The Core Emotion Framework: A Structural–Constructivist Model of Human Affective Architecture

The Core Emotion Framework (CEF) presents a structural–constructivist model of human affective architecture grounded in ten formal operators organized into a 3×3+1 structure. The three centers—Head, Heart, and Gut—each contain three operators corresponding to distinct dimensional modes of affective processing: outgoing, reflecting, and balancing. Outgoing dynamics are experienced through clockwise (CW) cycling, reflecting dynamics through counter clockwise (CCW) cycling, and balancing dynamics through swinging between poles. The tenth operator, Accepting, functions as a baseline integrative process that stabilizes and completes cross center activity. The CEF Decalogue—Sensing, Calculating, Deciding; Expanding, Constricting, Achieving; Arranging, Appreciating, Boosting; and Accepting—forms a minimal generative system that transforms situational input into structured emotional responses. This operator level architecture provides a direct resolution to longstanding tensions between basic emotion theories, appraisal models, and dimensional accounts, offering a unified mechanism that is explicit, non redundant, and structurally coherent. CEF also grounds the EL 1 lexicon, a minimal vocabulary optimized for operator level clarity. The result is a tractable and theoretically rigorous model that clarifies what emotions are, how they operate, and how they can be systematically analyzed across contexts.