AIM Framework glossary
Valence Corrosion Asymmetry
Canonical definition
Valence Corrosion Asymmetry is the principle that the M-system is valence-neutral at the Individual level, both positive and negative attention generate equivalent PM, but valence-asymmetric at the system level, where negative-valence PM accumulation degrades Status Integrity, suppresses I-function in targets through A-level threat activation, erodes reciprocity norms, and accelerates Confabulation Cascade convergence, while positive-valence PM accumulation reinforces these same variables. The asymmetry is invisible to the Individual because Source Opacity strips the valence tag before conscious access, making institutional valence-sensitivity architecturally necessary.
Explanation
Being hated by your enemies feels as good as being loved by your friends, but a society running on hatred is heading for collapse while a society running on admiration stays healthy. The person doing the hating cannot tell the difference from the inside, which is why the system around them has to impose the distinction they cannot make for themselves. Three-channel architectural specification. The system-level asymmetry operates through three architecturally distinct channels each requiring separate intervention. (i) I-channel destruction in targets: the audience-driven harm collapses I-domain access for the targeted Individual, because I-engagement requires sufficient psychological safety and uninterrupted self-endorsed activity, and audience-driven negative-PM transfer interrupts both. Intervention requires I-domain protection (private engagement spaces, anonymity for I-led work). (ii) A-channel threat-induction in targets: M-attack is processed as A-survival-threat via the Apex Predator Paradox, because the human threat-detection architecture cannot distinguish status-attack from physical-attack at the fast-valuation level. Intervention requires A-floor protection independent of the M-attack outcome. (iii) M-channel norm-erosion across the population: reciprocity-of-rank conventions collapse when negative-valence PM becomes a recognised pathway to Status, because the convention's stability requires reciprocal abstention from negative-valence routes. Intervention requires institutional valence-sensitive conversion-mechanism design. The three channels operate concurrently and intervention design must address all three; addressing one in isolation is insufficient.
Epistemic status
Framework-Specific Construct. Derived from Valence-Neutral Status, Crisis State Architecture, and Empathy-Mimesis Antagonism.
Derivation
Related terms
- Apex Predator Paradox Principle (for the A-channel threat-induction mechanism)
- Four Dimensions of M-Management (for the I-channel destruction intervention)