RUMLA Chodhri. CASE STUDY: FROM THEOLOGICAL STAGE TO POSITIVE STAGE Applying Comte’s Three Stages to Clinical Case Formulation and Intervention.

ABSTRACT

This case study reformulates a PhD candidate’s thesis delay in terms of Auguste Comte’s Law of Three Stages (Comte, 1830/2009). The client, raised in a feudal Punjabi system governed by Theological explanations (kismet, izzat, and evil eye gaze) (Anjum et al., 2019), encountered a Metaphysical power struggle in an Australian University. A Positive Stage intervention targeting observable conditions, circadian rhythm, zeitgebers (Czeisler et al., 1999), and izzat reframing produced thesis completion without altering traits or culture. The case demonstrates that Positive Stage methods offer superior prediction and control in cross-cultural clinical work (Sue et al., 2009). Limitations, recommendations, and lessons for case study methodology are discussed.

Keywords: Comte, Positive Stage, case formulation, izzat, zeitgeber, cross-cultural therapy, Theological Stage

1. BACKGROUND OF THE CASE

Client: Rumla Chodhri, 31, female, PhD candidate. Daughter of a village Numberdar in Punjab, Pakistan - a position conferring local sociopolitical authority.

Sociocultural System: Client was socialized in a Theological Stage milieu where paternal decree functioned as law (Comte, 1830/2009). Community attributions for success/failure emphasized supernatural forces (kismet, Nazr-e-Bud, family izzat) over measurable effort or systemic rules (Stewart, 1994; Anjum et al., 2019).

Academic Trajectory: Client relocated to Australia for doctoral study. Initially thrived, expressing admiration for “foreign education system, critical thinking, research methodology.”

Presenting Problem: During the final semester, the client completed 3 of 6 Research Committee-approved variables and demanded thesis submission. The supervisor refused, citing incomplete synopsis requirements. Client alleged “personal grudge” and requested supervisor change. The university denied the request.

Outcome Pre-Intervention: Client suspended candidature, returned to Pakistan, and reported to father: “I don’t take dictation. I chose a clumsy supervisor. It was my mistake.” Father sought psychological consultation to “get her back on track.”

Baseline Measures: Rumla wrote 0-50 words daily for a period of 6 months. This enabled her to complete three out of six variables, and 100% missed deadlines post-Month 6. Her sleep pattern: 2 am-10 am, was consistent with circadian misalignment (Roenneberg & Merrow, 2016). She did not plan a work schedule to complete her thesis; her structured study hours were zero. No psychiatric diagnosis.

Comte Framing: The case began as a collision between a Theological Stage family system and a Positive Stage university system, mediated by the client’s Metaphysical Stage attribution of blaming “supervisor incompetence” (Comte, 1830/2009).

2. INTERVIEW SESSION AND INTERVENTION

2.1 Session Observables — Mental State Examination

A 3-hour consultation was conducted. Observable behaviours were noted per single-case methodology (Kazdin, 2019; Yin, 2018):

Posture/Gaze: She presented an upright posture with her shoulders back and sustained eye contact during more than 80% of the session duration.

Speech: She spoke 100-120 words per minute and maintained a low pitch. Her speech was articulate/fluent as she used complete sentences without any fillers or pauses.

Content: She used unprompted citations, including her assertion as to how things were practiced abroad. She also verbalized the rule (by putting her thoughts and emotions into words), “I don’t take dictations.”

Affect: Affect was congruent with content; no tearfulness or lability. In other words, she exhibited a stable and consistent emotional state that matched the topic of discussion, and there was no sudden shift or overwhelming distress.

2.2 Functional Analysis of Presenting Conflict

Identification of Operating Rule: Client’s operating rule was identified as she stated that she was not in the habit of listening to “No”.  If an outsider says ‘No’, then a Numberdar’s daughter says ‘I don’t hear it’, because compliance signals low izzat (Nisbett & Cohen, 1996).

Preservation of Status: In the village system, the rule of not listening to “No” preserved status. In the university system, the same rule resulted in thesis failure.

2.3 Positive Stage Intervention: Rather than challenge identity or build “willpower,” the intervention altered the conditions governing izzat:

Single Question of Effect: “What damages your izzat and family honour more, completing six variables under a supervisor you dislike, or returning home forever without a foreign degree?”

Observed Response: 3-minute silence prevailed. Client verbalized: “The shame of permanent failure outweighs the shame of temporary compliance.” The client defined the moment as “a falcon with broken wings”.

