The Emotional Circuit Board
A map of how internal signals move through the four modes and shape emotional responses
Worth Filter
What safety signals did society assign at birth?
Low friction. Most doors open before you speak.
This score measures societal friction, not your worth. It shows how hard systems make it for you before you even speak.
Childhood Conditioning
How did your environment shape your Real Self → Role Mask?
Emotional Predictability
Stable
Chaotic
30%
Could you anticipate what would happen?
Caregiver Attunement
Attuned
Absent
30%
Were your emotions seen accurately?
Congruence
Aligned
Gaslighting
30%
Did words match actions?
Emotional Validation
Accepted
Punished
30%
Were feelings allowed to exist?
Peer Environment
Belonging
Bullied
30%
Did you belong with others?
Trauma Exposure
Safe
Complex
20%
What happened to you?
Internalized Wounding
28
Low
Some wounding internalized. Manageable with awareness.
This models conditioning, not destiny. High scores mean your nervous system adapted to threat — these adaptations made sense at the time.
Internal Compass
Where does your nervous system default on the 4-Mode Gradient?
Connection
Protection
Control
Domination
Protection
Safety through defense. Guarded but hope remains.
Movement: Downward (toward Domination) is fast — seconds to days. Upward (toward Connection) is slow — requires sustained safety + often external support.
This is adaptation, not identity. Your position can shift with sustained safety and support.
Three Inner Layers + Empathy
What's accessible inside you? How much can you feel others?
Three Inner Layers
Role Mask
30%
Logic Layer
40%
Real Self
70%
Light mask — Some protective layers, can drop them in safety
Real Self
What you feel before filtering
Logic Layer
Manages the gap, maintains coherence
Role Mask
Who you learned to be to stay safe
Dissonance Tolerance
39%How much cognitive dissonance can you hold without it registering as a problem?
Some dissonance acceptable. Can rationalize gaps.
Key insight: The thicker the Logic Layer, the more you can do that contradicts who you are — without feeling it.
Empathy Sensors
How much can you feel others?
Understanding what others think/feel
Open and curious
Feeling what others feel (resonance)
Full resonance
Motivation to act on care
Acts on care
Note: Cognitive empathy can remain high even when emotional empathy is offline. This is how manipulation works — understanding without feeling.
Mode Lens
How does your mode shape what you see?
Connection
Protection
Control
Domination
Shared responsibility
Self-protection
Strategic advantage
Supremacy = safety
Mutual care + repair
Conditional, earned
Transactional
Possession, control
Shared understanding
Risky if threatens safety
Weapon or shield
Whatever maintains power
Growth + contribution
Survival metric
Status, validation
Proof of superiority
Authenticity + accountability
Performance to be accepted
Image management
Self-justification
Relational reciprocity
Earned through compliance
Strategic positioning
Enforced loyalty
Invisible Rules
Map 4Roles
"You are who others need you to be"
→ Identity through performance
Obedience
"Safety comes from compliance"
→ Self-silencing and conflict avoidance
Performance
"Worth is earned through image"
→ Disconnection from authentic needs
Dominance
"Power means control"
→ Empathy as weakness
Punishment
"Pain is a valid teacher"
→ Harm disguised as accountability
Entitlement
"I am owed"
→ Others responsible for my comfort
These rules feel like truth. They're actually survival software installed without your consent.
This isn't about "good" or "bad" perception. It's about seeing how your nervous system filters reality based on what it learned was necessary for survival.
Understanding the Pathway
Where you are, how you got here, and what enables movement back toward Connection.
Protection← You are here
Defending against perceived threats
↓Connection fails repeatedly
↓Vulnerability becomes danger
↓Hope decreases
Control
Managing through strategy
↓Control feels insufficient
↓Access to power available
↓Threat continues or increases
Domination
Safety through power
Protection Mode
You're defending against perceived threats, but haven't moved into strategic control. Connection is still accessible when safety returns.
Key insight: Domination requires both wounding AND access to power. Without power access, wounded people stay in Control or collapse.
This tool is for self-reflection and education, not diagnosis. It models patterns, not destiny. Movement is always possible with sustained safety and support.