From a TMIT perspective, the key lesson for the United States is to prevent an oscillation between IDM-style fragmentation (emotionalism, subjectivism, impulsivity, and factionalism) and DAM-style overcorrection (authoritarian “one without the many”) by deliberately institutionalizing RIM: inductive, evidence-based reasoning anchored in Adult/Ego governance. That means transforming punitive, intrinsicist “superego” culture into principled, objective norms while strengthening the societal “Adult” that integrates passions and traditions into reality-tested policy and culture [1][6].
Actionable lessons and safeguards:
-
Monitor and neutralize M2/DAM risk signals. Watch for absolutist moralizing in public rhetoric, creeping normalization of emergency powers, sacralization of offices or leaders, and appeals to obedience over evidence; publicly require justification from facts, not authority [1][6].
-
Rebuild RIM habits in education. Shift curricula toward induction, logic, probabilistic reasoning, argument mapping, and experiment design; teach students to derive principles from observation and to treat principles as context-bound and revisable, not intrinsic absolutes [4][5].
-
Realign political incentives toward evidence. Require “evidence impact statements” for major legislation, sunset clauses with mandatory outcome reviews, bipartisan analytic teams, and post-implementation audits; reward forecast accuracy and penalize systematic misrepresentation, not partisan loyalty [2][3].
-
Reform information ecosystems to favor Adult-to-Adult discourse. Promote algorithmic transparency, insert friction into outrage-sharing, clearly label opinion vs. reporting, and elevate sources with demonstrated accuracy; build platform features that nudge toward reasoned exchange rather than Parent-to-Child hectoring or id-driven pile-ons [5][6].
-
Transform peer-group dynamics. Encourage dissent-friendly norms, strengthen whistleblower protections, use citizens’ assemblies and structured deliberation to reduce conformity pressure, and cultivate cross-identity dialogues focused on shared evidence rather than group allegiance [3].
-
Update the national “superego.” Replace punitive moralism with principled enforcement: clear laws, due process, proportionality, and transparency. Frame civic virtue as understanding-and-acting, not obeying-and-complying; this shifts culture from intrinsicist guilt to objective responsibility [1][2].
-
Tighten constitutional guardrails against authoritarian drift. Time-bound emergency powers, automatic legislative review, independent oversight for surveillance and war powers, and bright-line constraints on domestic military use prevent the M2 move from “unity” to unaccountable “one” [6].
-
Counter IDM fragmentation without lapsing into DAM. Invest in shared-facts infrastructure: open data, professionalized science communication, basic numeracy and statistics in civic education, and local fact-check corps that engage communities in Adult-mode sensemaking [4][5].
-
Train leaders in TMIT-aligned skills. Use TA to institutionalize Adult-to-Adult communication in government; apply CBT-style debiasing (Socratic questioning, premortems, red teams) and NLP meta-model questioning to surface distortions and reconnect claims to observable reality [2][5].
-
Pilot “RIM civic labs.” Launch municipal experiments in deliberative democracy and evidence-tested policy; measure outcomes and scale what works, demonstrating that rational integration outperforms both edicts (DAM) and whims (IDM) [3][4].
-
Protect apolitical institutions. Reinforce military nonpartisanship and prosecutorial independence to keep the “Parent” role lawful and bounded rather than personalized, preventing a slide into leader-centric intrinsicism [1].
-
Reframe national narratives. Replace intrinsicist exceptionalism (“we are right by essence”) with achievement-based pride (“we are right when we earn it by facts and results”), cultivating a cultural identity compatible with continuous correction and learning [2][6].
The overarching lesson: keep the Adult/Ego (RIM) at the cultural helm—deriving principles from reality, integrating tradition and emotion without surrendering to either dogma or whim. By aligning incentives, institutions, and norms to inductive evidence and open debate, the US can maintain liberty without chaos and order without authoritarian façades [1][4][6].
Sources
Treatmant plan:
National treatment plan for the United States: Recovery from M2 (DAM) cognitive rigidity and stabilization in RIM
Definition of X (default): National recovery from M2 cognitive rigidity (DAM)—reducing authoritarian overreach and intrinsicist moralizing—while strengthening RIM (evidence-based, Adult/Ego integration) and avoiding relapse into IDM fragmentation. [1][6].
