mindfeeling

Mindfeeling is a term used to refer to the subjective, first-person experience associated with mental states and cognitive processes. It describes the felt quality of thinking—the sense of how thoughts, beliefs, plans, or problem-solving feel from inside, including aspects such as effort, fluency, clarity, or tension. The focus is on the experiential side of cognition rather than on its content or external behavior.

The term is not widely established as a formal scientific category. It functions as a heuristic for discussing the phenomenology of thought and metacognition rather than as a defined cognitive construct with standardized criteria. Mindfeeling is distinct from emotion or mood, though affect can accompany thinking; it emphasizes the internal experience of cognitive activity itself.

The concept draws on phenomenology and cognitive science, aligning with discussions about the felt sense of cognitive actions and the degree to which thinking is effortless or strenuous. It has been used to explore how subjective experience might influence decision making, learning, and behavior, and how awareness of one’s cognitive state can shape performance.

Research on mindfeeling is largely qualitative and exploratory. Methods include introspective reporting, phenomenological interviews, and experience-sampling approaches to characterize features such as ease of processing, attention, and awareness during thinking. There is no standardized measurement or widely accepted instruments specifically for mindfeeling.

Potential applications include education, where awareness of mindfeeling could support metacognitive training; mental health, where distorted or exaggerated mindfeeling might reflect cognitive biases; and human-computer interaction, where designers consider users’ subjective cognitive experience to improve usability. Critics note its ambiguity and the challenges of objective assessment.

See also: metacognition, phenomenology, cognitive load, flow, introspection.