Showing posts with label Interoception. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Interoception. Show all posts
Interoception
Interoception refers to the perception of internal bodily states and is a critical component of emotional awareness and regulation. In autism, interoceptive experiences can be distinct, potentially influencing the recognition and communication of needs and emotions (Quattrocki & Friston, 2014). This divergence in interoceptive processing underscores the complexity of understanding internal states and managing emotions in autism.
Looking at the Self
In the context of disability and autism, all the terms discussed below takes on a unique significance as individuals may grapple with challenges that affect their physical, cognitive, emotional, and social attributes. Understanding one's own abilities, limitations, and unique traits can be an integral part of developing a positive self-perception and fostering self-acceptance and empowerment within the disability and autism communities.
Self-Perception: refers to how we perceive themselves, including our physical, cognitive, emotional, and social attributes. It involves forming an understanding of one's own characteristics, abilities, and behaviors. Self-perception can encompass both internal aspects, such as thoughts and emotions, and external aspects, such as appearance and social roles. It involves recognizing oneself as a distinct entity separate from others and the environment.
Self-Evaluation: refers to the process of assessing one's own abilities, performance, and worth. It involves comparing oneself to internal or external standards and making judgments about one's strengths, weaknesses, and accomplishments. Self-evaluation can be influenced by various factors, including personal goals, social comparisons, and feedback from others. It plays a crucial role in shaping self-esteem, as positive self-evaluation can enhance feelings of self-worth and competence, while negative self-evaluation can lead to self-doubt and low self-esteem.
Self-Awareness: is the conscious knowledge and recognition of one's own existence, thoughts, feelings, and sensations. It involves being cognitively and emotionally attuned to oneself. Self-awareness allows individuals to monitor and reflect upon their own internal states, behaviors, and reactions in relation to themselves and their environment. It involves recognizing one's own strengths, weaknesses, values, and beliefs. Self-awareness is a fundamental aspect of self-consciousness and is essential for introspection, self-regulation, and social interactions.
Self-Reflection: involves the process of introspection and examining one's thoughts, feelings, and experiences. It entails looking inwardly and exploring one's own inner world. Self-reflection allows individuals to gain insight into their beliefs, values, motivations, and behaviors. It often involves asking oneself questions, considering personal experiences, and analyzing one's own actions and their consequences. Self-reflection facilitates self-understanding, personal growth, and the ability to learn from past experiences.
Self-Evaluation: refers to the process of assessing one's own abilities, performance, and worth. It involves comparing oneself to internal or external standards and making judgments about one's strengths, weaknesses, and accomplishments. Self-evaluation can be influenced by various factors, including personal goals, social comparisons, and feedback from others. It plays a crucial role in shaping self-esteem, as positive self-evaluation can enhance feelings of self-worth and competence, while negative self-evaluation can lead to self-doubt and low self-esteem.
Self-Awareness: is the conscious knowledge and recognition of one's own existence, thoughts, feelings, and sensations. It involves being cognitively and emotionally attuned to oneself. Self-awareness allows individuals to monitor and reflect upon their own internal states, behaviors, and reactions in relation to themselves and their environment. It involves recognizing one's own strengths, weaknesses, values, and beliefs. Self-awareness is a fundamental aspect of self-consciousness and is essential for introspection, self-regulation, and social interactions.
Interoception and exteroception
[Concepts in Sensorimotor Research]
Interoception refers to the sense of the internal state of the body. It helps us understand and feel what's going on inside our bodies, like feeling hungry, thirsty, or perceiving our heartbeat. Interoceptive awareness contributes to emotional regulation and self-awareness.
Exteroception refers to the perception of the external environment through our senses like vision, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. These senses help us navigate and interact with the world around us.
Research findings in autism:
Autistics often exhibit differences in sensory processing, which may include atypical interoceptive and exteroceptive perception. Findings (examples below) suggest that atypical interoceptive and exteroceptive processing may be significant factors in understanding the behavioral and sensory symptoms in individuals with autism.
- This review explores the role of oxytocin in interoception and its potential implications for autism. The authors propose that atypical interoceptive processing, potentially linked to altered oxytocin functioning, could contribute to the social and emotional difficulties experienced by autistics. (1)
- This study found that adult autistics exhibited significantly lower interoceptive awareness compared to NT adults. The authors suggest that this might be related to the difficulties in social and emotional processing seen in autism (2).
- This review discusses various neurophysiological findings in sensory processing, including exteroception, in autistics. The authors highlight that altered sensory processing may contribute to the core features of ASD, such as social communication and repetitive behaviors (3)
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