{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]],"date-time":"2026-10-01T14:56:44Z","timestamp":1790866604635,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":52,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]],"date-time":"2026-10-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790812800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    What kind of instrument do we use when we examine ourselves\u2014and how much of what we see is shaped by that instrument rather than by what we actually are? I propose here that self-reflective cognition operates through a system subject to two separable classes of aberration.\n                    <jats:italic>Directional calibration bias<\/jats:italic>\n                    (Axis I) describes a stable functional tendency to systematically inflate (positive bias) or deflate (negative bias) the self-image across domains. The\n                    <jats:italic>mediating field<\/jats:italic>\n                    (Axis II) describes the temporal, interpersonal, cultural, and perspectival conditions through which self-information passes before reaching awareness. We argue that these axes are separable: reducing mediation does not correct calibration bias, and correcting calibration bias does not dissolve the mediating field. From this separability we derive the\n                    <jats:italic>Aberration Unmasking Principle<\/jats:italic>\n                    : that reducing one class of distortion may reveal a pre-existing distortion previously hidden beneath it. The model treats introspective distortion as continuously distributed\u2014everyone introspects, but the optical parameters vary across the population, and most people fall in a range where distortion is present but subclinical. We outline decision rules for classifying phenomena onto each axis, provide a conceptual formalization, propose sample items for the Introspective Aberration Inventory (IAI), and discuss heuristic convergences with contemplative traditions. The framework generates falsifiable predictions and constitutes the first empirically tractable component of a broader research agenda in what we term Metaphysical Optics.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1936705","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]],"date-time":"2026-10-01T14:16:08Z","timestamp":1790864168000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The optics of introspection: a two-axis model of self-reflective distortion"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Swapan","family":"Samanta","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Indoriv Clinical Research Centre","place":["Kolkata, India"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"441","DOI":"10.1037\/0096-3445.108.4.441","article-title":"Judgment of contingency in depressed and nondepressed students","volume":"108","author":"Alloy","year":"1979","journal-title":"J. Exp. Psychol. Gen"},{"key":"B2","volume-title":"Depression: Clinical, Experimental, and Theoretical Aspects","author":"Beck","year":"1967"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1003","DOI":"10.1037\/0003-066X.50.12.1003","article-title":"The destructiveness of perfectionism","volume":"50","author":"Blatt","year":"1995","journal-title":"Am. Psychol"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"756","DOI":"10.1177\/1745691620969647","article-title":"Theory construction methodology","volume":"16","author":"Borsboom","year":"2021","journal-title":"Perspect. Psychol. Sci"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/CBO9780511812507","author":"Bourdieu","year":"1977","journal-title":"Outline of a Theory of Practice"},{"key":"B6","volume-title":"Attachment and Loss, Vol. 1","author":"Bowlby","year":"1969"},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"23","DOI":"10.1037\/1089-2680.3.1.23","article-title":"Self-threat magnifies the self-serving bias","volume":"3","author":"Campbell","year":"1999","journal-title":"Rev. Gen. Psychol"},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"241","DOI":"10.1037\/h0086006","article-title":"The imposter phenomenon in high achieving women","volume":"15","author":"Clance","year":"1978","journal-title":"Psychother. Theory Res. Pract"},{"key":"B9","volume-title":"Human Nature and the Social Order","author":"Cooley","year":"1902"},{"key":"B10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"779","DOI":"10.1177\/1745691620970586","article-title":"The theory crisis in psychology","volume":"16","author":"Eronen","year":"2021","journal-title":"Perspect. Psychol. Sci"},{"key":"B11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"223","DOI":"10.1177\/1745691612460685","article-title":"Dual-process theories of higher cognition","volume":"8","author":"Evans","year":"2013","journal-title":"Perspect. Psychol. Sci"},{"key":"B12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"906","DOI":"10.1037\/0003-066X.34.10.906","article-title":"Metacognition