Interoceptive Awareness and Clarity of One’s Emotions and Goals: A Naturalistic Investigation

Interoceptive awareness is a multidimensional construct that denotes the conscious level of one’s ability to sense the physiological conditions of their body. Theories (e.g., constructionist theories of emotion) propose associations with psychological clarity, yet empirical support is limited when examining these constructs globally. We hypothesized that these associations exist at the momentary level and that they are associated with certain individual differences (i.e., life satisfaction, conscientiousness, depression, neuroticism). Using experience sampling methodology, participants (N = 179 adults; M_age = 35.3, SD_age = 12.2) reported on six dimensions of interoceptive awareness, as well as emotional clarity and goal clarity five times a day over 14 days. They also completed self-report measures assessing individual differences. We found nearly all measured interoceptive awareness dimensions were independently, positively associated with emotional clarity and goal clarity. These associations were, unexpectedly, strengthened by greater depression and neuroticism and weakened by greater life satisfaction and conscientiousness, suggesting potential implications for the individual differences involved in how people generate, clarify, and understand their emotions and goals. These findings demonstrate dimensions of momentary interoceptive awareness are positively associated with emotional and goal clarity and identify potential mechanisms underlying associations between interoceptive awareness and psychological clarity, including psychological outcomes and personality traits. Individuals with elevated depression or neuroticism may rely more heavily on bottom-up processing to understand their emotions and goals, whereas individuals high in life satisfaction or conscientiousness may be more equipped to use top-down processing for this purpose.