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Functional Fluency is a model of human social behaviour designed to promote emotional literacy. Individuals are being ‘functionally fluent’ when they relate to others in ways that are fit for purpose – with "flexibility, flow and for mutual benefit". The assumption is that humans are able to adjust their behavioural choices to become more "functionally fluent" which can have a positive outcomes for the individual and their social interactions. The model provides a framework for understanding and implementing this process.

History
Functional Fluency grew out of Transactional Analysis (TA), a practical and solution-focussed integrative psychology, with a strong emphasis on behavioural change. It was developed by Susannah Temple PhD, and grew out of her work over thirty years in adult, parent and teacher education, ten of these as an educational and clinical Transactional Analyst. The model, and the associated Temple Index of Functional Fluency tool (TIFF© ), were formalised and validated as part of Temple’s PhD research project 1997 – 2002. The PhD research was awarded a European Association of Transactional Analysis (EATA) silver medal in July 2003. It then gained the Eric Berne Memorial Award from the International Transactional Analysis Association in 2014.

Functional Fluency is rooted, as is Transactional Analysis (TA), in the humanistic principle of giving recognition to unique human experiences as well as describing and explaining the underlying patterns of meaning in these experiences that are common to all human beings.

The accessibility of TA concepts was also a guiding principle of Eric Berne, the founder of Transactional Analysis. Functional Fluency follows this tradition. The model is explained in everyday vocabulary to create the conditions for the widest possible understanding, whilst holding to the rigour of scientific precision to ensure valid conclusions can be drawn.

The aspect of TA that Functional Fluency is most closely connected to, is the theory of the ‘Integrating Adult’ ego state developed by Erskine and others, notably Summers and Tudor and Tudor. This theory can be used to explain the psychic sources of the behavioural modes described by the Functional Fluency model.

As well as the connection with TA theory, Functional Fluency can also be seen as a stand-alone model of human social functioning with roots in the evolutionary psychology of Robin Dunbar. Dunbar suggests that humans, physically the weakest of all the apes, succeeded as a species because we developed the sophisticated ability to trust the reality of safety in numbers, using others to protect our backs as we protected theirs, so our species could thrive more easily. Humans figured out how to use their energy collectively to grow, survive and successfully raise the next generation. Functional Fluency describes the modes of behaviour on which this success depends.

Description
The Functional Fluency model delineates crucial aspects of human existence, namely growing up, surviving and raising the next generation, most basic matters, more primitive than personality factors or traits, and intrinsic to the human condition. As such, the model has been assimilated across national borders, languages and cultures and into many fields of human endeavour – organisations, education, parenting and clinical settings. A tenet of Functional Fluency is that people are functionally fluent when they are flexible and balanced in their approaches to each other, blending ways of behaving so that they can respond effectively to achieve their goals in a mutually beneficial way – whilst remaining responsive to the ever changing reality of the here and now. The more balanced and flexible their behaviour, the more choices they have and the more successful their interactions will be. The Functional Fluency model has three levels of construction, all relevant to both theory and practice. In order to arrive at a logically related set of unidimensional concepts that could be reliably measured, a process of definition with three levels of construction based on the work of George Kelly and Bannister & Fransella was used in the model validation research process.

Categories
Level 1 is the most basically defined set of constructs, called categories. These are value-free and categorize how humans use their energy socially.


 * Social Responsibility On behalf of others for whom we carry a social responsibility – i.e. when in charge of providing for their well being in some way, short or long-term, informal or formal.
 * Reality Assessment Internally, for assessing the reality of the current situation – i.e. using senses, memories, know-how and imagination to take account of a huge range of data. This is necessary for survival.
 * Self-expression On behalf of one's self– i.e. self-expression in favour of growing up and meeting our own needs.

Level 2 divides the elements of human social behaviour into five more specific (but still value-free) concepts by dividing two of the categories in half according to their key aspects:


 * Social Responsibility divides into Guiding and Directing ("Control") and Looking after People ("Care").
 * Reality Assessment is not divided. This complex neurological activity is simply termed Accounting.
 * Self expression divides into Relating to Others (the socialised element) and Doing My Own Thing (the natural element).

