MENTAL MODEL · M0488

Free Energy Principle

Learn & MetacognitionHigh supportCognitive Science

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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

Proposed by Karl Friston. It posits that all living organisms (including the brain) continuously make predictions from the inside out and attempt to minimize 'prediction error' (i.e., free energy or surprise). The brain is not a passive receiver of information but actively constructs the world.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

Understanding the essence of cognition. It explains why we have biases, hallucinations, and stubbornness—because changing internal models (admitting error) consumes more free energy than ignoring external data (self-deception).

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Anchor fast decisions

The Free Energy Principle holds that a persisting system must align its sensory inputs with its internal generative model—that is, minimize 'free energy' (an upper bound on variational free energy, approximating the sum of prediction error and model complexity). The system reduces free energy through two pathways: active inference (acting to change the world to match predictions) and perceptual inference (updating the model to match the world). Near steady state, minimizing free energy is equivalent to minimizing 'surprisal', thereby maintaining the system's existential boundaries.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Practice this model in one real situation:

Identify the system's generative model and key predictions (what it expects of the world). 2. Observe where prediction errors arise. 3. Distinguish two types of responses: changing action (active inference) or updating beliefs (perceptual inference). 4. Evaluate which path is less costly (lower free energy). 5. Use to explain 'why stubbornness/bias': updating the model often consumes more free energy than changing the environment, so the system tends to maintain old models.

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Source support: Explicit

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en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_energy_principleZH · Explicit
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