Why this matters now
- The late Roman Republic’s slide from RIM to IDM and then to DAM warns that when rational civic integration weakens, a traumatized polity can accept top‑down “unity” at the cost of freedom. The antidote is to institutionalize Adult‑mode, evidence‑based practices and constrain “emergency” centralization that normalizes authority as truth [1][3][6].
Phased plan (12–36 months), integrating CBT, NLP, and Transactional Analysis (TA)
Phase 1: Assess and surface rigidity (0–6 months)
- National M2/DAM risk audit. Indicators: exceptionalism framed as moral absolutes, normalization of emergency powers, personalization of institutions, obedience‑first rhetoric. Public dashboards at federal, state, and municipal levels [1][6].
- CBT Socratic checks in agencies. Every significant guidance must answer: What evidence supports this? What would falsify it? What viable alternatives were considered? Publish rationale summaries to shift from “because authority says so” to “because evidence shows” [3][6].
- NLP meta‑model pass on laws and executive orders. Strip universal quantifiers (“always,” “must”) unless operationally defined; require sensory‑based criteria and test conditions in statutory language [4].
- TA ego‑state mapping of institutions. Diagnose Parent‑to‑Child communication (moralizing, scolding) vs Adult‑to‑Adult (facts, contracts). Publish before/after exemplars to model Adult discourse [2][5].
Phase 2: Reframe norms and build capacity (6–24 months)
- Education pivot to induction. Mandate observational reasoning, experiment design, argument mapping, and probabilistic thinking in K‑12 and civic education. Replace rote moralizing with principle discovery via evidence; assess with applied problem‑solving, not recall [4][5].
- Government communication standards. Require:
- NLP reframing of civic narratives. Shift from intrinsicist identity (“we are right by essence”) to achievement‑based pride (“we are right when earned by facts and results”). Anchor certainty feelings to demonstrated outcomes, not titles or offices [1][2].
- CBT debiasing in leadership. Standardize premortems, red‑teaming, and base‑rate training for senior officials and legislative staff; track changes in decision quality over time [3][6].
Phase 3: Policy process reforms that institutionalize RIM (12–36 months)
- Evidence Impact Statements (EIS). Major bills/executive actions must include expected outcomes, metrics, counterfactual, and a falsification trigger. Tie program continuation to pre‑declared success criteria; sunset and review by default [3][6].
- Experimental governance. Use pilots and RCTs for scalable policies; publish null results to reward learning over face‑saving. Create bipartisan analytic units with open data mandates [4][6].
- Guardrails on emergency powers. Automatic expiration, legislative reconfirmation cycles, independent oversight for surveillance and war powers, strict limits on domestic military use. Make exceptions explicitly narrow and time‑boxed [1][6].
- Platform‑level discourse hygiene. Algorithmic transparency, friction on virality for unverified claims, clear labels for opinion vs reporting, and “Adult Mode” features that prompt users to provide evidence for assertions [5][6].
Phase 4: Community and peer‑group redesign (parallel)
- Citizens’ assemblies and deliberative forums. TA‑trained facilitators enforce Adult‑to‑Adult rules; CBT‑style “claims–evidence” speaking turns; NLP clean‑language prompts to reduce distortion. Recommendations inform local policy pilots [2][3].
- Workplace and school “dissent charters.” Protect and reward principled disagreement; institute TA contracting (clear roles, explicit expectations) to lower reliance on hierarchy as truth [1][4].
- Public “sensemaking sprints.” Local groups practice rapid evidence reviews on salient issues; publish brief, sourced syntheses to build shared‑facts infrastructure [5].
Phase 5: Leadership pipelines and incentives (ongoing)
- Training stack for public leaders. TA communication, CBT debiasing, and NLP meta‑model questioning as required competencies; performance reviews incorporate forecast accuracy and post‑mortem transparency [5][6].
- Realign incentives to evidence. Tie funding and promotions to measured outcomes, not partisan loyalty or media reach; protect independent inspectorates and apolitical enforcement to keep the “Parent” role lawful, bounded, and impersonal [1][6].
