Science & Sources
Science & Sources
A clear, non-technical tour of the research that underpins the Feel First Framework™. Short sections, plain language, primary sources you can check.
Core Idea
Predictive brain and allostasis
The brain’s job is to predict needs and regulate your internal “body budget.” When you notice signals early and adjust with small actions, predictions improve and reactivity drops.
Predictive brain and allostasis "How Emotions are Made" by Lisa Feldman Barrett.
Emotions are not hard-wired reflexes; the brain constructs them from body sensations and learned concepts. Increasing emotional granularity gives you more choices in the moment.
Interoception
Paying attention to inner signals (breath, heartbeat, muscular tension) is trainable and supports clearer feeling and regulation.
Emotion Regulation That Works in Real Life
Regulation is not suppression. It is skillful adjustment of attention, breathing, and values-aligned action so arousal stays workable and decisions improve.
Broaden-and-Build "Positivity" by Barbara L. Fredrickson.
Helpful emotions broaden attention and widen options. Over time, small aligned actions build psychological and social resources, creating upward spirals.
How It Maps to Feel → Align → Choose
Feel · Interoception and emotion granularity supply better data to the predictive brain. NatureAmazon
Align · “Now or past?” checks whether a prediction is old. Needs + values set a wise direction. Nature
References
Barrett, L. F.
(2017).
How emotions are made: The secret life of the brain. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Barrett, L. F., & Simmons, W. K. (2015)
Interoceptive predictions in the brain. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 16(7), 419–429.
Craig, A. D.
(2002).
How do you feel? Interoception: The sense of the physiological condition of the body. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 3(8), 655–666.
Fredrickson,
B. L. (1998).
What good are positive emotions? Review of General Psychology, 2(3), 300–319.
Fredrickson,
B. L. (2001).
The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The Broaden-and-Build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56(3), 218–226.
Gross, J. J.
(Ed.). (2014).
Handbook of emotion regulation (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
Sterling,
P. (2012).
Allostasis: A model of predictive regulation. Physiology & Behavior, 106(1), 5–15.