Affect- these are emotional, strong experiences that arise when it is impossible to find a way out of critical, dangerous situations, associated with pronounced organic and motor manifestations. Translated from Latin, affect means passion, emotional excitement. This condition can lead to inhibition of other mental processes, as well as the implementation of appropriate behavioral reactions.
In a state of passion, strong emotional agitation narrows the consciousness and limits the will. After the experienced unrest, affective special complexes arise, which are triggered without awareness of the reasons that caused the reaction.
Causes of affect
The most important cause of affect are circumstances that threaten the existence of a person (indirect or direct threat to life). The reason can also be a conflict, a contradiction between a strong desire, attraction, desire for something and the inability to objectively satisfy the impulse. For the person himself there is an impossibility of understanding this situation. The conflict can also be expressed in the increased demands that are placed on a person at a given moment.
An affective reaction can be provoked by the actions of others that have affected a person’s self-esteem and thereby traumatized his personality. The presence of a conflict situation is mandatory, but not sufficient for the emergence of an affective situation. Of great importance are the stable individual psychological characteristics of the personality, as well as the temporary state of the subject who is in a conflict situation. In one person, circumstances will cause a violation of a coherent system of behavior, while in another they will not.
Signs of affect
The signs include external manifestations in the behavior of a person who is accused of a crime (motor activity, appearance, peculiarities of speech, facial expressions), as well as the sensations experienced by the accused. These feelings are often expressed by the words: “I vaguely remember what happened to me”, “something seemed to break in me”, “feelings like in a dream”.
Later, in the works of criminal law, the sudden emotional excitement began to be identified with the psychological concept of affect, which is characterized by the following features: explosive nature, suddenness of occurrence, deep and specific psychological changes that remain within the limits of sanity.
Affect refers to a sensual, emotionally excited state experienced by an individual in the process of all life activity. There are different signs by which emotions, feelings, affective reactions are distinguished. The modern use of the concept of affect, denoting emotional excitement, has three conceptual levels:
1) clinical manifestations of feelings associated with a spectrum of experiences of pleasure or displeasure;
2) associated neurobiological phenomena, which include secretory, hormonal, autonomic or somatic manifestations;
3) the third level is associated with psychic energy, instinctive drives and their discharge, signal affects without the discharge of drives.
Affect in psychology
The emotional sphere of a person represents special mental processes, as well as states that reflect the experiences of an individual in different situations. Emotions are the reaction of the subject to the acting stimulus, as well as to the result of actions. Emotions throughout life affect the human psyche, penetrating into all mental processes.
Affect in psychology is strong, as well as short-term emotions (experiences) that occur after certain stimuli. The state of affect and emotions are different from each other. Emotions are perceived by a person as an integral part of himself - "I", and affect is a state that appears beyond the will of a person. The affect occurs in unexpected stressful situations and is characterized by a narrowing of consciousness, the extreme degree of which is a pathological affective reaction.
Mental excitement performs an important adaptive function, preparing a person for an appropriate reaction to internal and external events, and is marked by a high severity of emotional experiences leading to the mobilization of psychological and physical resources of a person. One of the signs is a partial loss of memory, which is noted not in every reaction. In some cases, the individual does not remember the events that precede the affective reaction, as well as the events that occurred during the emotional excitement.
Psychological affect is marked by the excitation of mental activity, which reduces control over behavior. This circumstance leads to a crime and entails legal consequences. Persons in a state of mental agitation are limited in their ability to be aware of their actions. Psychological affect has a significant impact on a person, while disorganizing the psyche, affecting its higher mental functions.
Types of affect
There are such types of emotional excitement - physiological and pathological.
Physiological affect is an uncontrolled discharge that appears in an affective situation with emotional stress, but does not go beyond the norm. Physiological affect is a non-painful emotional state that represents a rapid and short-lived explosive reaction without a psychotic change in mental activity.
Pathological affect is a psychogenic disease state that occurs in mentally healthy people. Psychiatrists perceive such excitement as an acute reaction to traumatic factors. The height of development has disturbances according to the type of twilight state. The affective reaction is characterized by sharpness, brightness, three-phase flow (preparatory, explosion phase, final). A tendency to pathological conditions indicates a violation of the balancing of the processes of inhibition and excitation in the central nervous system. For pathological affect, emotional manifestations are inherent, often in the form of aggression.
In psychology, the affect of inadequacy is also distinguished, which is understood as a stable negative experience provoked by the inability to succeed in any activity. Often, affects of inadequacy appear in young children when voluntary regulation of behavior is not formed. Any difficulty that caused dissatisfaction of the needs of the child, as well as any conflict, provokes the emergence of emotional unrest. With improper upbringing, the tendency to affective behavior is fixed. Under unfavorable conditions of upbringing, children show suspicion, constant resentment, a tendency to aggressive reactions and negativism, and irritability. The duration of such a state of inadequacy provokes the formation and consolidation of negative character traits.