Metrics and feedback loops
- Leading indicators: preference for Adult‑mode discourse in surveys, reduced agreement with authoritarian statements, increased uncertainty disclosures in official communications [2][3].
- Process indicators: proportion of policies with EIS, share of programs with sunsetting and independent review, number of pilots with published null results [4][6].
- Outcome indicators: improved policy ROI, declines in polarization measures tied to misinformation exposure, faster correction cycles after errors [5][6].
Risk management
- Avoid swinging into IDM fragmentation. Pair openness with principled constraints: protect free speech while penalizing fraud and incitement; keep standards for evidence high but accessible; defend minority rights even when unpopular [2][6].
- Beware M1 “rationalized dogma.” Audit for technically sophisticated but reality‑detached policies; require empirical grounding and iterative testing, not mere system‑building elegance [3][4].
Operational next steps (90 days)
- Select 3–5 agencies for EIS pilots; stand up a nonpartisan Evidence Review Board; publish initial M2/DAM risk dashboard with public input [1][6].
- Train a first cohort of facilitators in TA/CBT/NLP and launch two municipal citizens’ assemblies and one state‑level policy RCT pilot [2][5].
- Issue a federal communication directive mandating claim–evidence–warrant formats and uncertainty disclosures in major briefings [3][6].
Alternative well‑formed outcomes (choose one if you do not want the default X)
- Build a national RIM education pipeline (K‑12 through civil service), measured by gains in inductive reasoning and argument quality [4][5].
- Counter IDM polarization while protecting speech: reduce virality‑driven outrage and increase shared‑facts processes without censorship [2][6].
- Hard‑guardrail emergency powers reform to prevent M2 creep during crises [1][6].
- Reconstruct peer‑group norms in workplaces and universities to privilege Adult‑mode dissent and evidence over conformity [3][4].
Sources
Next:
Federal implementation checklist for National recovery from M2 cognitive rigidity (DAM) toward sustained RIM
Objective: Replace intrinsicist, top‑down rigidity (“one without the many”) with inductive, evidence‑based integration across federal decision-making, communications, and oversight, while avoiding a swing into IDM fragmentation. [1][6]
Phase 0: Governance setup and authority (0–30 days)
- Create a National Evidence Review Board (NERB) by executive order to set standards for evidence, uncertainty disclosure, and post‑implementation audits across agencies. [3][6]
- Issue a White House memo defining “M2 risk” indicators (absolutist moralizing, normalization of emergency powers, personalization of authority) and requiring quarterly risk reporting from all Cabinet departments. [1][6]
- Direct OMB to align budget guidance with evidence standards (funding tied to validated outcomes, not compliance alone). [3][4]
Phase 1: Baseline assessment and dashboards (0–90 days)
- Launch an M2/DAM Risk Audit in each agency: inventory emergency authorities, identify rules relying on “must/always” without explicit operational criteria, and flag programs lacking evaluation plans. [1][6]
- Stand up a public M2 Risk Dashboard with agency‑level indicators and planned remediation actions to normalize Adult‑mode transparency. [2][6]
- Require each agency to publish a “Top 10 Policies by Intrinsicist Rationale” list and commit to re‑evaluation timelines. [1][3]
Phase 2: Communication and discourse standards (30–120 days)
- Mandate claim–evidence–warrant formats and uncertainty ranges for major federal briefings and regulatory preambles; train public affairs staff in TA “Adult‑to‑Adult” communication. [2][5]
- Adopt an NLP meta‑model checklist for official statements to eliminate distortions (unbounded universals, vague nouns, missing referents) and reconnect claims to observable referents. [4][6]
- Publish before/after exemplars of revised communications to model the shift from Parent‑to‑Child hectoring to Adult‑to‑Adult reasoning. [2][5]
Phase 3: Policy process reforms (60–240 days)
- Pilot Evidence Impact Statements (EIS) for all significant actions in 3–5 agencies (e.g., HHS, DHS, DOE, DOJ, DOT), including metrics, counterfactuals, falsification triggers, and sunsetting schedules. [3][6]
- Institute automatic sunset clauses (3–5 years) for major rules unless outcome targets are met and independently verified; tie reauthorization to NERB review. [1][6]
