Category I Emotions, the Intra-personal Emotions or Emotions of the Self

This article gives an overview of Category I Emotions (Intra-personal Emotions or Emotions of the Self) in Affect Engineering. It is the seventh article in a series designed for the layperson that explains the basics of Affect Engineering as a theory of emotions. Each article will begin with a list of questions that it will aim to address. The sections that follow will be in two parts each. The first part will be a short statement that answers each question as succinctly as possible. The second part will either be an explanation that goes into more detail where needed or explain some of the implications of the short answer.

QUESTIONS

1. What are the Category I Emotions in Affect Engineering?
2. If the same object or entity can elicit different emotions for an individual, then how would this be represented in Affect Engineering and why is it significant?
3. Why is it necessary to balance or hold certain emotions in check, including ones that are generally considered positive such as happiness and euphoria?
4. How would instances of self-sacrifice be accounted for in Affect Engineering?
5. What factors will amplify, or alternatively, reduce the intensity of each Category I Emotion when they are modeled in Affect Engineering?

1) What are the Category I Emotions in Affect Engineering?

SHORT ANSWER

Category I Emotions in Affect Engineering are emotions arising from valuations of entities that concern a purpose held only by the individual in consideration (e.g., the self). No empathy is involved. The Category I Emotions are: Happiness, Euphoria, Courage, Guilt, Sadness, Grief, Fear, Anger, Disgust, Relief, and Content.

IN DEPTH EXPLANATION

Category I Emotions in Affect Engineering only concern valuations of entities for purposes or goals held by the self. They are further classified into one of two subcategories, the first being the Avoidance of Pain Emotions, and the second being the Pursuit of Pleasure Emotions. The classification of an emotion into one of these two subcategories is determined solely by the Appraisal variable (i.e., a coefficient equaling either +1 or -1). The Appraisal signals whether or not further acquisition of a particular entity is expected to lead towards a restoration of equilibrium, or away from the restoration of equilibrium between a purpose and its opposite or complementary purpose. Article three in this series goes into more detail on Appraisals as they are implemented in Affect Engineering, Cognitive Appraisals in the Context of Affect Engineering (Article 3 of 12).

An emotion felt by one individual is modeled in Affect Engineering to be felt for one entity as it relates to the fulfillment of one purpose held by the individual, and this will correspond to one emotion felt. This, the 1:1:1:1 Ratio (i.e., one person, one entity, one valuation and emotion felt, and one purpose), is a principle that Affect Engineering adheres to in order to prevent erroneous conflation in Affect Engineering, such as by merging two emotions into one emotion when it would be more accurate to keep them as separate emotions for separate instances. The 1:1:1:1 Ratio in Affect Engineering is explained in greater detail in article two of this series Reframing Anxiety as a Resource, (Article 2 of 12).

Avoidance of Pain Emotions

The Avoidance of Pain Emotions in Affect Engineering each have an Appraisal value that is positive (i.e., coefficient of +1), meaning an entity’s acquisition will lead towards a restoration of equilibrium between a purpose and its complementary purpose (opposing purpose). With respect to an individual’s valuation of an entity for the fulfillment of a purpose, the core features of the Avoidance of Pain Emotions are the following:

• Sadness: The individual’s valuation of the entity rises towards positive infinity at a steady rate.
• Grief: The individual’s valuation of the entity rises towards positive infinity at an accelerating rate, oftentimes approaching a vertical asymptote if the entity becomes impossible to attain (e.g., the loss of a loved one, if one wished to see them again).
• Fear: The individual’s valuation of the entity is initially at a lower and somewhat uncertain level before it rises towards positive infinity and then tapers off again.
• Anger: The individual’s valuation of the entity is initially at a higher level and lowers towards its existential value (i.e., an absolute value of one). It is also characterized by the presence of aggression against a threat of harm to the entity; aggression distinguishes Anger from Disgust and Relief.
• Disgust: The individual’s valuation of the entity is initially at a higher level and lowers towards its existential value. It is also characterized by evasion or evasive action against a threat of harm; evasion or evasive action distinguishes Disgust from Anger and Relief.
• Relief: The individual’s valuation of the entity is initially at a higher level and lowers towards its existential value. It is also characterized by a lack of aggression and a lack of evasive action towards a threat of harm, and this distinguishes Relief from Anger and Disgust.
• Content: Content felt for a particular entity is characterized by an individual’s valuation of the entity remaining the same or having an absolute value that remains at a low level, such as at or near its existential value.  Content is considered to be an Avoidance of Pain Emotion if it has an Appraisal value of +1. Content would be more likely to happen if balance between the opposing purposes is maintained near equilibrium.

