Pee Break
When my interoception wishes to signal me that my bladder is filling, it does so with an unpleasant calm sensation. I interpret the sensation as:
No need to panic, but I’m just giving you notice that you’re going to need to pee some time soon.
Instead of immediately dropping what I’m doing to tend to this e-motion (outward motion), I can decide whether it’s more urgent than continuing to write this post.
Depending on how caught up I get in the writing, the feeling will gradually ratchet up the intensity from unpleasant calm to unpleasant arousal.
If you don’t want to wet yourself, you better find yourself a toilet. Pronto!
How We Build Concepts
In “Super Stupid Simple Emotions,” I listed the four feelings as:
Pleasant.
Unpleasant.
Calmness.
Arousal.
These feelings are coming and going all day every day.
When I see, hear, smell, taste, or touch anything in the world, while conscious, a feeling accompanies it.
Based on that feeling, a perception or focus of attention arises.
Based on that feeling, the association machine in my brain starts to ask what caused similar perceptions in the past. The output of that database search is a concept.
Based on that concept, a plan of action arises.
Depending on how “aroused” I am, I can choose to act or not act on that plan.
Interoception Goes to the Movies
A while back, I received my weekly newsletter from the Academy Theatre, a refurbished art-deco styled independent movie house with reasonable ticket prices, a good beer selection, and pizza!
As I scanned the list of movies playing the following week, I noticed my feelings.
Grim New 3-Hour Reboot of Superhero Series
Unpleasant, calm.
Celebrity Crime Drama by Famous Director that Did His Best Work 30 Years Ago
Unpleasant, calm.
Sequel to An Animated Film I Had No Interest in At the Time
Unpleasant, calm.
New Academy-Award Nominated Film By One of My Favorite Living Directors Who Is Still Near the Top of His Game
Pleasant, aroused.
Based on the awareness of something in my environment, and a feeling, a perception arises.
My mind begins searching its database for previous experiences with that perception.
The Academy Theatre can fill up, but there are seldom lines on Monday nights, no wait to get pizza and beer, Elizabeth and I can sit where we like.
Pleasant, calm.
We both enjoy movies by the director.
Pleasant, calm.
We’d seen a preview of the film, and while we couldn’t make out what happens, it seems light and fun.
Pleasant, calm.
Based on that database sort, we make a decision to see the movie at the Academy Theatre on Monday night.
And we follow through with the action.
Mixed Feelings, Bad Data, No Data
Three things that can make this world-building process stressful are mixed feelings, bad data, and no data. Sometimes both pleasant and unpleasant feelings arise during the sorting process.
Mixed feelings: I’d love to see the movie, but traffic is bonkers at that hour.
Bad data: I might be working with bad data (inaccurate information).
I might rely on memories of early films by the director of Celebrity Crime Drama by Famous Director that Did His Best Work 30 Years Ago and forget that he hasn’t done anything worth seeing in the last 25 years.
No Data: I might have no information about an aspect of the decision.
A friend might suggest seeing a movie on Monday night. No time specified. No theater specified. No movie specified. Here it comes down to my basic level of comfort/anxiety toward the unknown. When I think about trying something I have no previous experience with, do pleasant or unpleasant sensations arise?
