%% [[Feeling]] people:: #people/lisafeldmanbarrett Lon Setnik dates:: 2022-11-21 %% *Emotion is a constructed state representing the connection between the model of what we expect to be and what our action feeds back to us.* This reminds me of [[social-cognitive learning theory]], and how [[emotion and cognition interact to effect learning and memory and decisions]], they are both experiences of building models and comparing those models against what we know. The social cues tell us we can be supported in this effort when we are experiencing [[psychological safety]]. It's kind of like [[Constructivism]] in the ways constructivism is all about the meaning we make by constructing a model in our brain of how something is, as opposed to some universal truth about how something is. what is it > The **Theory of constructed emotion** (formerly the conceptual act model of emotion) is a theory in affective science proposed by Lisa Feldman Barrett to explain the experience and perception of emotion. The theory posits that instances of emotion are constructed predictively by the brain in the moment as needed. It draws from social construction, psychological construction, and neuroconstruction. > > [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory%20of%20constructed%20emotion) This is important because if true it would account for why our emotional state is created inside us in the moment based on a prediction of our past experiences in similar moments. Thus, if we can access the idea that our past experiences are a based on [[availability bias]] we can use the same techniques of [[cognitive reframing]] to acknowledge our bias and then purposefully implement a new, intentional (albeit high energy at the beginning) emotional and cognitive approach to a situation. ### What would the opposite argument be? It is a fiction to describe our emotions as states that we can control. While they are practical, they are habitual, which means they are not under direct control, or at least require too high an energy state to be managed directly. %% tags: #note/idea | #on/behavior | #on/emotion | #on/cbt %% ## Sources: Barrett, L. F. (2016). The theory of constructed emotion: An active inference account of interoception and categorization. _Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience_, nsw154. [https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsw154](https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsw154)