- Require pre‑mortems, red‑team reviews, and base‑rate checks for high‑impact policies; publish brief red‑team memos with government response. [3][4]
Phase 4: Emergency powers guardrails (parallel, 0–180 days)
- Inventory all standing emergency declarations and surveillance authorities; set auto‑expiration and periodic legislative reconfirmation with independent oversight. [1][6]
- Establish bright‑line constraints on domestic military use and crisis procurement; publish criteria and after‑action reports to prevent normalization. [1][6]
Phase 5: Evidence and evaluation infrastructure (90–365 days)
- Expand open data mandates and reproducibility standards; require machine‑readable datasets and code for federally funded studies influencing policy. [3][6]
- Fund a network of Policy RCT Labs in priority domains (health, labor, education, justice), authorized to run pilots and publish null results without penalty. [4][6]
- Stand up a federal forecasting and calibration program (cross‑agency), tracking forecast accuracy and using scores in performance reviews for policy leads. [3][5]
Phase 6: Civil service training and culture (90–540 days)
- Deliver a core RIM training stack for SES/GS‑14+ leaders: TA (Adult‑to‑Adult contracts, ego‑state awareness), CBT (Socratic questioning, cognitive debiasing), and NLP meta‑model skills for precision and clarity. [2][5]
- Embed “reason over rank” norms: structured dissent channels, red‑flag escalation paths, and protections for principled disagreement and whistleblowing. [1][6]
- Introduce argument mapping and probabilistic reasoning modules into existing OPM leadership programs; require annual recertification. [4][5]
Phase 7: Oversight, accountability, and incentives (120–540 days)
- Strengthen inspectors general and GAO capacity with protected budgets and rapid‑response evaluation teams; require public learning reviews after major program failures. [1][6]
- Tie program funding tranches and senior‑leader bonuses to independently verified outcomes and forecast accuracy, not media exposure or partisan alignment. [3][6]
- Create an “Evidence Compliance Score” per agency and publish league tables to reward improvement and spotlight laggards. [3][4]
Phase 8: Public engagement and peer‑group dynamics (120–540 days)
- Convene federal‑level citizens’ assemblies on select cross‑cutting issues, facilitated with TA rules and CBT‑style claims‑evidence protocols; feed recommendations into pilot pipelines. [2][3]
- Partner with platforms through voluntary transparency compacts: label opinion vs reporting, provide provenance signals, and test “friction” for rapid virality of unverified claims, without federal content adjudication. [5][6]
- Launch “sensemaking sprints” with universities and state/local partners to produce brief, accessible syntheses of contested topics using shared datasets. [4][6]
Phase 9: Scale and institutionalize (12–36 months)
- Expand EIS and sunset requirements government‑wide; routinize post‑implementation audits and public dashboards. [3][6]
- Codify key reforms in statute where appropriate (EIS, sunsetting, oversight triggers, data transparency) to outlast administration changes. [1][6]
- Integrate RIM standards into OMB Circulars and agency rulemaking guidelines; embed in union training and SES performance frameworks. [4][5]
Cross‑cutting checklists
Leadership/decision meeting checklist
- What is the explicit decision, success metric, and time horizon? [3]
- What evidence supports it; what would falsify it; what alternatives were considered? [3][6]
- What uncertainties and base rates apply; what is the forecast with confidence interval? [4]
- Has a red team challenged assumptions; what changed? [3]
- What sunset/exit criteria are set and how will they be reviewed? [1][6]
Communication checklist
- Use claim–evidence–warrant with uncertainty ranges; avoid intrinsicist “must/always” without operational definitions. [2][4]
- Convert Parent‑to‑Child tones to Adult‑to‑Adult: no moralizing, clear contracts, defined responsibilities. [2][5]
- Provide links to data and evaluation plans in every major announcement. [3][6]
Program design checklist
- Run pilot/RCT first; pre‑register outcomes and analysis plans. [4]
- Build data pipelines for ongoing evaluation and public dashboards. [3][6]
- Set sunset and independent review gates; plan for scale‑up or shutdown. [1][6]