and cognitive monitoring","volume":"34","author":"Flavell","year":"1979","journal-title":"Am. Psychol"},{"key":"B13","first-page":"16","article-title":"\u201cTechnologies of the self,\u201d","volume-title":"Technologies of the Self: A Seminar with Michel Foucault","author":"Foucault","year":"1988"},{"key":"B14","first-page":"67","article-title":"\u201cOn narcissism: an introduction.,\u201d","volume-title":"Standard Edition","author":"Freud","year":""},{"key":"B15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"155","DOI":"10.1016\/S0364-0213(83)80009-3","article-title":"Structure-mapping: a theoretical framework for analogy","volume":"7","author":"Gentner","year":"1983","journal-title":"Cogn. Sci"},{"key":"B16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"45","DOI":"10.1037\/0003-066X.52.1.45","article-title":"Structure mapping in analogy and similarity","volume":"52","author":"Gentner","year":"1997","journal-title":"Am. Psychol"},{"key":"B17","first-page":"118","article-title":"\u201cSocial mentalities,\u201d","volume-title":"Genes on the Couch","author":"Gilbert","year":"2000"},{"key":"B18","volume-title":"The Disinterested Witness","author":"Gupta","year":"1998"},{"key":"B19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"319","DOI":"10.1037\/0033-295X.94.3.319","article-title":"Self-discrepancy: a theory relating self and affect","volume":"94","author":"Higgins","year":"1987","journal-title":"Psychol. Rev"},{"key":"B20","volume-title":"General Psychopathology","author":"Jaspers","year":""},{"key":"B21","volume-title":"Thinking, Fast and Slow","author":"Kahneman","year":"2011"},{"key":"B22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"289","DOI":"10.1017\/CBO9780511816789.012","article-title":"\u201cMetacognition and consciousness,\u201d","volume-title":"Cambridge Handbook of Consciousness","author":"Koriat","year":"2007"},{"key":"B23","first-page":"75","article-title":"\u201cThe mirror stage,\u201d","volume-title":"\u00c9crits","author":"Lacan","year":""},{"key":"B24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"547","DOI":"10.3389\/fnhum.2013.00547","article-title":"Minimal self-models and the free energy principle","volume":"7","author":"Limanowski","year":"2013","journal-title":"Front. Hum. Neurosci"},{"key":"B25","volume-title":"The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch","author":"McRae","year":"2000"},{"key":"B26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"421","DOI":"10.1006\/jesp.1997.1333","article-title":"Temporal adjustments in the evaluation of events","volume":"33","author":"Mitchell","year":"1997","journal-title":"J. Exp. Soc. Psychol"},{"key":"B27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"496","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cpr.2012.05.004","article-title":"Depressive realism: a meta-analytic review","volume":"32","author":"Moore","year":"2012","journal-title":"Clin. Psychol. Rev"},{"key":"B28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"177","DOI":"10.1207\/S15327965PLI1204_1","article-title":"Unraveling the paradoxes of narcissism","volume":"12","author":"Morf","year":"2001","journal-title":"Psychol. Inq"},{"key":"B29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"807","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1751-9004.2011.00387.x","article-title":"Self-awareness part 1: definition, measures, effects, functions, and antecedents","volume":"5","author":"Morin","year":"2011","journal-title":"Soc. Pers. Psychol. Compass"},{"key":"B30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"231","DOI":"10.1037\/0033-295X.84.3.231","article-title":"Telling more than we can know","volume":"84","author":"Nisbett","year":"1977","journal-title":"Psychol. Rev"},{"key":"B31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"421","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.clinpsy.121208.131215","article-title":"Pathological narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder","volume":"6","author":"Pincus","year":"2010","journal-title":"Annu. Rev. Clin. Psychol"},{"key":"B32","first-page":"1","article-title":"\u201cThe introspection illusion,\u201d","volume-title":"Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 41","author":"Pronin","year":"2009"},{"key":"B33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"890","DOI":"10.1037\/0022-3514.54.5.890","article-title":"A principal-components analysis of the narcissistic personality inventory","volume":"54","author":"Raskin","year":"1988","journal-title":"J. Pers. Soc. Psychol"},{"key":"B34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"37","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1467-9280.1997.tb00541.x","article-title":"Effects of visual perspective and narcissism on