Affect in criminal law
Signs of affect in criminal law are a loss of flexibility in thinking, a decrease in the quality of thought processes, leading to an awareness of the immediate goals of one's actions. A person's attention is focused on the source of irritation. For this reason, due to emotional stress, the individual loses the opportunity to choose a behavior model, which provokes a sharp decrease in control over his actions. Such affective behavior violates expediency, purposefulness, and also the sequence of actions.
Forensic psychiatry, as well as forensic psychology, relates the state of passion to the individual's limiting ability to realize the actual nature, as well as the social danger of his act and the inability to control it.
Psychological affect has minimal freedom. A crime committed in a state of passion is considered by the court as a mitigating circumstance, if certain conditions are met.
The concepts of affect in criminal law and in psychology do not coincide. In psychology, there is no specifics of negative stimuli that provoke a state of affective reaction. There is a clear position in the Criminal Code that speaks about the circumstances that can cause this condition: bullying, violence, insult on the part of the victim or a long-term psychotraumatic situation, immoral and illegal actions of the victim.
In psychology, affect and strong emotional excitement that have arisen are not identical, and criminal law puts an equal sign between these concepts.
Affect as a strong short-term emotional excitement is formed in a person very quickly. This state occurs suddenly for others and the person himself. The proof of the presence of emotional excitement is the suddenness of its occurrence, which is an organic property. Strong emotional excitement can be caused by the actions of the victim and needs to establish a connection between the affective reaction and the act of the victim. This condition should suddenly appear. The suddenness of its appearance is closely related to the emergence of the motive. The following situations precede the sudden emotional strong excitement: bullying, violence, grave insult, immoral and illegal actions. In this case, an affective reaction arises under the influence of a one-time event, as well as a significant one for the most guilty event.
The state of passion and its examples
Affective reactions have a negative impact on human activity, lower the level of organization. In this state, a person commits unreasonable actions. Extremely strong excitation is replaced by inhibition and, as a result, ends with fatigue, loss of strength, and stupor. Disturbances of consciousness lead to partial or complete amnesia. Despite the suddenness, emotional excitement has its own stages of development. At the beginning of an affective state, one can stop emotional emotional excitement, and at the final stages, losing control, a person cannot stop on his own.
To postpone an affective state, huge volitional efforts are needed to restrain oneself. In some cases, the affect of rage is manifested in strong movements, violently and with cries, in a furious facial expression. In other cases, despair, confusion, delight are examples of an affective reaction. In practice, there are cases when physically weak people, experiencing strong emotional excitement, do things that they are incapable of in a calm environment.
Examples of the state of affect: the spouse unexpectedly returned from a business trip and personally discovered the fact of adultery; a frail man beats several professional boxers in a state of affective reaction, or knocks down an oak door with one blow, or inflicts many mortal wounds; a drunkard-husband commits constant scandals, fights, fights on the basis of drinking alcohol.
Affect treatment
Treatment of an affective state includes emergency measures, which include the establishment of supervision of a person and the mandatory referral to a psychiatrist. Depressed patients prone to suicide are shown hospitalization with enhanced supervision, and the transportation of such people is carried out under the supervision of medical staff. On an outpatient basis, patients with agitated depression, as well as depression with suicidal attempts, are shown injections of 5 ml of a 2.5% solution of Aminazine.
Treatment of affect with includes drug therapy that affects the manic and depressive phases of the disease. For depression, antidepressants of different groups are prescribed (Lerivol, Anafranil, Amitriprilin, Ludiomil). Depending on the type of affective reaction, atypical antidepressants are prescribed. Electroconvulsive therapy is used when it is impossible to carry out medical treatment. The state of mania is treated with such antipsychotics as Azaleptin, Clopixol, Tizercin. In the treatment, sodium salts have proven themselves well if the affective reaction takes a monopolar variant.
Manic patients are often hospitalized because their wrong and unethical actions can harm others and the patients themselves. In the treatment of manic states, neuroleptics are used - Propazine, Aminazin. Patients with euphoria also need hospitalization, since this condition means either the presence of intoxication or an organic disease of the brain.
Aggression in patients with epileptic is removed by hospitalization. If the depressive state acts as a phase of circular psychosis, then psychotropic drugs - antidepressants - are effective in the treatment. The presence of agitation in the structure requires complex therapy with antidepressants and neuroleptics. With psychogenic minor depression, hospitalization is not mandatory, since its course is regressive. Treatment includes antidepressants and sedatives.
Passion) is a strong, rapidly emerging and rapidly flowing mental state, characterized by a deep experience, a vivid external manifestation, a narrowing of consciousness and a decrease in self-control. There are two types of A.: physiological and pathological. Physiological A. (rage, anger, fear), although it has a great power of influence on the psyche, however, does not deprive a person of the opportunity to be aware, control his behavior and be responsible for it. A crime committed in a state of physiological A, (a state of mental agitation) does not exclude the criminal liability of a person, but under certain conditions it can be mitigated. Pathological A. is a temporary mental disorder. With it, there comes a deep clouding of consciousness and a loss of the ability to give an account of one's actions and direct them. The person in such cases is recognized as insane.