Metrics and feedback loops
- Leading indicators: proportion of briefings with uncertainty disclosures; share of policies with EIS; usage of dissent channels; public trust in process transparency. [2][3]
- Process indicators: number of pilots with published null results; timeliness of audits; emergency declarations allowed to expire on schedule. [1][6]
- Outcome indicators: policy ROI improvements; reduced polarization on factual baselines; improved forecast calibration among senior officials. [4][5]
Risk controls
- Prevent drift to IDM: pair openness with principled constraints—due process, viewpoint diversity, and high evidence standards for action. [2][6]
- Guard against M1 “rationalized dogma”: require empirical grounding for elegant systems; penalize failure to publish negative findings. [3][4]
- Preserve nonpartisanship in apolitical institutions (military, IGs, statistics agencies) to keep “Parent” roles lawful and impersonal. [1][6]
90‑day starter kit (sequenced)
- Issue EO: NERB creation; communication standards; M2 audit directive. [1][6]
- Select 3–5 pilot agencies; launch EIS and sunset pilots; establish red‑team units. [3][6]
- Publish first M2 Risk Dashboard; release before/after communication exemplars; schedule initial citizens’ assemblies. [2][5]
- Begin leadership training cohorts (TA/CBT/NLP); set agency targets for forecast calibration and open‑data compliance. [4][5]
By sequencing governance, transparency, process reform, training, and oversight—and by measuring progress with explicit falsification triggers—the federal government can move from DAM rigidity to durable RIM integration without sliding into fragmentation or rationalized pseudo‑order. [3][6]
Sources
A national treatment plan for the United States: Recovery from IDM (emotionalism, subjectivism, and impulsivity), and stabilization in RIM integration
Goal
Shift national cognition and culture from IDM (Impulsive Disintegration Mode: fragmented, emotion-driven, subjectivist) to RIM (Rational Integration Mode: evidence-based, Adult/Ego-led, contextual reasoning) while safeguarding liberty and preventing a backlash into DAM (authoritarian dogmatism) [1][6].
Guiding principles
- Build induction-first habits across institutions: derive policy and norms from observable reality and ongoing feedback, not feelings or authority alone [3][6].
- Pair openness with principled constraints: protect speech and dissent while raising the bar for evidence and accountability to avoid chaos or arbitrary rule [2][6].
- Train the national “Adult/Ego”: institutionalize practices that calm affect, slow impulsive reactions, and reward accurate reasoning over performative outrage [4][5].
Phase 1: Diagnose and dampen IDM reactivity (0–90 days)
- Establish a National RIM Task Force within the Executive Office to coordinate standards for evidence, uncertainty disclosure, and impulse control protocols across agencies and public communications [3][6].
- Launch an IDM Risk Dashboard with indicators such as misinformation virality, affective polarization, impulsive policy reversals, overdose and violence rates, and time-to-correction after errors, published monthly to normalize Adult-mode transparency [1][6].
- Adopt “cooling” protocols in federal communications: claim–evidence–warrant format, uncertainty ranges, and a 24–72 hour validation window before major announcements to avoid emotional amplification and premature commitments [5][6].
- Voluntary platform compacts: add friction for rapid virality of unverified claims, provenance labels for media, and “slow mode” for breaking stories—without federal content adjudication [2][6].
Phase 2: National skills upgrade in emotion regulation and reasoning (3–24 months)
- K–12 and higher ed pivot to RIM: teach inductive reasoning, argument mapping, probabilistic thinking, and experiment design; assess via applied problem-solving rather than rote recall [4][6].
- Core behavioral health rollout: CBT-based emotion regulation (cognitive restructuring, distress tolerance), TA-based Adult-to-Adult dialogue training, and NLP meta-model for precision language in public schools, community colleges, and workforce programs [5][6].
- Teacher and civil-service training: embed brief daily practices (Socratic questioning, checklists to detect universals and mind-reading, ego-state awareness drills) to lower impulsivity and subjectivist framing in classrooms and agencies [2][5].
