AIM Framework glossary
Guilt-Priming
Canonical definition
Guilt-Priming is the elevation of template activation caused by guilt signals generated by the moral-monitoring systems, such that templates describing behaviours connected to the guilt become highly activated and deploy with low evidential threshold when interpreting others' behaviour, regardless of whether the Individual consciously recognises the source of their guilt or the connection between their own behaviour and the deployed template.
Explanation
Guilt is an aversive signal generated when behaviour deviates from internalised norms or threatens social bonds. Due to Source Opacity, guilt signals are not tagged with their source, the Individual experiences guilt but may not know why. The guilt signal has two effects: (1) Template Activation, the behaviour connected to the guilt becomes a highly activated cognitive category, sitting at the top of the inferential stack ready for deployment; and (2) Inference Bias, when the Individual observes others' behaviour, the primed template is applied with low threshold, and ambiguous behaviours are interpreted through the primed template. This mechanism explains why Projection often targets the very behaviours the projecting Individual is engaging in, creating the appearance of Freudian defence when the mechanism is simpler: the Individual's unrecognised behaviour generates guilt, the guilt primes the template, and the primed template deploys readily to explain others. The Individual cannot recognise this mechanism because each link in the chain, source of guilt, template activation, connection between self and template, is opaque due to Source Opacity and Confabulation.
Epistemic status
Framework-Specific Construct, extending affect-cognition research within AIM architecture.