The Architecture of Affect: A Machine Analysis of Social Network Narratives via the Core Emotion Framework (CEF)

This paper examines how the Core Emotion Framework (CEF)—a structural model of affect organized into the Head, Heart, and Gut centers—can be used to interpret self‑reported psychological narratives on social platforms such as Reddit and Quora. Using a machine‑analysis pipeline (Gemini Deep Research) instructed to internalize the canonical CEF operator ontology, the study identifies recurrent emotional configurations associated with Major Depressive Disorder, ADHD, Borderline Personality Disorder, and OCD. The results reveal diagnosis‑specific patterns of operator dominance, suppression, and entanglement, such as the “Head‑Center Lock” in depression, the “Precision Crisis” in ADHD, and the “Heart Splitting Knot” in BPD. These findings suggest that clinical phenomenology can be reframed as disruptions in emotional architecture rather than as symptom clusters alone. The paper concludes by emphasizing the epistemic limits of machine interpretation and the need for human‑centered philosophical and psychological inquiry to validate or challenge these structural mappings.