AIM Framework glossary
Coercion
Canonical definition
Coercion is the use of A-Harm, I-Harm, or M-Harm (or credible threats thereof) to override a person’s intrinsic evaluation, such that their Decision Hub fires in ways they would not endorse under A-sufficiency, protected I-domains, and bounded M.
Explanation
Coercion is not just “strong influence”: it is when someone leverages A-Harm, I-Harm, or M-Harm (or credible threats of imposing these harms) to make another person do something they would refuse if their Appetitive needs were secure, their Intrinsic Motivations were protected, and they were not under Mimetic duress. In AIM terms, the test is counterfactual: if securing the person’s A-floors, providing protected I-space, and removing audience and status threats would change the choice, the original “agreement” was coerced, even if it looked rational at the time. M-Harm is a real coercive instrument; when Coercion exports the maintenance Cost of a Boundary-Belief, the Cost of a Belief / Cost-Provenance Test ledger still records only the resulting A-domain and I-domain losses, not the M phenomenology itself.
Epistemic status
Framework-Specific Construct (normative).