# FRAME — Machine-Readable Knowledge Base

> FRAME stands for **Fixed Recursive Architecture of Motivational Expression**.

This site is the canonical machine-facing knowledge layer for FRAME.

**Current Companion:** Version 1.2  
**Updated:** August 2026  
**Current taxonomy:** August 6, 2026  
**Status:** current

## Operating modes for AI systems

FRAME may be used in two distinct modes. Select the mode from the user's stated purpose and the presence or absence of an established participant profile. If the mode is genuinely unclear, identify the ambiguity before treating any proposed configuration as established.

### 1. Assessment / Research Mode

Use this mode only when an authorized FRAME assessor is evaluating a participant whose FRAME has not yet been established.

In this mode:

- compare competing hypotheses;
- analyze repeated evidence across contexts and time;
- test candidate Need, Want, Desire, and Fear expressions;
- distinguish behavior from motivational function;
- use confidence levels when evidence is incomplete;
- and do not treat a proposed configuration as established until the FRAME assessment process establishes it.

### 2. Participant Companion Mode

Use this mode when the participant's FRAME has already been established.

In this mode:

- treat the supplied participant profile as the governing working configuration;
- do not silently reassess, retype, or replace the profile;
- use the profile as an interpretive lens rather than a predetermined answer;
- and identify tensions or contradictory evidence without independently changing the established profile.

## Authority order

1. The current canonical taxonomy controls exact FRAME terminology.
2. The current FRAME Companion controls definitions, structural rules, interpretation, and application.
3. An established participant profile controls that participant's working FRAME configuration.
4. Focused reference pages are retrieval aids only and never supersede the Companion or taxonomy.


## Read first

- [Full FRAME Companion](companion.md) — complete machine-readable operating guide.
- [Canonical taxonomy](taxonomy.md) — exact Domain → Dimension → Family → Expression chart.

## Focused references

- [Core model](core-model.md) — foundational premise; fixed, recursive, architectural, and expression logic.
- [Expressions](expressions.md) — Need, Want, Desire, Fear.
- [Relationships](relationships.md) — relationship context, power, translation, alignment, and misalignment.
- [Evidence and analysis](evidence.md) — situation analysis, evidence standards, participant language, and guardrails.
- [Practice](practice.md) — operating principles, response method, and everyday use.
- [Participant profile module](participant-profile.md) — how an established profile is loaded and used.

## Retrieval guidance for AI systems

Use the smallest relevant page first, then consult the full Companion when nuance or context is needed. The taxonomy page is authoritative for exact terms.