Big legal dictionary. - M.: Infra-M. A. Ya. Sukharev, V. E. Krutskikh, A. Ya. Sukharev. 2003 .
Synonyms:See what "AFFECT" is in other dictionaries:
affect- Short-term, rapidly flowing, positively or negatively colored emotional psychogenic reaction. As an affective discharge, patients are more likely to commit suicidal than aggressive actions. See also: impulsive ... ... Great Psychological Encyclopedia
- (from lat. affectus - emotional excitement, passion) an emotional state characterized by a painful arousal of feelings, the inclusion of the will, at the same time a strong weakening of the clarity of thinking and its influence and differs from a lesser passion ... ... Philosophical Encyclopedia
- (lat. affectus). A rush of feeling, reaching, under a strong and sudden impression, to self-forgetfulness, to frenzy, and the resulting suspension or difficulty in the normal course of other spiritual movements. Dictionary of foreign words, ... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language
AFFECT- (from lat. affectus state of mind), a term used to refer to phenomena in the field of feeling. The most ancient explanation of the word A. is found in Augustine, who equates it with the Latin perturbatio. So, in this sense, ... ... Big Medical Encyclopedia
Modern Encyclopedia
Affect- Affect ♦ Affect A common name and scientific term for feelings, passions, emotions, and desires—anything that affects us in both pleasant and unpleasant ways. But the body is also capable of feeling, you say. Philosophical Dictionary of Sponville
Affect- (from the Latin affectus emotional excitement, passion), a violent short-term emotion (for example, anger, horror), which usually occurs in response to a strong stimulus (physiological affect). Affect pathological short-term mental ... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary
See ardor... Dictionary of Russian synonyms and expressions similar in meaning. under. ed. N. Abramova, M .: Russian dictionaries, 1999. affect, excitement, vehemence; agitation, seizure, emotion, frenzy, frenzy ... Synonym dictionary
Appeal, affect, etc. Southwestern influence carried with it a stream of Europeanisms into Russian literary speech. Due to the Greek language, the cultural and educational role of the Latin language, which was the international language of the medieval ... ... The history of words
Affect- (lat. affectus - zhan tolkynysy, құmarlyk, yntyқtyқ) - adam kөңіl үyіninіn shұғyl өzgerіp, аserlenuі (үreylenu, masattanu, yzalanu). Affect kezinde strestik zhagdaylar tuyndap, adam ozinin zhuykesin tolyk bakylay almaityn erekshe sezimdik keyipke… … Philosophical terminderdin sozdigі
Books
- Integration and self-healing. Affect, trauma, alexithymia, Henry Crystal. Henry Crystal was the first psychoanalyst to show that changes in affects in the course of mental development cannot be reduced to the formation of defense mechanisms against strong and unpleasant affects, which ...
- Integration and self-healing. Affect - Trauma - Alexithymia, Crystal G. Henry Crystal was the first psychoanalyst to show that changes in affects in the course of mental development cannot be reduced to the formation of defense mechanisms against strong and unpleasant affects, that ...
Under the affect one should understand the state of feeling, which differs, on the one hand, in a noticeable innervation of the body, on the other hand, in a kind of violation of the representation process. /78-Bd.3. S.529/ Emotion is for me a synonym for affect. In contrast to Bleuler (see affectivity), I distinguish feeling from affect, although it passes imperceptibly into affect, for each feeling, having reached a certain strength, evokes bodily innervations and thereby becomes an affect. But for practical reasons, it would be correct to distinguish affect from feeling, in view of the fact that feeling can be an arbitrarily controlled function, while affect, as a general rule, is not. In the same way, affect is clearly distinguished from feeling by a noticeable bodily innervation, while feeling in most cases is not accompanied by these innervations, or they are of such low intensity that their presence can be proved only with the help of very subtle instruments, for example, with the help of a psychogalvanic phenomenon. The affect is intensified by the sensation of bodily innervations caused by it. This observation led to the James-Lange theory of affect, which in general causally derives affect from bodily innervations. In contrast to such an extreme explanation, I understand affect, on the one hand, as a mental state of feeling, on the other hand, as a physiological state of innervation; both are intensified in interaction, that is, another component of sensation is added to the intensified feeling, due to which the affect is closer to sensations (see sensation) and differs significantly from the state of feeling. Pronounced affects, that is, accompanied by a strong bodily innervation of the body, I do not classify as the sphere of feeling functions, but refer to the sphere of sensation functions (see function).
Affect
Under the affect understand short-term strong emotional excitement, accompanied not only by an emotional reaction, but also by the excitation of all mental activity.
There is a physiological affect, such as the affect of anger or joy, which is not accompanied by clouding of consciousness, automatisms and amnesia.
Asthenic affect is characterized by rapid exhaustion, accompanied by a depressed mood, a decrease in mental activity and vitality, and a deterioration in well-being.
Sthenic affect is characterized by increased well-being, with pronounced mental activity, a feeling of tides of one's own strength.
