Conscious experience and emotion: an attention-based account

This article aims to explain how emotions arise and operate within the framework of my attention-based theory of consciousness, referred to here as the AME theory of consciousness (Attentional Modulation of Energy). According to the AME theory of consciousness, the phenomenal aspect of consciousness is produced by the modulation of the energy level of the area of the organ of attention (aOA) that underpins our attentional activity. The phenomenal aspect of consciousness, in turn, provides us with a sense of self and informs us about how our activities affect it. It manifests through five main dimensions-qualitative, quantitative, hedonic, temporal, and spatial-each of which can be explained by a specific aspect of the modulation of the energy level of the aOA. Emotions, which represent some of the most informative forms of conscious experience, emerge from the interaction of three main components-core affect, cognitive appraisal processes, and physiological and behavioral manifestations-whose interplay unfolds through cycles of conscious and unconscious processing. They arise when an object elicits an affective response capable of shifting the focus of attention from the object to the sense of self. This shift results in the activation of an aOA related to the sense of self (or to an aspect of it) and leads to the adoption of a corresponding set-point. Deviations from this set-point generate the conscious experience of emotion, which informs the individual about the state of his internal equilibrium and the integrity of his sense of self. Emotions thus act not only as adaptive regulators of behavior but also as fundamental operations through which the individual monitors, defines, and continually reconstructs his sense of self.