Affect theory
Encyclopedia
In psychology
, affect is an emotion or subjectively experienced feeling. Affect theory is a branch of psychoanalysis
that attempts to organize affects into discrete categories and connect each one with its typical response. So, for example, the affect of joy is observed through the reaction of smiling. These affects can be identified through immediate facial reactions that people have to a stimulus, typically well before they could process any real response to the stimulus.
Affect theory is attributed to Silvan Tomkins
and is introduced in the first two volumes of his book Affect Imagery Consciousness. The word affect, as used in Tomkins theory, specifically refers to the "biological portion of emotion," that is, to "hard-wired, preprogrammed, genetically transmitted mechanisms that exist in each of us" which, when triggered, precipitates a "known pattern of biological events," although it is also acknowledged that, in adults, the affective experience is a result of both the innate mechanism and a "complex matrix of nested and interacting ideo-affective formations."
Positive:
Neutral:
Negative:
Affect theory can also be used as a blueprint for intimate relationships. Kelly describes relationships as agreements to mutually work toward maximizing positive affect and minimizing negative affect. Like the "optimal mental health" blueprint, this blueprint requires members of the relationship to express affect to one another in order to identify progress.
and:
Tomkins notes that "Christianity
became a powerful universal religion in part because of its more general solution to the problem of anger, violence, and suffering versus love, enjoyment, and peace." The implication is that the optimization of affect motivates the adoption of religion.
Affect theory is also referenced heavily in Tomkins's Script Theory
.
, particularly through the work of Eve Sedgwick and Lauren Berlant
, who have written extensively about affect. In the seminal work on negative affect arousal and white noise by Stanley S. Seidner, the findings from the study support the existence of a negative affect arousal mechanism through observations regarding the devaluation of speakers from other ethnic origins."
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, affect is an emotion or subjectively experienced feeling. Affect theory is a branch of psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
that attempts to organize affects into discrete categories and connect each one with its typical response. So, for example, the affect of joy is observed through the reaction of smiling. These affects can be identified through immediate facial reactions that people have to a stimulus, typically well before they could process any real response to the stimulus.
Affect theory is attributed to Silvan Tomkins
Silvan Tomkins
Silvan Solomon Tomkins is best known as a psychologist and personality theorist and as the developer of Affect theory and Script theory...
and is introduced in the first two volumes of his book Affect Imagery Consciousness. The word affect, as used in Tomkins theory, specifically refers to the "biological portion of emotion," that is, to "hard-wired, preprogrammed, genetically transmitted mechanisms that exist in each of us" which, when triggered, precipitates a "known pattern of biological events," although it is also acknowledged that, in adults, the affective experience is a result of both the innate mechanism and a "complex matrix of nested and interacting ideo-affective formations."
The nine affects
These are the nine affects, listed with a low/high intensity label for each affect and accompanied by its biological expression:Positive:
- Enjoyment/Joy - smiling, lips wide and out
- Interest/Excitement - eyebrows down, eyes tracking, eyes looking, closer listening
Neutral:
- Surprise/Startle - eyebrows up, eyes blinking
Negative:
- Anger/Rage - frowning, a clenched jaw, a red face
- Disgust - the lower lip raised and protruded, head forward and down
- Dissmell (reaction to bad smell) - upper lip raised, head pulled back
- Distress/Anguish - crying, rhythmic sobbing, arched eyebrows, mouth lowered
- Fear/Terror - a frozen stare, a pale face, coldness, sweat, erect hair
- Shame/Humiliation - eyes lowered, the head down and averted, blushing
Prescriptive implications
The nine affects can be used as a blueprint for optimal mental health. According to Tomkins, optimal mental health requires the maximization of positive affect and the minimization of negative affect. Affect should also be properly expressed so to make the identification of affect possible.Affect theory can also be used as a blueprint for intimate relationships. Kelly describes relationships as agreements to mutually work toward maximizing positive affect and minimizing negative affect. Like the "optimal mental health" blueprint, this blueprint requires members of the relationship to express affect to one another in order to identify progress.
Descriptive implications
These blueprints can also describe natural and implicit goals. Nathanson, for example, uses the "affect" to create a narrative for one of his patients:- I suspect that the reason he refuses to watch movies is the sturdy fear of enmeshment in the affect depicted on the screen; the affect mutualization for which most of us frequent the movie theater is only another source of discomfort for him.
and:
- His refusal to risk the range of positive and negative affect associated with sexuality robs any possible relationship of one of its best opportunities to work on the first two rules of either the Kelly or the Tomkins blueprint. Thus, his problems with intimacy may be understood in one aspect as an overly substantial empathic wall, and in another aspect as a purely internal problem with the expression and management of his own affect.
Tomkins notes that "Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
became a powerful universal religion in part because of its more general solution to the problem of anger, violence, and suffering versus love, enjoyment, and peace." The implication is that the optimization of affect motivates the adoption of religion.
Affect theory is also referenced heavily in Tomkins's Script Theory
Script theory
Script theory is a psychological theory which posits that human behaviour largely falls into patterns called "scripts" because they function analogously to the way a written script does, by providing a program for action...
.
Adoption of affect theory
Affect theory's use in psychoanalysis and therapy is limited, though it has gained widespread use in psychoanalytic theoryPsychoanalytic theory
Psychoanalytic theory refers to the definition and dynamics of personality development which underlie and guide psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapy. First laid out by Sigmund Freud, psychoanalytic theory has undergone many refinements since his work...
, particularly through the work of Eve Sedgwick and Lauren Berlant
Lauren Berlant
Lauren Berlant is the George M. Pullman Professor of English at the University of Chicago, where she has been teaching since 1984. Berlant received her Ph.D. from Cornell University...
, who have written extensively about affect. In the seminal work on negative affect arousal and white noise by Stanley S. Seidner, the findings from the study support the existence of a negative affect arousal mechanism through observations regarding the devaluation of speakers from other ethnic origins."
See also
- Selective exposure theorySelective exposure theorySelective exposure is a concept in media and communication research that refers to individuals’ tendency to favor information that reinforces pre-existing views while avoiding information that contradicts their views. This assumption has been explored in tandem with cognitive dissonance theory,...
- Mood management theoryMood management theoryMood management theory posits that the consumption of messages, particularly entertaining messages, is capable of altering prevailing mood states, and that the selection of specific messages for consumption often serves the regulation of mood states .-History:The idea of selecting media content in...
- Silvan TomkinsSilvan TomkinsSilvan Solomon Tomkins is best known as a psychologist and personality theorist and as the developer of Affect theory and Script theory...
- Affect (psychology)Affect (psychology)Affect refers to the experience of feeling or emotion. Affect is a key part of the process of an organism's interaction with stimuli. The word also refers sometimes to affect display, which is "a facial, vocal, or gestural behavior that serves as an indicator of affect" .The affective domain...
- Affect consciousnessAffect consciousnessAffect consciousness refers to the mutual relationship between activation of basic affective experiences and the individual's capacity to consciously perceive, tolerate, reflect upon and express these experiences...