The Identity Archetype Assessment used in this coaching practice is based on the 12-archetype framework
developed by Carol S. Pearson, Ph.D., as presented in Awakening the Heroes Within (1991, HarperOne) and
further codified in The Hero and the Outlaw (Mark & Pearson, 2001, McGraw-Hill). This framework draws upon the
foundational psychological work of Carl Gustav Jung, specifically his theory of archetypes and the collective
unconscious (The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, 1959).
The five applied dimensions explored in this assessment — how you learn, work, relate, love, and create — are a
coaching synthesis informed by Pearson's archetypal profiles, alongside research in motivational psychology (Deci
& Ryan), adult learning theory (Kolb), and attachment theory (Bowlby).
This assessment is intended as a reflective coaching tool, not a clinical or diagnostic instrument. Results are a
starting point for self-exploration and growth conversations — not a fixed or definitive psychological profile. Your
archetype may shift across different seasons of life.
For professional or published use of this framework, please refer to the original works cited above.