Pathological affect is determined by a short-term mental disorder that develops in response to a sudden intense mental trauma, and manifests itself in the concentration of consciousness on traumatic experiences, followed by an affective discharge, followed by general relaxation, indifference and deep sleep; also characterized by partial or complete amnesia.
In some cases, a pathological affect is preceded by a long-term traumatic situation, and the pathological affect itself arises as a reaction to some kind of “last straw”.
affect
A model of observed behaviors, which is an expression of the state of a subjectively experienced feeling (emotion). Examples of affect include sadness, delight, and anger. Unlike mood, which refers to a widespread and persistent emotional "climate", affect refers to more fluctuating changes in emotional "weather". The normal intensity of affect can vary within and between different cultures. Mood disorders include:
Labile - Abnormal affective variability with repetitive, rapid and abrupt shifts in affective responses.
Inappropriate - Inconsistency between affective expression and the content of speech or thought.
Limited or stunned - Moderate reduction in the range of intensity of emotional expression.
Blunt affect - A significant weakening of the intensity of emotional reactions.
Flattened Complete absence or minimal presence of signs of affective expression.
AFFECTS
from lat. affectus - emotional excitement, passion) - strong emotional experiences that arise in critical conditions with the inability to find a way out of dangerous and unexpected situations and which are associated with pronounced motor and organic manifestations. Affects lead to the inhibition of all other mental processes and the implementation of the corresponding behavioral reactions. On the basis of experienced affects, special affective complexes are formed that can be triggered, without sufficient awareness of the causes that caused the reaction, in the event of a collision even with individual elements of the situation that provoked the affect.
AFFECT
affect; Affekt) - an emotional reaction characterized by physical manifestations and a disorder of thinking (see also complex and feeling); used as a synonym for emotion.
The affective feeling is strong enough to cause nervous excitement and other obvious psychomotor disturbances. Unlike feelings that can be controlled, affect arises against the will of a person and is suppressed with great difficulty. Affect is a constant sign that the complex has become active.
“Affects usually arise when the adaptive possibilities are the smallest, and at the same time affects reveal the cause of adaptive weakness, namely a certain degree of inferiority and the presence of a lower level of personality. At this low level, together with his uncontrollable or almost uncontrollable emotions, a person is especially incapable of moral judgment" (CW 9ii, par. 15. A, par. 15).
AFFECT
characterized by a long lasting desire to damage or destroy a hated object. Analysts often confuse hatred with ANGER, despite the fact that the latter is a transitory, not a lasting emotion, which can also be felt towards someone who is loved.
According to McDougall (1908), hate is a FEELING and anger is a simple, primal EMOTION. According to Freud (1915), hatred is a response to threats directed at the ego, but in recent theoretical work he considered it as a manifestation of the DEATH INSTINCT. Analysts who have been influenced by these latest ideas tend to see LOVE and hate as opposites and understand the psyche as a battlefield for these two opposing causes.
AFFECT
affect) General term for feelings and EMOTIONS. There is no generally accepted psychoanalytic theory of affects, however, there are DISCHARGE AFFECTS that accompany the manifestation of attraction, and VOLTAGE AFFECTS that accompany the restraint of attraction. It is believed that affects are attached to ideas, and not vice versa. The difference between the concepts of "affect" and "emotion" is that the affect is considered so inextricably linked with ideas, and emotion - as an intrinsically valuable, independent experience. See Glover E. (1939), Brierley (1951), Rapaport (1953).
AFFECT
lat. affectus - emotional excitement, passion) - a short-term, rapidly flowing state of strong emotional arousal that occurs as a result of frustration or some other reason that strongly affects the psyche, usually associated with the dissatisfaction of very important human needs.
AFFECTS
Complex psycho-physiological states, including subjective experiences, as well as cognitive and physiological components. There are various signs by which feelings, emotions and affects are distinguished. Feelings are basic, subjectively experienced states that can be blocked from consciousness; emotions are outwardly observable manifestations of feelings; the concept of affect refers to all related phenomena, many of which are unconscious. However, these terms are often used interchangeably, referring to the entire spectrum, from elementary to complex and cognitively differentiated mental states. Relatively stable and prolonged affective manifestations, caused and maintained by unconscious fantasies, are called mood.
In modern usage, affects are spoken of at three conceptual levels, referring this concept 1) to clinical manifestations of feelings, primarily associated with the spectrum of experiences of pleasure / displeasure; 2) to accompanying neurobiological phenomena, including hormonal, secretory, autonomic and/or somatic; 3) to metapsychological concepts associated with ideas about psychic energy, instinctive drives and their discharge, signal affects without drive discharge, the Self and its structure, structural conflict, object relations, the psychology of the Self and the superordinate organizing system.
The subjective-sensory components of affects always have the quality of pleasant or unpleasant (with the exception of feelings associated with alienation and isolation). Thus, affective states almost always have the properties of motivation. The cognitive components of affects include the ideas and fantasies that accompany the onset of any affective state. Being specific to each individual, such ideas and fantasies are concentrated around topics that are directly related to the motivational side of the affective state. Anxiety, for example, is activated by the perception of threat, and the accompanying cognitions are organized around this theme, although their specific content depends on the experiences and fantasies of the individual in situations of perception of danger, starting from childhood.