Behavioral Outcome: Client returned to Australia, completed the remaining 3 variables under the same supervisor, submitted a thesis, and graduated. Reported rejoining family “with pride and honour.”

3. ANALYSIS THROUGH COMTE’S LAWS OF THREE STAGES

3.1       Auguste Comte’s Law of Three Stages: It explains how both human knowledge and society evolve. Comte thought humanity isn’t born with truth already in our heads. We are born ignorant and only get knowledge by observing the world. The "Three Stages" describe the 3 mental frameworks humans use to explain reality as we progress from ignorance to learning through experience (science). Comte’s three-stage theory is as follows: -

(1) Theological Stage / Fictitious: In this stage, supernatural beings, gods, and spirits cause every happening. The method of thinking is through imagination and belief in faith. For example, "famine happened because the gods are angry". The dominant social units are family/tribe ruled by priests. In Rumla’s case, Kismet, evil eye, supervisor’s grudge, prayer, taweez, and supervisor change are the main factors of the theological stage leading to success. The outcome of failure is due to no change in the words written per day.

(2) Metaphysical / Abstract Stage: Impersonal forces, essences, “nature” cause things. The thinking method is philosophical speculation, for example, "famine caused due to 'vital forces' or 'destiny'". Dominant units are the rise of law, states, and philosophers. Rumla asserted, “I have no willpower.” “Supervisor is incompetent.” Hence, she needed motivational lectures to achieve success. She failed because trait attribution gave no target 

(3) Positive / Scientific Stage: We look for natural laws via observation, experiment, and comparison. The scientific method is used with evidence. For example, famine happened due to drought, crop failure, and distribution issues. Truth-based data is presented. Society is run by scientists & experts. Positive stage (in Rumla’s case) presents Behavior as a function of Environment, Izzat equation, Zeitgebers. (Czeisler et al., 1999). She separated herself from the phone by keeping it in the kitchen and reached the library early in the morning to start work on her thesis. Early completion of the thesis would enable her to get the degree, and this would save her izzat. She produced 250 words/day and completed her thesis.

3.2       Comte’s Social Physics and Tabula Rasa: Comte invented sociology and termed it “social physics” — the final science in his hierarchy (Comte, 1830/2009). His argument was prescriptive, not merely historical: society should be governed using Positive Stage laws, replacing priests and metaphysical philosophers with scientists and sociologists. This connects directly to Locke’s (1689) tabula rasa.

(1) No innate ideas: In the Theological Stage, we invent gods to fill ignorance. Children are not born knowing “kismet” or “evil eye”; these explanations are acquired. Rumla was not born believing “I don’t take dictation” — she learned it in a Numberdar’s panchayat where it preserved izzat (Stewart, 1994).

(2) Knowledge is acquired through experience: Each stage replaces the last because prior explanations fail prediction. Gods did not increase performance words/day; “no willpower” assertion gave no target. Only observable conditions did. Experience pulled Rumla upward.

(3) Individual recapitulates society: Comte argued that each person traverses the same stages (Bourdeau et al., 2018). A child begins the Theological Stage as “mommy said so.” Adolescents enter the Metaphysical Stage “because of fairness.” Adults capable of science say, “Let’s test it.” Rumla’s trajectory mapped this: Theological “supervisor has grudge,” Metaphysical “I’m a strong woman who would not take dictations,” Positive “If at 9 am I reach the library, then writing 200 words per day is promised.” 

(4) Tabula Rasa as Testable Hypothesis: Locke’s (1689) doctrine becomes empirically tractable within Comte’s Positive Stage. If knowledge and behavior derive from experience rather than innate essences, then systematic alteration of environmental conditions should produce predictable behavioral change (Kazdin, 2019). The present case tests this proposition. The client’s DNA and early enculturation were constants; the independent variables were zeitgeber exposure or circadian rhythm (Czeisler et al., 1999), environmental structure, and semantic re-framing of izzat (Stewart, 1994). The dependent variable, words/day, increased from 0-50 to 250 following manipulation of these conditions. Thus, the data support a Lockean model: the “slate” was rewritten through controlled experience, and the outcome was predicted in advance. This demonstrates both testability and controllability, the hallmarks of Positive Stage science and Comte’s vision of social physics. 

3.2 Key Comtean Principles Demonstrated: (Bourdeau et al., 2018).

(1)  Prediction Over Blame: Only the Positive Stage generated a testable if-then law that controlled the outcome. 

