Abstract

The Core Emotion Framework (CEF) proposes a structural constructivist architecture in which emotional life is governed by ten proposed functional operators organized within a 3×3+1 hub system. Rather than treating emotions as fixed biological categories or culturally assembled narratives, the CEF reframes them as internal transformations that process information, regulate relational aperture, structure action, and recalibrate baseline states. This manuscript presents the CEF as a theoretical model that aims to unify representational, affective regulatory, and somatic inferential processes within a single functional ontology. It outlines the conceptual architecture, identifies testable predictions, and reviews preliminary empirical constraints—specifically the short term test–retest reproducibility patterns reported by Amano et al. (2026) as boundary conditions for future measurement. Exploratory behavioral data from a small pilot study (N = 39) suggesting that individuals can distinguish between reflexive and idealized responses are noted but not interpreted as operator validation. The manuscript concludes with an open validation roadmap and acknowledges that the empirical status of the ten operators remains entirely open. The CEF is offered not as an established taxonomy, but as a falsifiable working hypothesis intended to guide systematic research. Keywords: Core Emotion Framework; Human Operating System; Decalogue of Operators; 3×3+1 Architecture; Structural‑Constructivist Model; Emotional Mechanics; Operator Independence; Operator Agility; Accepting Baseline; Reproducibility Benchmarks; Action–Opinion Divergence; Open Validation.