The physiological components of affect are mediated both by the autonomic nervous system (redness, sweating, tearfulness, increased peristalsis, increased heart rate, and various other physiological reactions) and by regulatory functions (changing body position, facial expressions and pantomimics, speech tone, etc.) Factors that determine the intensity and the composition of the physiological components of specific affective states have not been elucidated.
From a developmental point of view, affects arise from genetically determined response patterns. It is believed that nine such patterns (surprise, interest, joy, distress, anger, fear, shame, contempt and disgust) are universal, obvious and easily identified in the first year of life, although such a statement is not disputed. The primary biological response soon becomes associated with memory traces, whereby familiar perceptual patterns mobilize an appropriate affective response that anticipates what the child expects based on associations. Since these associations often include libidinal and aggressive objects and are experienced as something related to the person himself, as a rule, affects are closely associated with representatives of the self and objects, as well as fantasies caused by drives. The latter led to Freud's assertion that affects are derivatives of drives. At present, however, affects are seen as structures of the self, which may be completely unrelated to drives and conflicts.
Affects perform an important adaptive function, preparing the individual for an appropriate reaction to external or internal events, for communication of the subject's internal states with the states of other people and causing them to react necessary for him. The nature of sensory states is determined by the perceptions associated with direct stimulation and its intrapsychic representation (evaluated, integrated, and consistent with past experience). These perceptions are assessed simultaneously in many directions, depending on whether the stimuli evoke feelings of danger, injury, security, pleasure, well-being, self-respect, instinctual satisfaction, self-control, functional pleasure, guilt, shame, or a combination of these. Derivatives of affects can cause painful sensations and associations or signal danger; You can cope with them with the help of various protective actions.
The lack of an adequate and definite theory of affects has led to the emergence of competing psychoanalytic views; thus, questions are discussed about the existence of an unconscious affect or preoedipal guilt, about the importance of direct observation of development, about whether certain affects (for example, depression) are diagnostic categories or a combination of symptoms. Opposing views are expressed as to whether the appearance of certain affects corresponds to a certain period of development, or which periods of development (for example, oedipal or preoedipal) give rise to specific affective diseases or groups of symptoms.
AFFECT
strong and relatively short-term neuropsychic excitement - an emotional state associated with a sharp change in important life circumstances for the subject. Accompanied by pronounced motor manifestations and changes in the functions of internal organs, loss of volitional control and violent expression of emotional experiences. It arises in response to an event that has already occurred and, as it were, is shifted to its end. It is based on an experienced state of internal conflict generated by contradictions between inclinations, aspirations and desires, or contradictions between the requirements made to a person (also to himself) and the possibilities to fulfill them.
The affect develops in critical conditions when the subject is unable to find an adequate way out of dangerous, most often unexpected situations. Possessing the properties of a dominant, it slows down mental processes not related to it and imposes a certain stereotypical way of "emergency" resolution of the situation (stupor, flight, aggression), which has developed in the course of evolution and is therefore justified only in typical conditions. Another important regulatory function of affect is in the formation of specific experience - affective traces of "affective complexes" - formed on the basis of experienced affects: they can be triggered without sufficient awareness of the reasons that caused the reaction - when faced with individual elements of the situation that gave rise to the affect, and warn of its possible repetition.
The state of affect is characterized by a narrowing of consciousness, in which attention is completely absorbed by the circumstances that gave rise to the affect and the actions imposed on them. Disturbances of consciousness can lead to an inability to subsequently recall individual episodes of the event that caused the affect, and in the case of an exceptionally strong affect, they can end in loss of consciousness and complete amnesia. Since affect limits the possibility of arbitrary regulation of a command to the limit, recommendations for overcoming it in pedagogical and psychotherapeutic practice are aimed at preventing affect by avoiding situations that give rise to it, performing distracting actions, presenting its undesirable consequences, etc. Resistance to involvement in a state of affect depends on the level of development of moral personality motivation.
AFFECT
short-term, rapidly flowing, positively or negatively colored emotional psychogenic reaction. Distinguish:
Pathological affect: a psychotic state with pronounced narrowing of consciousness and ideational-motor excitation, after the resolution of which its amnesia is observed. Usually, in a state of pathological affect, aggressive actions are performed, but there are cases of auto-aggressive actions. It is possible to carry out impulsive suicidal actions immediately after the resolution of the pathological affect;
Physiological affect: a non-psychotic state without disturbances of consciousness, manifested by emotional outbursts (in most cases, an anxiety-depressive radical). As an affective release, patients are more likely to engage in suicidal rather than aggressive actions (see Impulsive Suicidal Behavior).
