Knowra Affect (psychology) Affect (psychology) Affect is the observable expression of emotion or the subjective feeling tone accompanying experience. It is described by qualities such as range, intensity, stability, and congruence.
Emotion : A coordinated response involving subjective feeling, physiological change, appraisal, and expressive behavior. Affect can express an emotion, but does not capture every component of an emotional response.
Affect display : The outward presentation of emotion through facial, vocal, bodily, and behavioral cues. It is the observable component clinicians describe as affect.
Mental status examination : A structured assessment of a person's current appearance, behavior, cognition, and psychological state. Affect is routinely described within this examination.
Blunted affect : A substantial reduction in the intensity of emotional expression. It indicates diminished intensity, whereas flat affect describes a more nearly absent display.
Emotion recognition : The process of identifying emotional states from facial, vocal, bodily, or situational cues. Observers can disagree about which emotion an expression communicates.
Mood : A relatively prolonged emotional state that can shape experience without a clear immediate cause. Clinical descriptions distinguish sustained mood from the moment-to-moment expression called affect.
Emotional expression : The communication of emotional states through facial, vocal, bodily, or behavioral signals. Expression supplies observable evidence, though it may not match a person's reported feeling.
Affect (mental status examination) : The clinician's description of a person's observed emotional expression during a mental status examination. This clinical usage emphasizes visible expression and its range, intensity, and stability.
Restricted affect : A reduction in the range and intensity of emotional expression. It describes a narrower expressive range, typically less extreme than flat affect.
Cultural display rules : Social norms governing when and how people express emotion. Display rules shape observable affect and complicate comparisons across cultures.
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