Relationships between interoceptive accuracy/attention and well-being: Insights from heartbeat and temperature...

Interoception, defined as the perceptual process of internal bodily states, supports various emotional and cognitive processes. However, the current understanding of how different psychological processes based on interoception influence well-being remains limited. In this study, 76 university students (mean age = 20.96 years) completed the heartbeat counting task, thermal matching task, and questionnaires regarding beliefs for interoceptive accuracy/attention and well-being. We investigated correlations between each indicator of interoception and then examined their direct associations with each aspect of well-being. The results of the hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that belief in interoceptive accuracy, measured using the Interoceptive Accuracy Scale, positively predicted overall well-being, and this relationship was stronger when heartbeat perception performance was lower. Additionally, belief in interoceptive attention positively predicted feelings of physical illness. Such relationships were not observed in temperature perception. These findings suggest that the contribution of interoception to well-being depends on both its aspects and modalities.