[What is Emotion?] The Mechanism by Which the Depth and Quantity of Meaning Determine Memory

■ Was emotion a label for "meaning"?

We experience various things every day and store them as memories.

However, we do not remember all of them vividly.

Why do some events remain deeply in our memory while others are forgotten?

It is because "emotion" is not just a movement of the heart, but a sign that our brain has judged an experience as "important" through tags of meaning.

■ Two tags: depth of meaning and quantity of meaning

Experiences are attached with "meaning tags" of two dimensions.

• Depth of meaning: How emotionally or symbolically deep an event is (e.g., strong emotion, shock, enlightenment)

• Quantity of meaning: How much information, learning, or value is packed into the event (e.g., many realizations, new discoveries)

The higher this "depth" and "quantity," the more the experience is recognized by the brain as "meaningful," and its importance increases.

■ Emotion = A label attached to meaning

Emotion is the brain's mechanism for applying importance labels to these meaning tags.

• Meaning is deep and abundant → Emotions are strongly stirred

• Emotions are strongly stirred → Strongly engraved in memory

This flow occurs unconsciously and controls what we remember and what we forget.

■ What remains in memory are experiences where "emotions were moved"

The brain prioritizes memories that it judges as "important" through emotion.

This is not just a coincidence, but a selection system based on survival instinct.

• Dangerous experiences → Remembered to avoid repeating them

• Success experiences → Remembered to replicate them

• Moving or loss experiences → Remembered to prepare for changes in values

Thus, we have evolved to save and reuse "experiences accompanied by meaning and emotion" in order to survive in the world efficiently.

■ The perception of time also expands and contracts according to "meaning"

Everyone has experienced that "fun times fly by" and "boring times feel long."

This is not because time itself changes, but because our brain's memory of time changes based on the "depth and quantity of meaning contained in that time."

■ Emotion = A memory device for meaning

In summary, emotion is:

• An "importance label" born in response to the depth and quantity of meaning

• A brain filter for determining the priority of memory

• A "memory device for meaning" that evolved for survival and learning

We tend to perceive emotion as just a mood or feeling, but it actually functions as a sophisticated information processing device for selecting meaning and optimizing memory.

■ Finally

What shapes our memories, values, and ultimately our lives depends on "what kind of meaning-filled experiences we received and with what emotions."

Emotions do not just flow; they function as an "intelligence that reacts to meaning."

Please feel free to take a look at the article below as well.