The authors propose that meaning matters more than raw detection. They introduce interoceptive self-appraisal (ISA), a higher-level process that interprets bodily sensations in light of personal history, expectations, and social context. ISA asks whether a sensation is reliable, what it implies about the self, and how it should guide action. This reframes interoception as an interpretive system rather than a simple sensory one, and points toward new ways to study who becomes vulnerable to anxiety, depression, or other conditions.
Thinking about bodily signals through the ISA lens could change how we support development and mental health. It suggests interventions that shift how people make sense of sensations, not only how accurately they detect them. The idea opens questions about learning, culture, and identity in shaping what a heartbeat or stomach knot means. Follow the full article to see how this roadmap connects bodily awareness to growth, resilience, and inclusive care.
For decades, accuracy in detecting internal bodily signals has been considered an important component of emotional experience. Yet this link remains elusive. Across methods and domains, interoceptive accuracy shows inconsistent associations with emotion and psychopathology. We argue this mismatch reflects a hierarchy of interoceptive processing: accuracy measures capture how bodily signals are detected, whereas emotion depends on metacognitive appraisals of what those signals mean, their reliability, and what they imply about the self. We introduce interoceptive self-appraisal (ISA) as a higher-order process through which bodily sensations are interpreted in context and assigned significance. ISA provides a framework for investigating affective vulnerability and developmental pathways to psychopathology. By integrating disparate theories of bodily appraisal, we outline a roadmap for interoception research.