AFFECT
from lat. affectus - emotional excitement, passion) - a strong and relatively short-term emotional experience, accompanied by pronounced motor and visceral manifestations (see Emoji, ii). A. develop in critical conditions with the inability of the subject to find an adequate way out of dangerous, most often unexpected, situations. Possessing the properties of a dominant, A. inhibits mental processes not related to it and imposes one or another stereotypical method of “emergency” resolution of the situation (for example, flight, aggression), which has developed in biological evolution and therefore justifies itself only in typical biological conditions. Dr. an important regulatory function of A. is the formation of a specific experience - the so-called. affective traces (affective complexes) that are actualized when they collide with individual elements of the situation that gave rise to A. and warn of its possible repetition.
In a person, A. can be caused not only by factors affecting his physical existence and associated with his biological needs and instincts, but also by a violation of his social relations, for example. injustice, insult. Affective traces that traumatize a person under certain conditions can be completely repressed from consciousness. Sometimes A. arise as a result of repetition. situations that cause one or another negative. condition. In such cases, the so-called. accumulation of A., as a result of which it can be discharged in violent, uncontrollable behavior (affective explosion) and in the absence of exceptional circumstances. In connection with the ability of A. to accumulate, various methods for their elimination, "sewerage" were proposed for educational and psychotherapeutic purposes.
Addition: B. Spinoza and English. philosophers (eg, F. Bacon, D. Hume, E. Burke) understood A. any human emotions, feelings, and even desires. L. S. Vygotsky used this term just as widely in posing the problem of the unity of intelligence and intellect. Wed The effect of inadequacy.
I. Kant has the term "A." is used in a narrower sense, close to that accepted in modern psychology (and psychiatry). Kant also pointed to an essential feature of A. - a decrease in reasonable (volitional) control of behavior, which should not be confused with loss of consciousness. S. L. Rubinshtein adds: “In the state of A. a person “loses his head.” Therefore, in an affective action, conscious control in choosing an action can be violated.” By virtue of these properties, A., or "strong emotional agitation" (in the words of the criminal code), is regarded as an extenuating circumstance.
The following was also noted. subjective difference between A. and emotions (in the narrow sense): A. arise suddenly and fleetingly (we say: “I was seized with anger”, but “I was delighted”) (A. N. Leontiev), i.e. A., as it were imposed, sent on us, take us by surprise, while the source of emotion is localized in our Self.
In psychiatry, physiological and pathological A. are distinguished. Physiological A. - this is what psychologists call A. Nem. psychiatrist R. Kraft-Ebing introduced the term "pathological A.", which is used to designate affective states with impaired consciousness (dreaming, stupefaction, narrowing). In the diagnosis of pathological A., the presence of complete or partial amnesia for events in the phase of an affective explosion and the presence of depletion of mental and physical forces after an affective explosion are taken into account. (B. M.)
AFFECT
lat. affectus - emotional excitement, passion). Short-term feeling, rapidly flowing, positively or negatively colored. Most often occurs psychogenic. Violent vegetative manifestations are characteristic. There are A. sthenic (for example, anger, joy) and asthenic (longing, fear, anxiety). In the absence of the possibility of a normal response, the formation of congestive A.
A. CONFUSION [Korsakov S.S., 1893] is a symptom of emotional pathology, originally described in depressive forms of acute confusion and, in general, in psychoses that occur with disorders of consciousness. Manifested in a painful misunderstanding by patients of their condition. According to modern concepts, it corresponds to the concept of a symptom of confusion [Belenkaya N.Ya., 1966, 1970; Pozdnyakova S.P., 1972, 1976].
A.V. Snezhnevsky characterizes confusion as an acute disorder of mental activity, accompanied either by a violation of self-consciousness, or by a feeling of incomprehensible, inexplicable change in the surrounding world. The affect of bewilderment is included in the structure of various psychotic syndromes - delusional, disturbed consciousness - and within the framework of certain psychoses acquires specific features. So, in schizophrenia, the symptom of confusion reflects the inability to understand the changes concerning painful experiences turned "inward", while in alcoholic paranoids it has the character of emotional reactions with bewilderment, inquiring facial expressions, resulting from an acute change, the unusualness of what is happening around, that is, when turning experiences "outside".
A. UNDETERMINATE [Frumkin Ya.P., Zavilyansky I.Ya., 1970] - a change in affect typical of schizophrenia and observed at an early stage of the disease. This is the initial stage of the forthcoming apathetic changes. Feelings of patients are amorphous, devoid of a certain framework. The affect is as if washed away, pale.
It indicates a low intensity of the psychotic process, a tendency to its slow course, and in terms of prognosis, it is an unfavorable sign, indicating a low success of active therapy.
A. PATHOLOGICAL - occurs when exposed to acute psychogenia and is short-lived. At the same time, there is a narrowing of consciousness, focused mainly on traumatic experiences. It ends with an affective discharge, during which aggressive and destructive actions are frequent. In a state of affective discharge, the disturbance of consciousness is profound, it is accompanied by disorientation, incoherent speech, and excessive gesticulation. Exit to a state of indifference, indifference, general relaxation, followed by deep sleep. After A. pathological, congrade amnesia is observed.
Thus, A. pathological, related to exceptional conditions, is an acute psychosis and necessarily proceeds with a violation of consciousness: with its separation from reality, its distorted perception and limitation of consciousness by a narrow circle of ideas directly related to a personally significant stimulus.