Phase 3: Governance processes that contain impulsivity and reward learning (6–24 months)
- Evidence Impact Statements (EIS) for major policy actions with pre-declared success metrics, falsification triggers, and sunset clauses; publish post-implementation audits to reward correction over face-saving [3][6].
- Decision hygiene for leaders: premortems, red teams, base-rate and uncertainty briefings before high-impact decisions; track forecast accuracy for policy leads and use scores in performance reviews [3][4].
- Anti-whiplash rule: phase-in periods and pilot testing for new regulations to prevent impulsive national swings; scale only after measured success in pilots [4][6].
Phase 4: Mental health and community stabilization (parallel, 3–36 months)
- Community clinics deploy CBT-ER (emotion regulation), TA group work (ego-state literacy, script analysis), and NLP techniques (reframing and anchoring) for at-risk populations; prioritize youth, veterans, justice-involved, and frontline workers [5][6].
- Justice system “Impulse Labs”: alternative sentencing tracks integrating CBT impulse control modules, TA contracting, and data-driven progress monitoring; measure recidivism and community reintegration outcomes [3][6].
- Local “sensemaking sprints”: facilitated forums using claims–evidence protocols, shared datasets, and Adult-to-Adult rules to address local controversies and rebuild common factual ground [2][6].
Phase 5: Peer-group and institutional norms to counter subjectivist conformity (6–36 months)
- Citizens’ assemblies at municipal/state levels, scaled nationally, with trained facilitators enforcing Adult-mode discourse, equal speaking turns, and evidence standards; publish recommendations and track policy uptake [2][6].
- Workplace and university dissent charters: protect principled disagreement and require evidence-based argumentation in committees and hiring/promotion decisions [4][6].
- Leader communication standards: ban Parent-to-Child moralizing in official messaging; require transparent rationales, uncertainty disclosures, and links to data for major statements [5][6].
NLP, CBT, and TA intervention toolkit (nationally standardized)
- NLP: meta-model questioning to expose deletions/distortions, reframing emotional triggers as information signals, anchoring calm curiosity before deliberations, and future pacing to build habits that anticipate verification and revision [5][6].
- CBT: cognitive restructuring to challenge catastrophizing and mind-reading, behavioral experiments to test beliefs against reality, distress-tolerance and impulse-control protocols (urge surfing, stimulus control), and graded exposure to ambiguity and disagreement [3][6].
- TA: ego-state mapping to identify Child-driven reactions and shift to Adult, contract-setting for meetings (clear goals, data sources, decision rules), stroke economy training to reward evidence-based contributions over status displays, and script redecision for groups prone to repetitive conflict games [2][5].
Safeguards against overcorrection into DAM
- Keep emergency powers time-bound, narrowly tailored, and under independent review to prevent “order-seeking” relapse into top-down authority as a substitute for integration [1][6].
- Protect apolitical institutions (IGs, statistical agencies, military nonpartisanship) so the “Parent” function remains lawful and impersonal, not personalized or sacralized [1][6].
- Mandate publication of null results and course corrections so learning, not ideology, governs iteration, avoiding the M1 trap of rationalized dogma [3][4].
Metrics and feedback loops
- Leading indicators: reductions in impulsive reversals, increases in uncertainty disclosures, improved argument quality in hearings and media, decreased virality of unverified content after friction features deploy [5][6].
- Process indicators: share of policies with EIS and sunsets, number of pilots with transparent evaluations, adoption rates of TA/CBT/NLP trainings across civil service and education [3][4].
- Outcome indicators: improved forecast calibration among officials, reductions in overdose and violent incidents, higher civic trust tied to transparency, and measurable gains in student reasoning assessments [2][6].
90-day starter actions
- Issue a federal directive inaugurating the National RIM Task Force, IDM Risk Dashboard, and communication standards with uncertainty disclosures and claim–evidence–warrant formats [3][6].
- Select three agencies and two states for “Impulse Labs” pilots, including justice and public health programs integrating CBT/TA/NLP with rigorous evaluation [4][6].
- Launch the first wave of teacher and civil-service trainings in Adult-mode discourse, debiasing, and precision language, and begin monthly public briefings showing early metrics and course corrections [5][6].