Pursuit of Pleasure Emotions

The Pursuit of Pleasure Emotions in Affect Engineering each have an Appraisal value that is negative (i.e., coefficient of -1), meaning an entity’s acquisition will lead away from a restoration of equilibrium for a purpose relative to its complementary or opposing purpose. With respect to an individual’s valuation of an entity for the fulfillment of a purpose, the core features of the Pursuit of Pleasure Emotions are:

• Happiness: The individual’s valuation of the entity lowers towards negative infinity at a steady rate. Its absolute value or distance from zero, however, is still increasing.
• Euphoria: The individual’s valuation of the entity lowers towards negative infinity at an accelerating rate, oftentimes approaching a vertical asymptote if it becomes impossible to fail to attain (e.g., obtaining the entity is unavoidable). Its absolute value is still increasing.
• Courage: The individual’s valuation of the entity is initially at a higher (i.e., closer to zero) and somewhat uncertain level before it lowers towards negative infinity and then tapers off again. Its absolute value also increases.
• Guilt: The individual’s valuation of the entity is initially at a lower level and rises towards its existential value. Its absolute value diminishes and returns closer towards the existential level in this case. Guilt is modeled as a missed opportunity by an individual in Affect Engineering
• Content: Content felt for a particular entity is characterized by an individual’s valuation of the entity remaining the same or having an absolute value at a low level, such as at or near its existential value.  It will be a Pursuit of Pleasure Emotion if it has an Appraisal value of -1. Content would be more likely to happen if balance between the opposing purposes is maintained near equilibrium.

The above Category I Emotions are described with sample graphs in article six of this series, Categories of Emotions and Organizing Principles in Affect Engineering (Article 6 of 12).

2) If the same object or entity can elicit different emotions for an individual, then how would this be represented in Affect Engineering and why is it significant?

SHORT ANSWER

The same object or entity can elicit different emotions for an individual if it is being valued for two or more separate purposes by an individual. The primary reason for this distinction in Affect Engineering is to avoid conflating two or more emotions into one erroneously.

IN DEPTH EXPLANATION

In Affect Engineering, a single entity can elicit and be linked to multiple emotions if the entity is being valued for different purposes by an individual. This is done to avoid mistakenly combining two or more emotions felt for an entity into one emotion when it is more accurate to leave them separate. It also grants a higher degree of specificity for each emotion felt. For example, the entity of a tree will be contemplated. The tree is being valued by an individual for its ability to fulfill several different purposes:

• The tree’s capacity to provide shade on a hot day
• The tree’s capacity to provide enough leaves to make a leaf pile to jump in
• The tree’s capacity to provide a picturesque backdrop for a wedding photo

An individual’s valuation of the tree for the fulfillment of these different purposes would necessarily be different. It may be valuable for one or two of the purposes, and only somewhat valuable for the third purpose. To merge the three valuations of the tree, and subsequently, the emotions that are modeled to result when the tree is considered for each purpose independently, would be problematic for another reasons as well. There might be any number of hidden purposes held by the individual that could influence the feeling felt towards it. A fourth and less desirable purpose will also be considered.

• The tree’s capacity to release pollen and trigger allergies in the individual

The individual’s valuation of the tree for this fourth and less pleasant purpose could swing any feelings they feel for it in a different direction, for example, depending on what purposes have priority to the individual or what time of the year it is. Keeping the valuations and emotions felt separate for separate purposes — in accordance with the 1:1:1:1 Ratio — does not preclude an observer from making later predictions about what the individual’s overall feelings towards the tree might be, as the magnitude of these different emotions can be compared against one another, even as seasons change, to arrive at an average. However, if these valuations are merged together prematurely, the need to tease them apart, for accuracy’s sake, can be overlooked.

What this entails for Affect Engineering is that any entity that an individual is assessing for its ability to help fulfill multiple purposes will need to be organized in some way as to be useful without feeling cumbersome and overwhelming. Ultimately, multiple dimensions will need to be used to organize the many emotions that are modeled to be simultaneously present in an individual for each entity and purpose. Although a dimension could be used for every variable in the multivariate functions, six dimensions (e.g., six-dimensional space) are adequate for organizing and modeling the most useful information for all four Categories of Emotions in Affect Engineering. To visualize spatial dimensions higher than three dimensions on a two dimensional surface, one can extend a shape that is perpendicular to all of the existing dimensions as follows:

The six most important dimensions to consider are as follows:

1. 1st Dimension, the x-axis: Elapsed Time.
2. 2nd Dimension, the y-axis: Valuation of a single entity for a single purpose.
3. 3rd Dimension, the z-axis: Multiple Entities being valued for a single purpose.
4. 4th Dimension, the x₄-axis: The Multiple Purposes for which multiple entities are given valuations.
5. 5th Dimension, the x₅-axis: Vicarious Valuations made by the self (i.e., involving empathy) of multiple entities for multiple purposes that are held by others.
6. 6th Dimension, the x₆-axis: Multiple valuations and vicarious valuations of multiple entities for multiple purposes from Multiple People (or lifeforms). One example would be the perspective from an omniscient external observer in a fictional book delving inside the experiences and vicarious experiences of all the characters in the story.

Time

The first dimension, the x-axis, is the time elapsed from a given point. This is dependent upon an individual’s perspective and their own internal clock. It may also project backwards in time if the individual is trying to remember something from the past, such as how they felt 25 years ago. Alternatively, it may forecast the future based on expectations and what is currently known about current variables, such as how they expect to feel in the coming week. Neurologically, this would likely resemble a closed loop with a tick and a tock, similar to an actual clock, and can be modeled with a vector field.

A more in depth explanation of this is available at this link Representing an Internal Mental Clock with a Vector Field.

Valuation

The second dimension, the y-axis, is the individual’s valuation of an entity for a single purpose. This is the value or amount of weight that an entity is given by the individual with respect to the fulfillment of a particular goal.

Multiple Entities

The third dimension, the z-axis, is used to organize different entities being valued by the individual for a particular purpose. As for how to arrange different entities along this axis, entities may be individually arranged along the natural numbers (1, 2, 3, 4 . . .) with one entity assigned per number. Tracking the changes in an individual’s valuations of entities for a purpose is the primary aim at this level. The z-axis is used to organize all the entities that an individual can conceive, and this facilitates comparing changes in the flow of energy being invested by the individual into different entities over time. Other arrangements of the entities along the z-axis are possible so long as they accomplish this aim of organizing entities.

Multiple Purposes

The fourth dimension, the x₄-axis, organizes every purpose that the individual possesses.

To make comparisons easier, valuations of an entity for a purpose and its complementary purpose are organized along the fourth dimension, the x₄-axis. Returning to the earlier example of the tree being valued for four different purposes, four dimensions are also sufficient to model the individual’s valuation of a single entity for the aforementioned purposes:

1. The tree’s capacity to provide shade on a hot day
2. The tree’s capacity to provide enough leaves to make a leaf pile to jump in
3. The tree’s capacity to provide a picturesque backdrop for a wedding photo
4. The tree’s capacity to release pollen that triggers allergies in the individual

The valuation of the tree for its ability to fulfill these four purposes is extended out along the fourth dimension, the x₄-axis for Multiple Purposes. The complements to these purposes would also be extended out along this axis as they are purposes themselves. Alternatively, if one wished to compare a purpose to its complementary purpose they can optionally be graphed on the same graph in order to make comparisons easier; they are still two separate values for separate emotions and would be on opposite sides of the x-axis due to having an Appraisal that is the opposite of the original purpose (i.e., +1 or -1). Being able to easily observe changes in the flow of energy invested into entities, across time, and for different purposes, is the ultimate aim, regardless of the setup chosen.

Vicarious Valuations

The fifth dimension, the x₅-axis, organizes vicarious valuations for instances where the self imagines itself as another person or thing. This dimension concerns empathy and is generally not used for Category I emotions, as all valuations for Category I Emotions would normally be collapsed on zero of the x₅-axis. Category II, Category III, and Category IV Emotions make use of the x₅-axis, as empathy is involved for nearly all of the emotions in these categories.

Positive and negative real numbers may be used to organize vicarious valuations along this dimension and distance from the origin can be considered a parallel for the self’s Identification Level with the target (e.g., an optional coefficient along the base of the function) and another means of organizing the flow of vicarious valuations across time. For example, going from positive to negative values along the x₅-axis, each integer may be chosen to represent half the magnitude of the previous identification level of the previous whole number, with an Identification level of zero being equivalent to identifying with another person at the same level as oneself, an Identification level of negative one being half the magnitude as the self, and an Identification level of negative two being one quarter the magnitude as the self. Mathematically, this would be written as two taken to the power of the Identification level and is illustrated below. A scale by a factor of ten could alternatively be used as well, like the Richter Scale:

2^{“Identification Level”}(graph below), or alternatively, 10^{“Identification Level”}

As seen in the image, if one desired, negative values for an Identification level would indicate when an individual is identifying less with an other than they would if the self were in the same situation (e.g., reduced empathy). In contrast, positive values for an Identification level would indicate when the individual is identifying more with an other than they would if the self were in the same situation (e.g., excessive empathizing).

Although the variables of “Identification Level” and Self-Distinction both concern empathy, they represent different concepts. Self-Distinction confirms that empathizing is occurring, while Identification Level is a gauge for the intensity to which an individual is empathizing or distancing themself from the target.

Multiple People or Lifeforms

The sixth dimension, the x₆-axis, organizes all of the people or lifeforms that are valuing entities for the fulfillment of purposes they hold, and entities that they are vicariously valuing for the fulfillment of purposes held by others.

For Category I Emotions concerning a single individual, only the first four dimensions are utilized. Category II and Category III Emotions utilize five dimensions, with the fifth dimension being a complex plane (for imaginary numbers). Most Category IV Emotions will utilize five dimensions as well. Utilization of the sixth dimensions is generally restricted to literature, film, and works of art told from a third person point of view that is omniscient. This would be a perspective that is capable of seeing inside the minds and thoughts of everyone and everything in a story.

3) Why is it necessary to balance or hold certain emotions in check, including ones that are generally considered positive such as happiness and euphoria?

SHORT ANSWER

If an individual intends to continue living, then emotions arising from the fulfillment of purposes related to primary drives will need to be held in check by the fulfillment of an opposing purpose in order to maintain homeostasis. If an individual does not intend to continue living, then no emotions or purposes need to be balanced or held in check.

IN DEPTH EXPLANATION

If the fulfillment of a particular purpose related to a primary drive is pursued ceaselessly, this will eventually lead to an imbalance with respect to the fulfillment of the individual’s other goals that are necessary to sustain life. Successfully not pursuing the acquisition of food, water, or sleep indefinitely will lead to death (e.g., a hunger strike, a thirst strike, or a sleep strike). Similarly, a bout binge of eating, drinking, or sleeping that goes unchecked will also lead to death.

However, the above would not necessarily be the case for the fulfillment of purposes related to secondary drives, as these do not always entail matters of life and death if they are pursued, such as seeking praise from one’s peers, seeking the acquisition of money, or seeking fame by being victorious in sporting events. Additionally, not pursuing the acquisition of any of the above indefinitely, or other secondary or learned drives, will not necessarily lead to death.

Most of the purposes or goals that a person possesses, both those related to primary and secondary drives, require the individual to be alive in order to both facilitate and realize their fulfillment. As it would follow, staying alive generally has a high priority to most individuals. Because life’s maintenance requires maintaining homeostasis, achieving a balance between all the drives the individual possesses also takes on a heightened importance to most lifeforms. In Affect Engineering, an individual’s impulse to stay alive by maintaining balance between all the drives possessed is called the Drive to Maintain all Drives; it is a parallel to the survival or self-preservation instinct, or even somewhat analogous to Sigmund Freud’s life instinct in psychoanalytic theory. In Affect Engineering, this would be the metaphorical equivalent of a ship’s navigator plotting a course that keeps a ship sailing (alive) by going in circles within a large lake so that the captain does not run it aground (death).

On the opposite side of the spectrum, there are cases where an individual chooses a course of action that directly opposes their own odds for survival. In Affect Engineering’s framework, an individual’s impulse to not stay alive by not maintaining a balance between all the drives possessed is called the Drive to Not Maintain all Drives. This entails holding the fulfillment of one particular purpose and the pursuit of one drive above the fulfillment of its opposing drive and the balancing of other primary drives at any cost indefinitely (i.e., beyond the point where life can be sustained). This is referred to as “breaking a double bind” in Affect Engineering (addressed in question #5 of Article two in this series, Reframing Anxiety as a Resource, Article 2 of 12). The Drive to Not Maintain all Drives in Affect Engineering, while not a direct parallel, occasionally functions in a somewhat similar manner to Freud’s death instinct, albeit with some reservations. Among other things, the Drive to Not Maintain all Drives also accounts for instances where a secondary drive may supersede in importance the balancing of other drives, including primary ones that are necessary for survival, or what might sometimes be called instances of sheer determination. As for the individual’s motivation to engage in this behavior, one explanation might simply be exploratory; if the boundaries at which point an individual might normally expect to perish are pushed further out beyond what was believed to be a limit, it may afford access to additional resources, status, self-actualization, or something else that is evolutionarily advantageous to the individual or their kin.

4) How would instances of self-sacrifice be accounted for in Affect Engineering?

SHORT ANSWER

Instances of self-sacrifice would be modeled as scenarios where the individual opts to hold the fulfillment of one purpose above its complementary or opposing purpose beyond the point where their life can be sustained. This could occur for a number of reasons, but they all involve the breaking of a double in Affect Engineering, and the exaltation of the Drive to not Maintain all Drives over its opposing drive.

IN DEPTH EXPLANATION

Instances of self-sacrifice, where the self voluntarily takes measures that lead to their own demise, are labeled “breaking a double bind” in Affect Engineering. These are also scenarios where the individual’s Drive to not Maintain all Drives is held above its opposite, the Drive to Maintain all Drives. This is exemplified in the following three examples regarding resolve, altruistic acts, and martyrdom coupled with belief afterlife.

Resolve: Determination to Succeed No Matter the Price

An individual determined to achieve a particular feat, such as reaching the summit of Mount Everest, becoming the first human to set foot on Mars, besting the free dive record or seeking any achievement that might potentially land their name in the Guinness Book of World Records for that matter, might be inclined to risk their own life in pursuit of the goal. The Drive to Not Maintain all Drives in Affect Engineering’s framework, essentially becomes an individual’s impetus for testing and pushing the bounds and limitations of their own body, or a high stakes game of brinkmanship.

The marathon, of course, is a well known example, having earned its name from the second of two runs by the Greek messenger Pheidippides, who first ran approximately 150 miles from Athens to Sparta and back to seek military assistance before the Battle of Marathon 490 BCE, covering the distance in about two days, and then later ran another 26 miles after the Battle of Marathon from Marathon to Athens to announce victory before collapsing and dying.

While death itself would not necessarily be the objective in such instances, an admittedly high level of resolve is required from an individual to ignore feedback from their own body imploring them to reverse course from whatever hardships are being imposed on their body by a chosen objective. These scenarios, where the self holds the pursuit of one purpose against its complementary purpose up to or even beyond the point where the double bind is broken, the Drive to Not Maintain all Drives, is a proverbial double-edged sword in Affect Engineering. It can lead to fantastic feats being achieved by an individual in some cases, or incredible folly, tragedy, or a death that would otherwise have easily been avoided in other cases.

For anyone who has seen the movie GATTACA (1997), directed by Andrew Niccol, this is exemplified spectacularly in the climactic scene where Vincent and his brother Anton compete against each other in their childhood game of chicken; both brothers both swim out into the ocean and whoever turns back first loses. During the scene, Vincent says the iconic line, “I never saved anything for the swim back.”

GATTACA “I never saved anything for the swim back.” (A five minute video clip of the scene from the movie)

Altruistic: Sacrificing One’s Own Life to Save Another’s

A parent sacrificing their own life to save the life of another, such as their own child or even the life or lives of complete strangers, are also examples of the Drive to Not Maintain all Drives. These are also scenarios that would typically involve empathy and the other Categories of Emotions (e.g., II and III) where the self’s own objectives that have the most priority to them are also linked to the outcomes of others around them, and they will be addressed in the coming articles.

Martyrdom: When Fanaticism Meets Belief in an Afterlife

Most world religions contain some sort of belief in an afterlife. If one looks a few centuries back into history, in most regions of the world death from disease, famine, warfare, and violence were all too common. Moreover, life expectancies were generally far shorter than they are today. Experiencing frequent trauma was likely inevitable, and belief in an afterlife would have afforded a measurable degree of relief by enabling individuals to split their investment of Anxiety (e.g., a resource in Affect Engineering) into two lives: one, over which they had seemingly little control due to the uncertainty around them; and a second one, an afterlife, that they could potentially exercise a greater degree control over through their actions or faith. This would be similar to the golfing example from article two of this series, where Anxiety was split between strokes depending upon the par level of a course.

On the surface, this would seem like an ideal way for managing stress to avoid over-mobilizing the investment of Anxiety into one’s present life. In a dangerous world where death could happen at any moment from a plague, a war, famine, or any number of environmental disasters from earthquakes and fires to floods and blizzards, belief in an afterlife would have been an effective psychological tool for conserving resources, and not becoming paralyzed from an over-mobilization of Anxiety. Affect Engineering’s framework would posit that throughout much of history, belief in an afterlife among organized religions served this function, and afforded everyday individuals a means for helping managing stress related to an uncertain existence in a perilous world.

In Affect Engineering’s framework, this would have entailed the individual avoiding the over investment of Anxiety into their present life (i.e., the one they were living that was rife with uncertainty and had death lurking at every corner), and splitting it between an afterlife with certain promises should they behave in certain ways and believe in certain things. Nearly every world religion incorporates belief in an afterlife in one form or another, and from a purely objective standpoint, this would likely have been advantageous, at least from an evolutionary perspective regarding stress management.

However, on a darker note, it can and has often lead to a less than wholesome brand of fanaticism and zealotry if too much Anxiety is invested into the afterlife. Should the allure of what awaits in an afterlife be made to appear more appealing than what is transpiring in one’s present life, it could inspire an individual to not only throw away their own life for a route to something promised in the afterlife, but it could also inspire them to take measures to end the lives of others along the way. Unfortunately, there is no shortage of events in history where the promise of a paradisal afterlife has inspired, motivated, or absolved them from the murder of other people, along with the individual’s own life, effectively granted them what some might label a blank check on morality for any misdeeds or crimes they might have committed in the course of their life. Some examples include:

• The Rhineland Massacres (1096): The slaughter of Jewish communities in the 11th Century by knights of the First Crusade, following Pope Urban II’s speech that promised remission of sins for anyone participating in the Crusade to retake Jerusalem from Muslim control.

• The Yasukuni shrine’s deification of Japanese soldiers, specifically in regards to enshrinement of convicted war criminals (e.g., Rape of Nanking 1937).

• Suicide terrorism where murder might be framed as a holy war of defense, such as the September 11th Attacks (2001)

• A mass suicide or mass murder perpetuated by a charismatic or abusive cult leader, such as by Jim Jones in Jonestown, Guyana: The Jonestown Massacre (1978)

5) What factors will amplify, or alternatively, reduce the intensity of each Category I Emotion when they are modeled in Affect Engineering?

SHORT ANSWER

All of the variables in the functions employed in Affect Engineering are modeled to influence an individual’s valuation of an entity for a purpose, which then could lead to amplifying or reducing the intensity of particular emotions.

IN DEPTH EXPLANATION

Variables and changes to the variables that will amplify particular Category I Emotions are listed below.

Variables that Have a Major Influence (Base of the Function)

Existence

If an individual has no cognizance of an entity, that is to say, it does not exist to them, then all valuations for the entity are reduced to zero. No emotions are modeled to be felt for the entity with respect to any purpose until the entity exists to them.

Utility Components

Uniqueness (Answers the question, “Are there alternatives?”), Sufficiency (Answers the question, “Is it enough?”), and Sentiment (Answers the question, “How important is the purpose at hand relative to the purpose with the most priority?”). These three variables either amplify the valuation of an entity if they are all at their maximum value of one, or they reduce the valuation of an entity if they are near their minimum value approaching zero.

Variables that Have a Specific Influence (e.g., Coefficients Outside the Base of the Function that Are Discrete Variables)

Appraisal

The Appraisal variable determines which of the two function types is used (i.e., Avoidance of Pain or Pursuit of Pleasure). If it changes unexpectedly, it can be indicative of Surprise, a Category IV emotion; otherwise, it tends to flip at or near the level when Indifference is felt towards entities being valued for both a purpose and its complement (near homeostasis or equilibrium).

Self-Distinction normally equals +1 for Category I Emotions, and generally no empathizing takes place. As noted earlier, different levels or intensities of identification for Category II and III Emotions can be represented by a coefficient alongside the base of the function.

However, if an individual holds a valuation of an entity for a purpose, but the individual does not feel as if they fully identify with themself (e.g., they are detached from themselves), then setting Self-Distinction to -1 and using empathy would be warranted even though the purpose is held by the self. This could occur, for example, as a result of depersonalization, derealization or other related DSM-5 disorders.

Variables that Have a Catalytic Influence (e.g., Variables in the Exponent of the Function)

Harm, Benefit, and Efficacy Components

The influence of Harm and Efficacy Components is modeled to be similar across both functions depending on the setup of functions that are chosen. Harm and efficacy concern relationships and expectations between two entities that an individual is contemplating. Either Harm or Benefit is used for the functions, but not both. These are expressed as contingencies and their structure also depends on one’s choice of language. There are at least four pairs of functions for modeling Harm, Benefit, and Efficacy, but only one pair (i.e., two of the eight function setups) are needed to model all of the emotions in Affect Engineering.

Harm is expressed as a negative contingency to varying degrees: “When event A happens, then event B never happens. For example: “Whenever my neighbors practice playing the drums, I never sleep.” If it is not a perfect contingency, then probability becomes a factor. For example, “Whenever my neighbors practice playing the drums, I only sleep half the time.”

Benefit is expressed as a positive contingency: Whenever event C happens, then event D always happens. For example: “Whenever it rains, then the ground becomes wet.”

Harm components (e.g., threat susceptibility and threat severity), when maximized, are modeled to increase the Anxiety invested into entities for Avoidance of Pain functions, and reduce the Negative Anxiety invested into entities for Pursuit of Pleasure functions.

Benefit components (e.g., benefit susceptibility and benefit intensity), when maximized, are modeled to reduce Anxiety invested into entities for Avoidance of Pain functions, and increase the Negative Anxiety invested into entities for Pursuit of Pleasure functions.

Efficacy components (e.g., self-efficacy and response efficacy), may be modeled as the individual’s ability to prevent one entity from harming another entity, to prevent one entity from benefiting another entity, or to ensure that either of these happens instead as an alternative setup. If Efficacy components are held to be preventative with respect to one entity harming another entity, then when they are maximized they are modeled to reduce Anxiety invested into entities for Avoidance of Pain functions, and increase the Negative Anxiety invested into entities for Pursuit of Pleasure.

Alternatively, if Efficacy components are held to be preventative with respect to one entity benefiting another entity, then when maximized they are modeled to increase Anxiety invested into entities for Avoidance of Pain functions, and decrease Negative Anxiety invested into entities for Pursuit of Pleasure functions.

Depending on what nuances of language someone wishes to explore, any of the pairs listed above, or that are not listed, may be used.

Reasoning, Attention, Half-life of Attention, the Doubling Time of In-attention, and Time

Reasoning is modeled to be under executive control, and is a means by which an individual may regulate emotions directing attention. The manner this happens in also depends on how attention is being modeled in a function, and there are several ways that attention can be modeled.

The most straightforward way to model attention is with decay (e.g., half-lives, like in radioactive decay) over a specified amount of time. An individual’s reasoning faculties would be modeled to selectively direct and hold attention over a particular variable group at a somewhat constant level while permitting attention held over other variable groups to fall into attentional decay. For example, if reasoning is used to hold attention over Efficacy components while permitting attention held over Harm components to diminish, then this would reduce the Anxiety invested into an entity and perhaps give the individual the belief that the objective is more feasible than it might actually be.

The Doubling-time of Inattention is one alternative, albeit a similar one, to the use of a Half-life of Attention in Affect Engineering. It is a measure for how long it takes the attentional resources that are not directed towards some feature to double.

A third alternative for modeling attention is valuation resilience. This setup does not presume that attention towards something decreases, but rather, that attention reverts back towards its original level at the onset of a particular instance. Reasoning, in this case, must be used to forcibly direct attention away from or towards different components in a function at all times in order to manage attentional resources. This would be particularly useful if one did not wish to model forgetting in a function. If their working parts are all in order, machines and computers do not forget things in the sense that humans do. They can certainly be programmed to delete certain memories though, after a time, but this is more akin to a purge. With regards to humans and other lifeforms, valuation resilience as a form of attention would likely prove more useful for modeling traumatic events and post-traumatic stress disorders, as memories related to these events are typically intrusive, bringing the individual back to the traumatizing event.

Other Major Variables (e.g., Those on the Other Side of the Function)

Valuation

The y-value, or the measure for the affect felt for an entity with respect to a particular purpose, is on the other side of the function. This, however, does not always mean it would be the last variable known to the individual. It, the valuation, may even be perceived before a purpose has been detected for which the entity ability to fulfill it is known. For novel experiences where an individual has no idea of what is happening and no prior knowledge to pull from, such as the first time one gets a cut in the skin or breaks a bone in the body, or experiencing the first taste of ice cream or a cookie, then the affect would likely be felt first. A more physiological based approach to the mental construction of an emotion, beginning on the left side of the function, would be more appropriate in such cases. Thereafter, through introspection, self-reflection, and investigation, an understanding may evolve in the individual along with expectations about the self, the world, and their place in it.

Preview

The next article, eight, will explore the Category II Emotions in Affect Engineering in greater detail.

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