Emotional Valence and the Free-Energy Principle
Figure 5
Static perceptual model with valence: and
. The agent is exposed to the same sequence of sensory inputs described in the reference scenario (see Figure 2 for legends). Now, the agent becomes extremely reactive to unexpected changes in the environment. (top) The posterior expectation of
changes more quickly and is closer to the true probability of
at each stage. (bottom left) The posterior variance (estimation uncertainty)
maintains a constant baseline during the first and third (low volatility) stages mainly defined by the mood, but it fluctuates more widely during the second (high volatility) stage. This clarifies the distinction between the low and high volatility stages. Negative (red circle) and positive (blue circle) valences are clearly associated with increases and decreases in uncertainty, respectively, and they become more intense during the second (high volatility) stage. (bottom right) The posterior variance of
from trial
to trial
increases after negative valence but decreases after positive valence.