Abstract

The Core Emotion Framework (CEF) proposes a structural constructivist model of affect in which emotional states emerge from the interaction of ten functional operators distributed across the Head, Heart, and Gut centers. By treating these operators as computational transformations acting on interoceptive and exteroceptive signals, the framework bridges biological essentialism and psychological constructionism. The paper formalizes emotional dynamics using state space equations, operator entanglement weights, and differential models of chronic fusion. It further traces the taxonomic evolution of 100 operator pair entanglement patterns—from raw clinical observations to abstract computational process categories—demonstrating how maladaptive fusions arise as positive feedback loops that bypass the Deciding anchor. A detailed neuroendocrine case study of the Expand–Accept fusion illustrates how affective somatic dysregulation produces metabolic phenotypes through HPA axis flattening and DMN hyperconnectivity. Psychometric validation results from N=826 participants reveal a fit paradox in which RMSEA indicates strong structural coherence while CFI/TLI are mathematically depressed by population heterogeneity. The paper concludes by outlining clinical, somatic, and computational detangling protocols and presenting a research roadmap using Emotional Cycling Machines (ECM) to standardize somatic activation and operator calibration. Keywords Primary Theoretical Keywords • Core Emotion Framework (CEF) • Operator Functionalism • Structural Constructivism • Tripartite Somatic Centers (Head–Heart–Gut) • Emotional Operators • Affective State Space Modeling Computational & Mathematical Keywords • Operator Entanglement • Chronic Fusion Dynamics • Differential Activation Equations • Limit Cycles • State Transition Functions • Connectivity Gradients (DMN–ECN) Clinical & Somatic Keywords • Somatic Conative Configurations • Expand–Accept Fusion • HPA Axis Flattening • Default Mode Network Hyperconnectivity • Metabolic Affective Phenotype • GLP 1 Modulation Psychometric Keywords • Scenario Based Assessment • Factor Analysis (EFA/CFA) • Fit Paradox (RMSEA vs. CFI/TLI) • Latent Operator Structure • Cross Scenario Heterogeneity AI & Systems Keywords • INTIMA Architecture • Synthetic Affect Modeling • Emotional Cycling Machines (ECM) • Identity Preservation in AI • Technical Specifications TS 1 & TS 21