Working Paper 05: The Constructivist Interpretation Theory of Emotion: Detailed Deck
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Detailed deck for Working Paper 05, The Constructivist Interpretation Theory of Emotion: Where Appraisal Ends and Interpretation Begins, from How to Design an Emotion (Universal Moral Concepts II) by Cézjah (New Intellectual LLC). Abstract. Appraisal theories explain how a subject evaluates what an encounter means for its goals and well-being, but not how the subject constructs a determinate emotion from the feeling that the evaluation leaves open. The Constructivist Interpretation Theory of Emotion (CITE), the interpretive thesis of the Constructivist Semiotic Model of Emotions, holds that interpretation, rather than appraisal, constitutes emotional meaning. Appraisal, prediction, categorization, and physiological affect constrain emotional possibility, and emotion arises only when an agent commits to one interpretation by binding an emotion concept to a referent under a governing goal. An agent can appraise correctly and still construct the wrong emotion.
Author: Cézjah
Language: English
Topic: Emotions and Moral Behavior
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7225038912