PsychologyJuly 17, 2026

interoception

/ˌɪntərəˈsɛpʃən/

Definition

The body's internal sense of its own physical state, such as feelings of hunger, heartbeat, or temperature.

Etymology

Derived from the Latin 'inter' (inside) and 'recipere' (to receive). It entered English in the early 20th century to describe the perception of stimuli originating from within the body.

In the news

Researchers are studying whether emoji can evoke sensory experiences related to interoception, helping us understand how our brains process digital communication through the lens of internal bodily signals.

Emoji & Psychological Research: Introducing Team Emoji

Read the full article ↗

Emojipedia Blog

Related words

Learn a word like this every day

Meet one new word every morning.

Newspoken pulls one carefully chosen word from the day’s news — with a clear definition, context, and light review that makes it stick. Get it on your phone.

Not for marketing. One email on launch day.