Strategic narrative reframing
Pride shifts from identity-by-essence (“true for us because we feel it”) to achievement-by-evidence (“true when earned by facts and results”), aligning national esteem with reality testing and continuous improvement rather than emotive certainty or authority dictates [2][6].
Expected result
A resilient RIM culture where institutions and citizens habitually translate feelings into data, test beliefs against reality, and coordinate through Adult-to-Adult contracts—reducing impulsivity and subjectivism without sliding into authoritarian “order,” and sustaining freedom through competence and evidence [1][3][6].
Sources
Federal step-by-step implementation checklist for National recovery from IDM (emotionalism, subjectivism, impulsivity) and stabilization in RIM integration
Phase 0: Authority, coordination, and standards (0–30 days)
- Establish a National RIM Task Force in the Executive Office to set federal standards for evidence use, uncertainty disclosures, decision hygiene, and post-implementation audits, with representation from OMB, OSTP, OPM, HHS, DOJ, DHS, DOE, and GAO [3][6].
- Define federal IDM indicators (e.g., impulsive policy reversals, misinformation virality, affective polarization, overdose/violence rates, time-to-correction) and require quarterly reporting by each Cabinet department [1][6].
- Direct OMB to align budget guidance and apportionment to evidence thresholds and evaluation plans, privileging programs with pilots, pre-registered metrics, and sunset criteria [3][4].
- Appoint cross-agency Chief Behavioral and Reasoning Officers to champion CBT/TA/NLP practices and certify compliance with RIM standards in policy and communications [5][6].
Phase 1: Baseline assessment and public dashboards (0–90 days)
- Run an IDM Risk Audit in every agency: inventory policies enacted without pilots, communications lacking uncertainty ranges, and rules with vague or subjective rationales; publish remediation plans [3][6].
- Launch a public IDM/RIM Dashboard showing agency metrics, evaluation schedules, and correction logs to normalize Adult-mode transparency and reduce performative outrage incentives [2][6].
- Identify “Top 10 Impulse-Susceptible Policies” per agency and schedule structured reviews with pre-declared falsification triggers and exit criteria [1][3].
Phase 2: Communication hygiene and affect cooling (30–120 days)
- Mandate claim–evidence–warrant formats, uncertainty disclosures, and a 24–72 hour validation window for major press briefings and regulatory preambles to reduce IDM amplification [5][6].
- Deploy an NLP meta-model checklist for all official statements to eliminate deletions/distortions, define terms operationally, and reconnect claims to observable referents [4][6].
- Train public affairs officers and SES leaders in TA Adult-to-Adult tone and CBT debiasing to replace Parent-to-Child moralizing and id-driven rhetoric with evidence-led clarity [2][5].
Phase 3: Decision process reforms that tame impulsivity (60–240 days)
- Require Evidence Impact Statements (EIS) for significant actions: baseline/counterfactual, pre-registered metrics, forecast with confidence intervals, falsification triggers, and sunsetting schedule [3][6].
- Institute premortems, red-team reviews, and base-rate briefings before high-impact decisions; publish concise red-team memos and agency responses to incentivize learning over face-saving [3][4].
- Enforce an “anti-whiplash” rule: pilot-first with staged scale-ups contingent on measured success and independent verification to prevent rapid, emotion-driven national swings [4][6].
Phase 4: Civil service training and culture shift (90–360 days)
- Roll out a required RIM training stack for GS-13+ and SES: TA ego-state awareness and Adult contracts; CBT cognitive restructuring, uncertainty tolerance, and bias checks; NLP meta-model precision and reframing under ambiguity [5][6].
- Embed structured dissent channels and whistleblower protections so principled disagreement is rewarded, not punished, reducing subjectivist conformity pressures [2][6].
- Add argument mapping and probabilistic reasoning modules to OPM leadership programs with annual recertification tied to performance reviews [4][5].
Phase 5: Targeted program pilots to reduce impulsivity harms (90–365 days)
- Stand up “Impulse Labs” in justice, public health, and education: alternative sentencing with CBT impulse control and TA contracting; overdose prevention integrating behavioral protocols; school-based executive function training with rigorous evaluation [3][6].
