The Theory of Social Tension: Neuroelectrical Dynamics of Collective Emotion

This paper presents the Theory of Social Tension, a neurophysiological and sociological framework describing how collective emotions form, propagate, and stabilize human society. Extending from prior works (The Beached Whale Hypothesis, 2025; The Paradox of High IQ, 2025), this study models society as a tension field generated by the oscillation and interference of four emotional vectors—joy, anger, sorrow, and laughter. Each emotion possesses dual polarities (positive and negative), and their mutual resonance or repulsion creates dynamic equilibrium within social systems. When this tension becomes excessive or fixed, diversity collapses into synchronization, giving rise to authoritarianism, nationalism, and ideological absolutism. At the neuroelectrical level, these emotional vectors correspond to specific brainwave frequencies, which may resonate or destructively interfere across individuals, forming large-scale “collective fields.” Thus, society itself is understood as a network of oscillating emotions—a neuroelectrical ecosystem whose balance determines cultural vitality or stagnation.