What is said
Explicit beliefs, narratives, preferences and rationales.
Start a conversation Action-based decision intelligence
See what people cannot yet say.
MINERVA is a proprietary qualitative research method that reconstructs real decision situations and observes what emerges when people act—not only what they report.
The blind spot
Declared answers are only one layer of a decision.
Interviews and focus groups are strongest when people can access, formulate and are willing to disclose what drives them. Many consequential choices are shaped by procedural habits, emotional expectations and relational patterns that are difficult to report directly.
MINERVA turns the research setting from a conversation about an experience into a structured reconstruction of that experience. The shift from explanation to action reveals additional material: what people do, avoid, repeat, position, symbolise and negotiate together.
What is enacted
Roles, sequences, bodily orientation, distance and interaction.
What is shared
Recurring themes and relational patterns across the group.
What can change
Positioning, communication and experience designed around the real tension.
What MINERVA is
A research system built around action, not mystique.
MINERVA combines action methods from psychodrama with psychoanalytic thinking, cognitive and behavioural perspectives, symbolic work, cultural anthropology and the observation of group dynamics.
Scientific integrity
MINERVA does not claim to read minds or directly measure neural activity. It is an exploratory, action-based qualitative method. Neuroscience and implicit-memory research inform its conceptual background; interpretation is grounded in observable research material and expert analysis.
MINERVA in 98 seconds
A concise introduction to the original concept.
This short Abaculus USA film presents the original formulation of MINERVA. The scientific-integrity note above sets out how the method is described today.
Watch on YouTubeFrom question to strategic direction
One continuous line from human behaviour to implementation.
The method does not stop at insight. Its purpose is to make the finding usable by leaders, marketers, designers and customer-facing teams.
Frame the real decision
We begin with the commercial or organisational decision—not a generic discussion guide. Stakeholder interviews define the tension, context and outcome that matter.
Reconstruct the situation
Participants rebuild lived decision moments in action. Roles, objects, space, language and interaction make the situation experientially present rather than merely remembered.
Observe the whole field
Two expert moderators track spoken meaning alongside action, emotional shifts, symbolic choices, spatial relations and group dynamics.
Translate insight into action
The analysis becomes positioning, messaging, a creative brief, customer-pathway guidance and—when useful—implementation workshops or coaching.
Selected case evidence
Insights translated into positioning, communication and commercial action.
The summaries below are based on historical case materials supplied by Abaculus. They document client projects; they are not presented as controlled scientific trials.
01
Pharmaceutical launch
EGIS · Covercard
A 12-person session with cardiologists and GPs shaped positioning, messaging and a creative brief for a fixed-dose combination. The supplied client case report links the resulting strategy with strong post-launch growth and the product’s 2009 ‘Drug of the Year’ recognition.
Read case02
Portfolio positioning
TEVA · Rabyprex
A 12-person study with GPs and gastroenterologists explored how to position a new reflux therapy without cannibalising an established brand. The supplied client case report describes a turnover increase within two months of the recommended communication strategy.
Read case03
Retail identity
Mill Pharmacy
A 12-resident study translated local narratives into a pharmacy identity, visual system and customer strategy. The supplied case material documents turnover growth after implementation.
Read caseProfessional dialogue · 2014
“The commonality sounds like an important idea to develop.”
Glen O. Gabbard · private correspondence with Zoltan Jonas
Gabbard was responding specifically to Zoltan Jonas’s concept of thematic commonality across members of a target group. The exchange was a professional discussion of a research direction—not a scientific review or endorsement of MINERVA.
MINERVA in Greater Miami
Presented at the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center.
This archival film documents Zoltan Jonas presenting MINERVA at the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center in Aventura, Miami-Dade County, Florida. It is part of a wider body of project work spanning pharmaceuticals, healthcare, retail and organisational development.
Documented client outcome · 2018
“The Abaculus research enabled us to take a fresh look at our goals and how we plan to reach them.”
Elaine Adler · President, Aventura Marketing Council / Chamber of Commerce
12 members2.5h session800 member communications
Read the signed client letter 
About the founder
Zoltan Jonas
Clinical psychologist · psychodrama leader
Zoltan Jonas developed MINERVA from the intersection of clinical observation, psychoanalytic thinking, psychodrama and business decision-making. His work focuses on how unspoken relational patterns become visible in action—and how that knowledge can be translated responsibly into strategy.
Abaculus projects have addressed healthcare communication, treatment cooperation, product positioning, brand identity, customer experience and team implementation.
Bring the difficult question