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Well, I'm sort of a newbie to 40k compared to most folks here, so excuse me if I said anything stupid here.

40k do have a lot of psychology rules, but they are embedded in various codex special rules that is scattered
all over the place and is clumsy to use.  Probably better to standardize them a bit and expand the system.

So here is a start for you all smart folks to build on.

So what in thoughts in the grim darkness of 40k can effect the battle?


*Basic Unit Stats

This is what units start with on default, though it can change over the course of a battle in some
special cases.

Beliefs
Attitude toward Comrades:
1. Mercenary
Not all armies in the world of 40k are a unified fighting force.  Some are just temporary
alliances where every man is looking out for only himself.

-Mercenary do not suffer morale penalties from lost men in the unit.  If they are routed, they
only rally if they come within 6" of a un-broken HQ slot unit or other units that has the command
ability, and they gain -2LD when rallying from routed.

2. Independent
Due to the necessity of certain special ops, or simple attrition, many fighting men do not
fell attachment to the fellow fighter but fight on due to their belief in the greater cause of
their sacrifice.

-An unit that is Independent can get a rally check at any strength and do not suffer Leadership
penalties from losing man in the unit.

3. Brotherhood
The most natural way for an army to function cohesively is to train them as a mutually caring
combat group that is willing to sacrifices themselves for their friends in the field of battle.

-An unit that has brotherhood can always get a rally check at any strength if it is within 6" with
another unit with the same trait from the same army.

4. Mob
Some of the less intelligent creatures read the situation of the battle based on the general flow
of fighting and follows it obediently.

-Gain +1LD up to a max of two for every non-broken unit within 6"  of the unit taking a morale check.
-A non-broken unit within 6" of a broken has to make a morale check on whether to run at the end of the turn.
-A broken unit gets a rally check if it ends turn within 6" of a non-broken unit

Attitude toward the enemy
1. Hate, Bloodlust
There is immense overriding hatred towards the enemy that overrides self preservation concerns.
-Unit do not break in assault, if they fail a morale roll in assault, they take out number wounds as normal
-If a unit break for any reason, they gain "frenzy" mental state (see mental state)

2. Comprehension
Veterans of combat that have fought the same opponent many times can often understand what their
opponent is doing with a realistic assessment and counter their actions.
+1LD for leadership (not morale) rolls

3. Fearful
Some inexperienced units simply can not overcome their fear of combat and will not willingly mix
it up with the enemy in any situation.
-All enemy units cause "fear" passive effect (see fear causing)

4. Pride
Some armies simply hold their enemies in utter contempt and refuse to lose and consider it unspeakable
shame worthy of death to run from battle
-Units that would otherwise be routed becomes pinned, if applicable.

Method of thinking
Command and control
1. Rabble
Many untrained or simply stupid fighting forces lack fire discipline and often fire in random
directions at the dismay of commanders.
-For shooting, the unit takes a leadership check.  If it fails, it will shoot at the closest unit even
if it can't hurt it.

2. Focused
Many fighting forces can not keep track of the chaos of the fast, sprawling battles that gets fought.
The are instead trained to have narrow and complete focus on the target, to the exclusion of battlefield
awareness.

-The unit always shoot at what the players picks.  The unit can not assault any other unit than the one
it fired during the firing phase.  The unit also suffers -1Initi if it fired and it is charged by any unit that was
not the unit it fired on in the previous shooting phase.

3. Trained
Most units are simply trained to be flexible and fire at what the commander wants, though sometimes
there is a breakdown in the exact communications or simply suffer from a case of itchy fingers in the
heat of battle.

-The unit has to pass a leadership roll before shooting.  If it fails, it shoots at the closest unit of the type
(troop, monstrous creature, vehicle)

4. Aware
Some elite veterans of combat with strong faith in their commander will follow each and every order
without fail.

-The unit can shoot at anything without error.

5. Mind-Linked
Certain armies have almost perfect communication between commander and troops and the troops
can be expected to take on ever the toughest tasks at perfect accuracy.

-The unit is also Aware
-The unit can intentionally fail any morale or leadership roll it takes

Force Structure
1. Lax Discipline
In armies where the commander lacks power and has to hold an squabbling alliance together, or
simply out of fear of being fragged by its own man, the routed can not be punished heavily.

-All routed units get -2LD to rally

2. Death on Retreat
A number of armies punish the cowardly by sending them to death.  While it usually increase
obedience effectively, when units break they have no reason to stay with the same force.

-routed units will move towards neutral table edge when retreating, and will not rally.  This rule
overrides other rules regarding rallying.

3. Victory or Death
In life or death struggles against a mortal enemy, there is no respite from war until the enemy
is totally destroyed.  Running from the field only delays certain death by the enemy on a defeat.
There is not one step back to be taken!