A. PHYSIOLOGICAL - proceeds without disturbances of consciousness, automatisms in the motor-volitional sphere and amnesia. Physiological A. develops less acutely, in its course it is impossible to trace a clear change in the phases inherent in pathological A. - preparatory, explosion and initial. Syn. A. physiological: strong emotional excitement. The main differential diagnostic criterion for A. pathological and A. physiological is the clouding of consciousness inherent in the first [Serbsky V.P., 1912].
A. PHYSIOLOGICAL ON PATHOLOGICAL SOIL [Serbsky V.P., 1912] is noted in "persons predisposed, with a slightly stable nervous system, in very impressionable, nervous", a transitional form between physiological and pathological A. Analysis is important not only of clinical manifestations, but also pathological soil A. (psychopathy, chronic alcoholism). With A.f.n.p.p. consciousness is not quite clear, but the degree of his disorder is insignificant. The discrepancy between the strength of A. and the cause that caused it is characteristic. Quite often And. can reach considerable intensity and lead to a crime.
AFFECT
affect) - (in psychiatry): 1. Emotional manifestation of mental tone and mood in a person. 2. An emotional state accompanied by specific ideas. - Affective.
Affect
Word formation. Comes from lat. affectus - emotional excitement, passion.
Specificity. Occurs in critical conditions with the inability to find a way out of dangerous and unexpected situations. Associated with pronounced motor and organic manifestations. The affect leads to the inhibition of all other mental processes and the implementation of the corresponding behavioral reactions. On the basis of experienced affects, special affective complexes are formed that can be triggered, without sufficient awareness of the causes that caused the reaction, in the event of a collision even with individual elements of the situation that provoked the affect.
AFFECT
A general term often used interchangeably with some other terms, such as emotion, emotionality, feeling, mood, etc. Historically, the term has had various, more specific meanings. According to one point of view, affect was considered one of the three "mental functions" along with knowledge and will. Later, E. Titchner used this term to denote a characteristic of a feeling that expresses the degree of "pleasantness - unpleasantness." Modern usage of the term is, however, very loose, although the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual - IV recommends a distinction between affect and mood, the latter term being used rather to refer to a general and prolonged emotional state. Wed with effect.
AFFECT (from lat. affectum - emotional excitement, passion)
a strong and relatively short-term emotional state associated with a sharp change in important life circumstances for the subject and accompanied by pronounced motor manifestations and changes in the functions of internal organs. At the heart of the affect lies the state of internal conflict experienced by a person, generated either by contradictions between his inclinations, aspirations, desires, or by contradictions between the requirements that are presented to a person and the ability to fulfill these requirements.
AFFECT
from lat. afectus - emotional excitement) - rapidly and violently flowing, the most powerful emotion of an explosive nature, uncontrolled by consciousness and capable of taking the form of a pathological affect. A. is an attack of strong and short-term emotional arousal associated with a sharp change in life circumstances that are important for the subject. At the heart of A. lies the state of intrapersonal conflict experienced by a person, generated either by contradictions between his inclinations, aspirations, desires, or the requirements that are presented to a person, and the ability to fulfill these requirements.
Affect
from lat. affectus - emotional excitement, passion), a relatively short-term, strong and violently flowing emotional experience (rage, horror, despair, etc.), which occurs, as a rule, in critical conditions with the inability to find a way out of dangerous and unexpected situations and which is associated with pronounced motor and organic manifestations. Affects lead to the inhibition of all other mental processes and the implementation of the corresponding behavioral reactions. On the basis of experienced affects, special affective complexes are formed that can be triggered without sufficient awareness of the reasons that caused the reaction, even when faced with individual elements of the situation that provoked the affect.
AFFECT
from lat. affectus - emotional excitement, experience, passion] - a relatively short-term strong and rapidly flowing emotion (rage, horror, despair, etc.), arising in response to the influence of internal or external factors; accompanied by pronounced motor manifestations, screaming, crying, changes in the functions of internal organs (see Types of affects)
What is affect? June 8th, 2015
THE EXPRESSION "STATE OF AFFECT" HAS PASSED FROM CRIMINAL AND PSYCHIATRIC PRACTICE INTO OUR DAILY LIFE. But how does an affect differ from an ordinary emotion, and in what cases does it turn into a pathology? To use this term correctly, let us recall its origin and the history of its interpretations in psychology and philosophy.
EMOTION - A PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL PROCESS reflecting an unconscious personal assessment of the current situation. Positive changes cause us joy, trouble - sadness or irritation, someone else's aggression - anger or fear. And affect is a very intense emotional state that does not last long, but causes pronounced somatic manifestations - changes in pulse and respiration, spasm of peripheral blood vessels, increased sweating, impaired coordination of movements. The name "affect" itself comes from the Latin word affectus, meaning "mental excitement, passion."
Here are the types of influence...
