Collapse Archetypes
Project Overview
The Collapse Archetype Quiz explores 19 distinct archetypes that represent different patterns of awareness, agency, and response to societal collapse. Beyond simple categorization, the quiz provides a 5-dimensional psychological analysis grounded in Terror Management Theory, Cognitive Dissonance Theory, Social Identity Theory, and other established frameworks.
From the Ostrich who filters catastrophic information to the Apocaloptimist who finds opportunity in chaos, each archetype reveals deep insights about how we relate to uncertainty and change.
Why make this?
What archetypal patterns show up in you when considering collapse? Social, ecological, psychological, civilisational etc?
I’d been sitting with this question myself for many years. Observing the ways many people (myself included) respond to uncertainty, loss, and change. Over time I started noticing recurring patterns, and trying to situate them in my understanding of various frameworks in the social sciences. At the moment they tend towards more heuristic archetypes really, and I’m well aware they are also projections. After all, we all contain multitudes.
It was made during a period of creeping nihilism and the visceral expression of some of these archetypes (Prophet of Doom, Ostrich, Normalizer and others). And away from my anchor pattern (the Apocaloptimist).
So I decided to engage this personal phase with a bit of moral imagination and serious play. I turned what I was sensing (from scouring a heap of personal notes and doing some additional reading) into something tangible with the help of ClaudeCode… a quiz 😅
Process & Methodology
After consolidating my ideas and notes on paper I then worked with ChatGPT to refine the archetypes, relevance to social science theories and questions, I developed a initial-spec using specification-driven development. This involved creating a detailed outline of the quiz structure, question flow, scoring system, and user interface elements, along with a style guide.
I then proceeded to build the quiz using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for the front-end, ensuring a responsive and engaging user experience. The scoring system incorporates tie-breaking using cosine similarity in trait space.
Results & Impact
This project has only just been launched, so I don’t have much data on its impact yet. However, initial feedback from users has been positive, with many appreciating the depth and nuance of the archetypes. At the time of writing, a few people have sent me their results via private messages, indicating that the quiz resonated with their personal experiences and perspectives on collapse but that sharing such results publicly can be challenging given the subject matter.
Future Improvements
At the moment the archetypes are not yet validated empirically, so future work could involve collaborating with social scientists to refine and validate the archetypes through research studies. The larger use case I had in mind is reflective and relational interventions in the context of transformative adaptation to ecological and societal collapse.
Practical Applications
While the quiz is primarily a tool for self-reflection and exploration, it also has potential applications in various fields. For example, educators could use it to facilitate discussions about societal collapse and resilience in the classroom. Mental health professionals might find it useful for helping clients articulate their feelings about uncertainty and change. Additionally, organizations focused on sustainability and social justice could leverage the archetypes to better understand the diverse perspectives within their communities.