Interoception and the Experience of Space: How Interoception Modulates Emotional and Aesthetic Appraisal of Space

Interoception, or the capacity to sense and interpret signals from within the body, has long been recognized as central to emotion, selfhood, and decision-making. Its role in shaping how people experience the built environment, however, has received far less attention. In this study, we wondered whether individual differences in interoception influence the way architectural spaces are felt and appraised. Thirty-six healthy participants completed three experimental tasks in a controlled laboratory setting: (a) a design preference task involving 24 manipulated images of rooms varying by color (neutral, warm, cool), furniture contour (round vs. angular), spatial dimension (small vs. large), and room type (living room vs. office); (b) a heartbeat counting task indexing interoceptive accuracy and sensibility; and (c) an exteroceptive control task requiring the counting of auditory heartbeat stimuli. An Interoception–Exteroception Index (IEI) was computed to quantify orientation toward bodily versus external cues. Using linear mixed-effects modeling, design features and their interactions with the IEI were tested as predictors of three outcome dimensions: pleasantness, likeability, and relaxation. Findings revealed a striking pattern. Participants with stronger interoceptive orientation tended to prefer environments that were enclosed, modest in scale, and visually muted, settings that appeared to ease regulatory demands and minimize interoceptive prediction error. By contrast, individuals with a more exteroceptive stance gravitated toward open, colorful, and stimulating spaces, suggesting a greater reliance on external sensory cues. These divergent preferences lend support to predictive coding models. 2 By embedding architectural appraisal within the machinery of predictive and allostatic regulation, this work contributes to both environmental psychology and neuroarchitecture. It highlights how variability in bodily awareness helps explain why the same room can feel safe to one person and overwhelming to another, and it points toward design practices that take interoceptive diversity seriously in the pursuit of user-centered environments.