diff --git a/concordia/agents/basic_agent.py b/concordia/agents/basic_agent.py
index d1ae5360..47a5ccf7 100644
--- a/concordia/agents/basic_agent.py
+++ b/concordia/agents/basic_agent.py
@@ -87,6 +87,7 @@ def __init__(
 
     self._under_interrogation = False
     self._state_lock = threading.Lock()
+    self._state: str | None
 
     self._components = {}
     for comp in components: