Journal article icon

Journal article

Interoceptive attention and mood in daily life: an experience-sampling study

Abstract:
Theories of emotion ascribe a fundamental role to the processing of bodily signals (interoception) in emotional experience. Despite evidence consistent with this, current knowledge is limited by a focus on interoceptive accuracy and laboratory-based interoception measures. This experience-sampling study examines how state interoceptive attention and state emotional experience are related in everyday life, providing the first data to our knowledge examining: (1) within-subject fluctuations in interoceptive attention across domains, and (2) the relationship between trait and state interoception. Compared with rates of exteroceptive attention (auditory attention: engaged 83% of the time), interoceptive signals captured attention approximately 20% of the time, with substantial within- and between-person variability across domains. There were relationships between interoceptive attention and emotion in daily life (greater attention being associated with more negative valence and fatigue) that were specific to interoceptive attention (different patterns were observed with exteroceptive attention). State measures of interoceptive (but not exteroceptive) attention were correlated with the trait interoceptive attention, but not accuracy. Results underscore the relationship between interoceptive attention and emotion, providing new insights into interoceptive attention and the structure of interoceptive ability. Future research should examine the source(s) of within- and between-person variability in interoceptive and exteroceptive attention and its relationship with emotional experience.
This article is part of the theme issue ‘Sensing and feeling: an integrative approach to sensory processing and emotional experience’.
Publication status:
Published
Peer review status:
Peer reviewed

Actions


Access Document


Files:
Publisher copy:
10.1098/rstb.2023.0256

Authors


More by this author
Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
MSD
Department:
Experimental Psychology
Oxford college:
Brasenose College
Role:
Author
ORCID:
0000-0002-2310-0202


Publisher:
Royal Society
Journal:
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences More from this journal
Volume:
379
Issue:
1908
Article number:
20230256
Publication date:
2024-07-15
Acceptance date:
2024-01-25
DOI:
EISSN:
1471-2970
ISSN:
0962-8436


Language:
English
Pubs id:
1606539
Local pid:
pubs:1606539
Deposit date:
2024-01-25

Terms of use



Views and Downloads






If you are the owner of this record, you can report an update to it here: Report update to this record

TO TOP