position, status is affected. If the main concern is that the project manager had no influence over a decision that directly affects them, autonomy is relevant. If it is also unclear why a colleague was given responsibility for the project, fairness may be affected as well. The same event may therefore affect several domains. Which of these domains are actually relevant cannot be determined from the event alone. It is necessary to consider how the person involved experiences the situation.
Step 5: Determine what can be addressed
Once the relevant domains are clear, it becomes possible to consider what might be changed. Any action taken should correspond to the nature of the perceived threat.
If certainty is primarily affected, consider which sources of uncertainty can be reduced. Even when the final outcome is unknown, it may be possible to clarify what has already been decided, what the next steps will be and when further information will become available.
For autonomy, consider the extent to which the person has influence or meaningful choices. A decision may be final while still allowing some choice or influence over how it is implemented.
If status is affected, establish why the person perceives their relative standing to have changed. Depending on the situation, it may then be possible to maintain or strengthen responsibility, recognition or opportunities for personal progress.
For relatedness, where distance, unfamiliarity or lack of trust is relevant, personal contact or opportunities to become more familiar with one another may help reduce that distance.
For fairness, establish first what the perceived unfairness relates to. If the basis for a decision is unclear, greater transparency about the criteria, agreements or decision-making process may change how the situation is perceived.
The analysis does not automatically determine what action should be taken. Its main purpose is to help prevent measures from being taken that do not address the underlying issue. Providing more information, for example, may increase predictability, but it will not necessarily solve a problem that primarily concerns a lack of perceived influence.
Step 6: Consider the effects on the other domains
An action that has a positive effect within one domain may simultaneously have consequences for another. If a manager attempts to increase predictability by prescribing in greater detail how work should be carried out, for example, certainty may increase while autonomy decreases. If an employee is given additional responsibility, that person’s status may increase. The same decision may, however, affect the status of others or raise questions about fairness. Any proposed action should therefore be reconsidered from the perspective of all relevant SCARF domains.
What are the main critical considerations regarding the SCARF model?
Although SCARF has received considerable attention in areas such as leadership, coaching, collaboration and organisational development and can be considered useful, there are several critical considerations to bear in mind.
First, direct empirical research on SCARF is limited. The study by Aplin-Houtz (2025), conducted among 277 employees in the United States, illustrates this. Workplace exclusion was associated with a decline across all five SCARF domains, but only fairness and status significantly mediated the relationship between workplace exclusion and turnover intentions. Certainty, autonomy and relatedness did not significantly mediate this relationship in the model examined. Moreover, the study combines SCARF with Self-Determination Theory and therefore cannot be regarded as an independent validation of SCARF. The findings support the relevance of individual domains, but also show that the five domains do not play the same role in explaining turnover intentions.
It should also be noted that there is limited empirical evidence on how the domains interact with one another. Rock and Cox (2012) suggest that threats and rewards across different domains may reinforce or partially compensate for one another. However, there is limited empirical evidence on the strength or predictability of these effects. The model therefore provides no basis for assuming, for example, that a loss of autonomy can be offset by a corresponding increase in status or relatedness.
A final critical consideration concerns the extent to which neuroscientific findings can be regarded as supporting evidence for the SCARF model. Findings on neural responses to social experiences may contribute to our understanding of how such experiences are associated with threat and reward processes. They do not, however, demonstrate that these processes operate according to the SCARF classification. Furthermore, activation of a particular brain region does not in itself establish which psychological process underlies that activation. Poldrack (2006) points out that the strength of evidence provided by such reverse inferences depends, among other factors, on how specific the relationship is between the observed brain activity and the psychological process in question.
REFERENCES
- Aplin-Houtz, M. (2025). Unraveling the SCARF: How dimensions of the SCARF model influence the relationship between workplace exclusion and turnover intentions. Journal of Management & Organization, 31(6), 2699-2725.
- Poldrack, R. A. (2006). Can cognitive processes be inferred from neuroimaging data? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 10(2), 59-63.
- Rock, D. (2008). SCARF: A brain-based model for collaborating with and influencing others. NeuroLeadership Journal, 1, 44-52.
- Rock, D., & Cox, C. (2012). SCARF in 2012: Updating the social neuroscience of collaborating with others. NeuroLeadership Journal, 4, 1-14.
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