-When a unit fails a morale check and should be routed normally, it instead gets mental state: "Panic"
until it rallys.

Innate Mental Trait
Those are not mutually exclusive as with the other choices above.
1. Stupid
-The unit will not get pinned, instead it gets "confused" mental state instead

2. Stoicism
Some races of the universe have found perfect method to discipline their emotions, or lack
emotions to begin with.  While their instincts might remove them from the heated fight for
a instant, the second that they regain their focus they can control themselves again.
-Will automatically pass any rally check

3. Fear Causing
Any unit wishing to assault this unit will have to pass a morale check


*Mental States
These are states that units generally gain over the course of the battle, though certain units
may start with them.

Note that a unit can only have one mental state at a time.
1. Routed
Sometimes that the fears from the battle is simply too much and that a unit decides to run for their
own good lives.

-use standard rules

2. Pinned
A barrage of fire can make all but the most hardened fighters take cover and cease their movement.

-A unit takes a pin check if it suffers more than 1/4 of total wounds in unsaved wounds from shooting in one turn,
if it fails it becomes pinned, if it passes it become distracted
-Pinned unit can not move or assault in the next movement phase, gets -1 cover save and -2 to leadership and morale rolls
-can rally

3. Distracted
While intense combat may not deter fighters from attempting their goal, it will still take away their concentration from
tasks at hand
- gets -2 to leadership rolls for one turn

4. Panic
Sometimes fearful units do not break and run but instead try to survive by fighting itself out of the mess.

-The unit suffers the effect of pinned, as well as gaining "rabble" in command and control.
-can rally

5. Frenzy
Not all combatants in battle join while a calm mind.  Many fighters high on drugs or simply insane to begin with
will try to fight in any situation.

-If moving, can only move towards a enemy unit with max deviation of 10degrees from a straight line if no cover.
-The unit do not get cover saves
-Frenzied units can not be pinned, routed and is immune to panic
-make rally check on -5LD

6. Berserk
Some units simply loses their mind in the heat and battle and will fight at all exclusion of all else

-Will move towards and charge the closest unit
-The unit do not get cover saves
-Berserk units can not be pinned, routed and is immune to panic
-The unit gains +1I on the charge

7.Trance
The best of warriors can fight with perfect focus on the battle, though it often means they can not
listen to the distractions that is the commander.

- +1WS, +1BS
- If not in combat, it will attempt to the following, in given order
  - shoot the closest enemy of the type it shot last (vehicle, troop, monstrous creature), if possible
  - shoot the closest target it can damage or assualt the closest target, which ever result in the most attacks, if possible
  - move towards closest enemy
-If a friendly unit is within 6" of a tranced unit not in combat, it can "wake" the unit after passing a leadership roll.

8. Confused
The many lights and sounds of battle can daze those unfamiliar with its effects.
-The unit can not shoot, or assault.
-The unit will move 1D6 in direction of the scatter die
-can rally

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So with a toolkit like this, we can construct armies, for example:

Chaos Space Marine:
Mercenary, Comprehension, Aware, Lax Discipline

Slugga Boys:
Mob, Rabble, Stupid

Elite Imperial Guard Troops
Brotherhood, Trained, Victory or Death

IG conscripts
Mob, Fearful, Rabble, Death on Retreat

IG sniper
Independent, Focused

Daemonhunters
Brotherhood, Hate (chaos), Aware, Stoicism

Daemon Prince
Mercenary, Comprehension, Mind-Linked, Lax Discipline, Fear Causing

Webway Strike Force Banshees
Brotherhood, Aware, Victory or Death

Solitare
Independent, Comprehension, Mind-Linked, Stoicism

Necon Warriors
Independent, Aware, Stoicism
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You may notice that a number of mental states are listed but not used as there is no way to get into them.
Well, they are intended for special units and equipment, like combat drugs or berserker glaive.

Instead of thinking of leadership as a stat about only how much a unit runs, it should be a stat about
how much control the commander has over his troops....  It is unfun to have units run of the table, so it
should only happen to troops that is really untrustworthy.  It is much more fun to move units into the enemy
line and have it go berserk or something of the sort.  Certainly, armies that are embodiment of raw emotion
should not fight as they are completely under control.

At the very minimum, it would be nice if all those behaviour rules all get moved back to the main codex by
5th ed.

Really nice ideas,
I quite like them,
obviously a bit of thought and history has been brought into this dissertation.

BUT,
it is very complicated due to the existance of modifiers and other attributes along with a whole heap of other bits and pieces.

Would be good for Necromunda or a more advanced and detailed version of 40K but seems a little bit of overkill at the moment.

The other problem is that these changes can hugely effect the value of certain armies and models,
points would really need to be adjusted (well not really but it would be a good idea)

Maybe a condense form,
or even special characters or speial units with the above traits.
kinda like what you have done at the bottom of the post, just fewer traits.