Emotional Branch Termination and False Fantasy Collapse: A Structural Specification of Computational Resource Restitution in Interpersonal Systems

Authors

Griselda Poe, CUNY Lehman CollegeFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Spring 2-3-2026

Abstract

This paper specifies the structural protocol for communication within interpersonal systems by focusing on branch generation mechanisms and computational resource allocation. Conventional interpersonal communication often relies on emotional modulation, which obscures established constraints and triggers the generation of Emotional Branches (EB) within the recipient’s internal model. These branches function as unresolved parallel processing tasks that persistently occupy working memory, leading to a state of non-computability termed False Fantasy (FF). To resolve this, the study introduces Emotional Branch Termination (EBT)—a termination operation that outputs only constraints, facts, and procedures while excluding emotional modifiers. By halting the supply of EBs, EBT triggers False Fantasy Collapse (FFC), a state transition that restores the recipient's computational resources and renders the world model operable again. Repositioning empathy as a post hoc interpretive label rather than a causal mechanism, this specification identifies Emotional Branch Termination as the exclusive structural operation for resource restitution. This framework provides a basis for shifting service design from emotional harmony toward the restoration of computability in both human-human and human-AI interactions.

Comments

https://zenodo.org/records/19140535 

The Core-Modulation Architecture (CMA): A Structural Overview of a 14-Paper Research Program

https://academicworks.cuny.edu/le_pubs/477/