Behavioral Commitment Index (BCI): Decoupling Prospective Memory from Dispositional Readiness in Schizophrenia and Volitional Disorders

Building on the epistemological framework of the Concept as Act series, this paper addresses a fundamental logical paradox in cognitive neuroscience and the psychology of belief (credition): the circular definition of commitment. Standard models conflate the prerequisite execution structure (prospective memory) with the subjective willingness to execute an act (dispositional commitment). This paper introduces the Behavioral Commitment Index (BCI), a conceptual framework designed to decouple prospective memory prerequisites from the underlying dispositional readiness state. By framing agency through a teleological non-tautological structure, the BCI provides a theoretical foundation for credition and offers a diagnostic model for clinical disruptions of volition, such as schizophrenia. Finally, the paper outlines how this theoretical model can be operationalized using a formative, four-domain index to test the temporal stability of commitment as a dispositional state.