self-perception","volume":"8","author":"Robins","year":"1997","journal-title":"Psychol. Sci"},{"key":"B35","volume-title":"Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature","author":"Rorty","year":"1979"},{"key":"B36","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1741096","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1741096","article-title":"Liberation mathematics I: the behavioral and consciousness definition of perpetual self-transcendence","volume":"17","author":"Samanta","year":"","journal-title":"Front. Psychol"},{"key":"B37","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1872500","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1872500","article-title":"The body before the dance: somatic codification, elemental self-regulation, and contemplative recognition in the Na\u1e6dar\u0101ja tradition","volume":"17","author":"Samanta","year":"","journal-title":"Front. Psychol"},{"key":"B38","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1828520","DOI":"10.3389\/fnbeh.2026.1828520","article-title":"Towards a neurophysiological model of kundalini: a theoretical framework informed by preliminary clinical observations","volume":"20","author":"Samanta","year":"","journal-title":"Front. Behav. Neurosci"},{"key":"B39","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1902817","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1902817","article-title":"The equilibrium geometry of flourishing: why balance matters more than totals","volume":"17","author":"Samanta","year":"","journal-title":"Front. Psychol"},{"key":"B40","unstructured":"\u201cIntrospection,\u201d\n          \n          \n            \n              Schwitzgebel\n              E.\n            \n          \n          Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy\n          \n          2019"},{"key":"B41","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"304","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1467-8721.2008.00595.x","article-title":"Nostalgia","volume":"17","author":"Sedikides","year":"2008","journal-title":"Curr. Dir. Psychol. Sci"},{"key":"B42","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"565","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tics.2013.09.007","article-title":"Interoceptive inference, emotion, and the embodied self","volume":"17","author":"Seth","year":"2013","journal-title":"Trends Cogn. Sci"},{"key":"B43","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"230","DOI":"10.1207\/S15327957PSPR0503_4","article-title":"Objective self-awareness theory: recent progress and enduring problems","volume":"5","author":"Silvia","year":"2001","journal-title":"Pers. Soc. Psychol. Rev"},{"key":"B44","volume-title":"Sources of the Self","author":"Taylor","year":"1989"},{"key":"B45","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"193","DOI":"10.1037\/0033-2909.103.2.193","article-title":"Illusion and well-being","volume":"103","author":"Taylor","year":"1988","journal-title":"Psychol. Bull"},{"key":"B46","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"440","DOI":"10.1037\/a0018963","article-title":"Construal-level theory","volume":"117","author":"Trope","year":"2010","journal-title":"Psychol. Rev"},{"key":"B47","volume-title":"Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism","author":"Trungpa","year":"1973"},{"key":"B48","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"281","DOI":"10.1037\/a0017908","article-title":"Who knows what about a person?","volume":"98","author":"Vazire","year":"2010","journal-title":"J. Pers. Soc. Psychol"},{"key":"B49","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"203","DOI":"10.1037\/1089-2680.7.2.203","article-title":"Life is pleasant\u2014and memory helps","volume":"7","author":"Walker","year":"2003","journal-title":"Rev. Gen. Psychol"},{"key":"B50","volume-title":"Toward a Psychology of Awakening","author":"Welwood","year":"2000"},{"key":"B51","volume-title":"Strangers to Ourselves","author":"Wilson","year":"2002"},{"key":"B52","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"131","DOI":"10.1111\/j.0963-7214.2005.00355.x","article-title":"Affective forecasting","volume":"14","author":"Wilson","year":"2005","journal-title":"Curr. Dir. Psychol. Sci"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Psychology"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1936705\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]],"date-time":"2026-10-01T14:16:13Z","timestamp":1790864173000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1936705\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]]},"references-count":52,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1936705"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1936705","relation":{},"ISSN":["1664-1078"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1664-1078","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]]},"article-number":"1936705"}}