- Prioritize at-risk cohorts (youth, veterans, justice-involved, frontline workers) for community clinics deploying CBT-ER, TA group work, and NLP reframing/anchoring; measure reductions in recidivism, overdoses, and violent incidents [4][5].
- Publish all results—including null findings—to reinforce learning norms and avoid M1 rationalized dogma [3][4].
Phase 6: Information ecosystem compacts (parallel, 90–270 days)
- Negotiate voluntary platform agreements: provenance labels, friction for virality of unverified claims, “slow mode” for breaking stories, and clear separation of news and opinion, without federal content adjudication [2][6].
- Sponsor independent audits of platform interventions, releasing methods and outcomes to the public to build shared-facts infrastructure [5][6].
Phase 7: Guardrails to prevent DAM backlash (0–180 days)
- Inventory and time-bound emergency powers; require periodic legislative reconfirmation, independent oversight for surveillance, and bright-line constraints on domestic military use [1][6].
- Strengthen IGs, GAO, and statistical agencies with protected budgets and independence to keep the “Parent” function lawful and impersonal rather than personalized or sacralized [1][6].
Phase 8: Public engagement in Adult-mode sensemaking (120–360 days)
- Convene federal-supported citizens’ assemblies on cross-cutting issues with TA rules, CBT claims–evidence protocols, and shared datasets; route recommendations into pilot pipelines with transparent dispositions [2][3].
- Launch national “sensemaking sprints” in partnership with universities and states, producing accessible syntheses and data visualizations on contested topics to rebuild common factual ground [4][6].
Phase 9: Metrics, accountability, and scaling (12–36 months)
- Track leading indicators (uncertainty disclosures, reduced impulsive reversals, decreased virality of unverified content), process indicators (share of EIS, pilots, and audits), and outcome indicators (forecast calibration, overdose/violence reductions, trust linked to transparency) with quarterly public reports [5][6].
- Tie senior-leader bonuses and program funding tranches to independently verified outcomes and forecast accuracy, not media attention or partisan alignment [3][6].
- Codify successful practices (EIS requirements, sunsetting, oversight triggers, data transparency) in statute and OMB circulars to persist across administrations [1][4].
Operational checklists
Leadership decision meeting checklist
- Define the decision, pre-registered success metric, and review horizon before debate begins [3][6].
- Present evidence, alternatives, base rates, and explicit falsification conditions with confidence intervals for forecasts [3][4].
- Confirm premortem and red-team challenges and record resulting changes; set sunset and audit dates [3][1].
Communications checklist
- Use claim–evidence–warrant structure and uncertainty ranges; avoid universal claims without operational definitions [5][4].
- Enforce TA Adult-to-Adult tone; remove moralizing and id-triggering language; link to data sources and evaluation plans [2][6].
Program design checklist
- Pilot first with pre-registration of outcomes and analysis; ensure data pipelines are open and reproducible [4][6].
- Include sunset clauses, independent review gates, and criteria for scale-up or termination [1][3].
Training checklist
- TA: ego-state mapping, Adult contracts, stroke economy to reward evidence-based contributions [2][5].
- CBT: cognitive restructuring, bias checks, distress tolerance, uncertainty exposure, and behavioral experiments [3][6].
- NLP: meta-model precision, reframing emotional triggers as data, anchoring calm curiosity, future pacing for verification habits [5][6].
90-day starter kit
- Issue EO launching the National RIM Task Force, IDM/RIM Dashboard, and federal communication standards with uncertainty disclosures and validation windows [3][6].
- Select three agencies (e.g., DOJ, HHS, DOE) for EIS and pilot-first implementation; set up red-team units and publish their first memos and agency responses [4][6].
- Begin SES/GS-13+ training cohorts in TA/CBT/NLP; initiate two “Impulse Labs” pilots (justice and public health) with pre-registered metrics and quarterly public updates [5][6].
By institutionalizing affect-cooling communications, pilot-first policies with explicit falsification, and Adult-mode training and incentives, the federal government can shift from IDM fragmentation to durable RIM integration without sliding into authoritarian “order” or rationalized dogma [3][4][6].
