MENTAL MODEL · M3644

Psychological Contract

BehaviorHigh supportPsychology

Included

Updated 2026-07-31

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INTRODUCTION

English translation pending.

CORE DEFINITION

A concept introduced by Chris Argyris and Edgar Schein in the 1960s and developed into a measurable construct by Denise Rousseau in the 1990s. Its core proposition is that the employment relationship includes an implicit set of reciprocal obligations, such as effort in exchange for security or development, which exists outside any written contract and rests on trust. The key constraint is that the terms are subjective, so the two parties can hold different versions without knowing it, and a violation is experienced as a breach of trust rather than as a disagreement about terms.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

- Expectation mapping: write down what each side believes it has been promised, and compare the two lists. - Exit diagnosis: when someone leaves despite acceptable pay, look for a broken implicit term rather than a compensation problem. - Change management: during restructuring or merger, renegotiate the implicit terms explicitly instead of assuming they carry over.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

Employees act on expectations that were never written down, so when a promise is broken the loss is not a disputed term but a breach of trust, which produces disengagement or exit rather than negotiation. Because both parties hold their own version of the terms, the breach is often unintentional and therefore unaddressed. Making the implicit terms explicit restores the possibility of renegotiation, which is why surfacing them changes outcomes even when nothing about the formal contract changes.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Practice this model in one real situation:

Write down what you believe your employer has promised you beyond the contract. 2. Ask the other party to write their version independently, then compare the two. 3. Name the largest mismatch and discuss it directly rather than waiting for it to surface as a breach. 4. During reorganizations or mergers, restate the implicit terms instead of assuming continuity. 5. When a term is broken, address the trust damage explicitly, not only the concrete loss.

Check to track your progress (stored locally)

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Source support: Explicit

link
en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_contractZH · Explicit
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