(2)   Systems Over Essences: Client displayed “high willpower” in Punjab, “low willpower” in Australia. Trait models rejected; system models confirmed. 

(3)  Integration Not Erasure: Theological Stage identity “Numberdar’s daughter” was not deleted. It was re-channeled: “Good Numberdars honor contracts. PhD = contract.” Positive Stage used Stage 1 as fuel (Sue et al., 2009).  Relativity of Truth: “Rumla is a procrastinator” is false. “Rumla produces 0 words when the phone is in the bedroom at 2 am” is true. Positive Stage truths are conditional.

 Conclusion: The case validates Comte’s claim that Positive Stage methods provide control over nature — here, human behavior — through knowledge of laws (Comte, 1830/2009). It exemplifies his call to run both individual lives and society using “social physics” rather than theological or metaphysical authority.

LIMITATIONS 

(1) Single-Case Design: Lacks experimental control or randomization. Cannot isolate izzat from environmental changes (Yin, 2018). 

(2)  Measurement: Pre-intervention output relied on retrospective self-report. Risk of recall bias. 

(3) Cultural Specificity: Izzat-based intervention may not generalize to low-honor, individualist cultures (Anjum et al., 2019). Requires replication. 

(4) Supervisor Variable Uncontrolled: Success occurred with the same supervisor. We cannot determine if supervisor behavior changed post-return.

(5)  In Positive Stage terms: these are acknowledged unknowns and future hypotheses, not failures of method.

RECOMMENDATIONS

All recommendations are operational, replicable, and falsifiable per Positive Stage standards: 

(1)        Environmental Design Protocol: Action: 9:00-13:00 daily in the library, desk facing the wall. Phone/laptop stored outside the room. Measure: Library check-in logs, words by 1 pm. Target: ≥200 words/day, 5 days/week (Kazdin, 2019). 

(2)        Circadian Realignment Protocol: Action: 30-min outdoor light 7-8 am (Czeisler et al., 1999). Fixed 7 am wake time 7 days/week. Breakfast within 1 hour of waking. Measure: Sleep diary + lux meter. Target: Sleep onset < 12 am within 14 days (Foster & Kreitzman, 2014). 

(3)        Izzat Contingency Protocol: Action: Daily “Numberdar Report” — client records 3 thesis actions that demonstrate leadership. Measure: 1-10 izzat self-rating + supervisor compliance %. Target: Izzat ≥7 with ≥80% deadlines met (Stewart, 1994).

(4)        Implementation Intentions: Action: “If it is 9 am, then I open EndNote and write one sentence” (Gollwitzer & Sheeran, 2006). Measure: Habit tracker. Target: 90% compliance, Month 1.

LESSONS LEARNT FOR THE CASE STUDY METHOD 

(1)        Replace Traits with Conditions: “Arrogant” explains nothing. “Cites literature when status threatened” explains the system and gives a target.

(2)        Theological Stage is Data, Not Error: Kismet and izzat are not superstitions to mock. They are Stage 1 laws that the client actually follows (Comte, 1830/2009).

(3)        Positive Stage therapy works with them (Sue et al., 2009). 

(4)        Prediction is the Ethical Floor: If your formulation cannot predict next week’s words/day, it is Metaphysical poetry, not science (Yin, 2018). 

(5)        DNA is Hardware; Stage 3 is Software Update: We cannot edit genes or childhood. We can edit zeitgebers, rooms, and rules. That is 95% of modifiable variance in behavior.

(6)        Comte Revised: The Positive Stage does not abolish prior stages. It employs them (Bourdeau et al., 2018). The Numberdar’s daughter earned a PhD not by abandoning her identity, but by upgrading its expression. 

(7)        Social Physics in the Clinic: Comte did not intend his Law of Three Stages as passive history (Comte, 1830/2009). He argued we should run society using Positive Stage thinking — ditching priests and abstract philosophers in favor of sociologists and scientists organizing industry and morals. Rumla’s case is micro-level social physics. The clinician, acting as sociologist, identified the Theological and Metaphysical laws the client followed, then designed Positive Stage conditions that outperformed them. If Positive Stage laws can control thesis completion, they can inform education policy, honor-culture migration programs, and cross-cultural clinical training.

(8)        Closing Position: Case studies in the Positive Stage must move from “Who is this person?” to “Under what measurable conditions does this behavior occur?” Rumla’s case shows the method works across cultures, classes, and continents.

REFERENCES

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