Research
Joshua McWealth Unamba, PsyD, MBA
Doctor of Organizational Psychology. Founder, Success Evolution Institute.
Research focus
My research examines self-regulation under pressure, with a focus on how the body shapes a person’s access to higher-order capability in high-stakes performance.
Working from predictive-processing and interoceptive accounts of the brain, I develop a body-first model of regulation that treats physiological state, rather than thought alone, as the primary leverage point for performing under load. The aim is to define this capacity precisely enough to measure it, and then to test it.
Publications and preprints
Regulating the Forecast: An Interoceptive Predictive-Processing Framework for Self-Regulation Under Pressure (the S.T.A.T.E. Model)
Preprint available. Manuscript under peer review, Frontiers in Psychology (Performance Science).
A theoretical framework that models self-regulation under pressure as a five-operation loop grounded in how the brain predicts and manages the body, and identifies a dedicated measure of that capacity as the priority next step.
The State Regulation Capacity Scale (SRCS): Construct Definition and a Validation Agenda for a Body-First Model of Self-Regulation
Preprint available. Manuscript under peer review, Frontiers in Psychology (Quantitative Psychology and Measurement).
Defines the construct of state-regulation capacity, introduces the State Regulation Capacity Scale (SRCS) as a measure of it, and sets out a transparent validation agenda. The full development item pool is included. No data are reported, and the instrument is presented as not yet validated.
Preprints are openly available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Manuscripts listed as under peer review have not yet completed the review process. A complete and current list of works is maintained on my ORCID record.
Academic correspondence
For questions about the research, the framework, or the instrument, contact drjosh@drjoshmcwealth.com.