Submerged Individual Goals and Latent Conflict in Contemporary Groups: A Motivational Framework and the Individual Objective Scan (IOS)

This preprint introduces the construct of Submerged Individual Goals (SIG), defined as unexpressed individual goals rooted in motivational needs and value priorities that become conflict-relevant when they diverge from a group’s manifest objectives. The paper argues that in contemporary contexts characterised by high levels of individualisation, fluid group membership, and digitally mediated interaction, latent motivational misalignments are more likely to remain unarticulated and later emerge through displaced or “straw” conflict themes (procedural, relational, or task-related). The article develops a theoretical framework that distinguishes SIG from adjacent constructs such as latent goals, hidden agendas, and covert goals, and articulates the SIG hypothesis into testable propositions linking socio-cultural context, non-expression of individual goals, intrapersonal tension, conflict displacement, and recurrence. To render the construct operational, the paper introduces the Individual Objective Scan (IOS), a diagnostic model structured around seven motivational dimensions derived from value theory and a four-phase protocol (destigmatisation, structured elicitation, guided feedback and reframing, informed negotiation). IOS is proposed as a pre-negotiation diagnostic integration to existing conflict management approaches, aimed at improving conflict classification and the stability of negotiated outcomes. The framework is conceptual and requires empirical validation. The preprint is shared to establish theoretical priority and to invite scholarly discussion and feedback prior to journal submission.