The nine modes
In Level 3, the non-accounting behaviours are divided into positive ("effective") and negative ("ineffective") options or "modes", according to the model diagram.

For instance, Guiding and Directing can be done positively, which is termed Structuring ("inspiring, well-organised, firm"), or negatively, which is termed Dominating ("bossy, fault-finding, punitive").

The principle is that the 9 modes are a ‘menu’ for choosing how to behave, where four of these are negative, and five (including Accounting) are positive.

Accounting mode
At the centre of the model diagram is the Accounting mode - the key concept in the full Functional Fluency model. It is used as one of the five positive modes, although scientifically it remains value-free. Accounting Mode is not an observable way of behaving as it uses energy internally. The term Accounting is a double metaphor for the mental activities of taking in data and simultaneously making sense of them, “taking account” of the present situation. This dual aspect of reality assessment in the Functional Fluency model echoes what was referred to originally by Jean Piaget as the process of “accommodation and assimilation” of new learning.

Responding and reacting
The cluster of positive behavioural modes that includes the Accounting facility are termed ‘responding’ and considered likely to be effective. Use of the negative modes is called ‘reacting’.

The verbs ‘react’ and ‘respond’ are used as technical terms in the model to articulate the difference between a)	stress-related reactions, colloquially termed ‘fight, flee or freeze’. These occur when the limbic system of the brain is over-stimulated, and b)	the flow of responsiveness which drives functionally fluent behaviour when the parasympathetic nervous system is functional and the prefrontal cortex is working optimally. These ideas have much in common with current thinking in mindfulness research and emotional literacy. Using Accounting mode to help choose and blend the other positive modes is termed "functionally fluent".

Using Functional Fluency
The Functional Fluency model differs from other "personality test" or "typing" models in that it provides a map of human social behaviour that is also a menu for choosing how to behave, rather than labelling according to fixed personality traits. Individuals are encouraged to use all three levels of the model to see how rebalancing their energy might help them to reduce stress or conflict and maximise the possibility of mutual understanding, by "responding" more and "reacting" less. The model also offers a framework for making sense of how other people are behaving.

Relationship to Emotional Literacy
Peter Salovey and John Mayer identified five domains of emotional intelligence. They claim that self-awareness is the basis for the other four domains – emotional management, self-motivation, empathy and social competence. Functional Fluency is intended to help people build self-awareness and social competence. . This practical way of working that increases Functional Fluency could be considered as equivalent to increasing emotional literacy, which is a key factor in the long-term success of any human enterprise.

In business
Functional Fluency and TIFF are used in the business world by managers, team leaders, consultants and coaches to increase motivation, develop effective working alliances, reduce conflict and stress and empower change. The commercial advantages of organisations with high levels of employee commitment which value good relationships between staff and managers, customers and stakeholders and provide development strategies and tools to foster this are well documented. Relationships in these organisations inspire, support and motivate all those involved. They have higher staff retention rates, decreased absenteeism , increased sales and increased total return to shareholders.

Positive working relationships between managers and staff have a direct influence on motivation and employee commitment and engagement. In leadership development programmes, the Functional Fluency model offers a framework for analysing how the leaders relate to their teams, where their energy is being used effectively or wasted and how to improve their day to day functioning.

In education
It is used in schools and with young people to improve the effectiveness of classroom management and relationships to foster motivation and energy for learning. In adult education and community settings, the model is used as a key framework to promote behaviours that support adult learning and effective communication.

In parenting
In parenting and family work, Functional Fluency is used to model and support effective use of the responsibility and authority of ‘being-in-charge roles’, and encourage positive ways to guide and direct and look after the young that meet their developmental needs. Functional Fluency highlights the value of kind and understanding strictness that helps to reduce conflict, increase confidence, soothe distress and create healthy opportunities for warm enjoyment from helping each other grow up well.

In therapy
In clinical settings, counselling and psychotherapy, the models are used in interventions designed to help clients recognise and claim their own power to resolve a wide range of issues including stress, relationship conflict, communication breakdown and self-care challenges.