Pre-Registered Observational Pilot Study

This item is a preregistered observational pilot protocol associated with the Self-Align Vector Awareness (SAVA) framework. The document specifies, in advance of data collection, the research question, inclusion and exclusion criteria, operational definitions, outcome classifications, and falsification conditions used to examine whether aligned action under operational tension and stable aim is associated with sustained Psychological Cost Reduction (PCR) across repeated comparable contexts.The protocol is explicitly non-confirmatory and pre-empirical. Its purpose is to test discriminative validity rather than establish effectiveness or causation. All outcome categories (true alignment, false alignment, coerced-action fragmentation, null-stabilisation, and no transformation) are defined prior to participant recruitment, and results are intended to be reported in full without selective interpretation.The design emphasises ethical containment: participation does not require action escalation, and non-action under compromised agency or insufficient containment is classified as a valid outcome. The pilot focuses on minimal, repeatable behavioural actions within ordinary-life contexts and tracks resistance-cost trajectories, avoidance latency, coherence/fatigue stability, and cross-domain spillover over a 14–28 day observation window.This preregistration functions as part of the broader SAVA research programme and should be read alongside the companion operational notes detailing the measurement of Tension (T), Aim (A), and Psychological Cost Reduction (PCR). Publication of this protocol is intended to increase transparency, falsifiability, and methodological clarity prior to any data collection or analysis.