Depending on the type of impact, affects are divided into sthenic (from the ancient Greek σθένος - strength) and asthenic (from ἀσθένεια - impotence). Stenic affects - anger, delight - encourage active activity, and contribute to the mobilization of forces. And asthenic affects - melancholy, horror, impotence - relax or paralyze any activity. If the situations that cause affect are periodically repeated, the tension gradually accumulates, which can subsequently lead to a violent "explosion". This state is called cumulative affect (not to be confused with the cumulative effect, which is also associated with the accumulation process, but concerns not only emotions).
But the states of affect of a person who, out of anger, slammed his fist on the table, and a person who killed someone in a fit of rage, and now does not remember how it happened, are very different.
Experts believe that affect is an extreme defensive reaction of the body, "a chance of last resort." Affect "covers" when a person is not able to find a way out of a dangerous or traumatic situation. There is an instant mobilization of forces, a spasm of peripheral blood vessels (a person feels chills, cold sweat appears, hands go numb), the pulse rate increases. All this is similar to the symptoms of severe stress, but with the addition of "narrowing of consciousness", inhibition of extraneous intellectual activity. “As a rule, then people remember well the indignation, anger towards someone that they experienced at that moment. But they do not remember very well what happened around them. They are completely focused on the object of their rage,” explains Yulia Berseneva (forensic psychiatric expert). There is a sharp increase in motor activity, sometimes against the will of a person; the hero of the story is unable to assess either the adequacy of his actions or the possible consequences. You seem to be rushing somewhere in the dark with a small flashlight, and the beam picks out only a small part of the environment.
The first option is the so-called physiological affect, which is natural for homo sapiens and is not accompanied by a loss of self-control. Usually we hit the table because we know it will help us blow off steam - but under certain conditions we might refrain from doing so. Much more dangerous is the pathological affect caused by a disruption in the normal functioning of the psyche - this is a short-term (up to 30–40 minutes) psychotic state, during which consciousness is clouded, a person begins to behave on "autopilot" and can no longer stop. This state stops as suddenly as it began, and after that the subject feels a sharp exhaustion, falls into prostration and often does not remember what happened to him during the period of "falling out of reality." Everything that was done in a state of passion, the patient often perceives afterwards as being done by someone else. A good film illustration of the pathological affect is the Hulk: a green monster occurs when a hero has a certain degree of psychological stress, which can be tracked by physical indicators.
Legally proven pathological affect- this is a mitigating circumstance: according to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the maximum punishment for the murder of a person committed in such a state does not exceed three years in prison. But the physiological affect is unlikely to pity the judge - it is taken into account only in the "cumulative" case, when a person endured the victim's illegal or immoral behavior for a long time and finally lost his temper.
The statistics speak bluntly: the majority of those convicted under Article 107 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Murder in the heat of passion”) are not professional robbers at all. 72% of them were characterized positively at the place of study and work, 12% have higher education, 65% - secondary or specialized secondary.
More statistics: over 90% of crimes in the heat of passion occur "on the basis of family and domestic conflicts." It is understandable. It happens, of course, that an unexpected state of emergency ends with a massacre. But most often it is a resentment that has accumulated over the years. “Affect is the last drop in an overflowing cup. It is always a response to the actions of another person. This state cannot suddenly overcome you somewhere in a deserted forest, ”Julia explains. According to her, some serious incident does not necessarily lead to an explosion. There are frequent cases when a husband beats his wife every day, she endures, endures, and one day, at evening tea, a casually thrown word acts as a trigger - and then the woman grabs an ax.
Even the ancient Greeks were interested in the state of passion - for example, Plato considered it one of the innate mental principles, including also lust and reason. Three parts of the human soul correspond to three estates in an ideal state: if a person’s character was dominated by a tendency to affects, he should have devoted himself to military affairs, the dominant mind formed the estate of rulers-philosophers, and desires - the estate of peasants, artisans and merchants. One way or another, the affect was considered lower in comparison with the mind, the beginning, clouding the consciousness and therefore dangerous. It was assumed that passions should be fought with the help of willpower and arguments of reason. The Christian concept of working on oneself also involved control over emotions.
A shift in the perception of this state occurred when Descartes and then Spinoza began to talk about the role played by the relationship of soul and body during times of strong emotions. Descartes in his "Passion of the Soul" suggested that intense emotional states reflect both mental and physiological processes, and Spinoza went even further, concluding that it is impossible to influence intense emotions with the help of pure reason - affect can only be destroyed by a stronger one. affect. “The true knowledge of good and evil, inasmuch as it is true, cannot prevent any affect; it is capable of this only in so far as it is considered as an affect, ”the philosopher believed. True, in Spinoza the term “affect” has a broader meaning and includes any changes in the body (including the mind) that have arisen as a result of interaction with the outside world.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the concept of affect underwent an even more serious reappraisal. Scientists of the French sociological school Emile Durkheim and Marcel Mauss found that the influence of society on the perception of the individual directly depends on the strength of affectation. And the French anthropologist Lucien Levy-Bruhl found that the evoking of affect was of great importance in ancient rituals, such as initiation and sacrifice. He believed that primitive thinking was very different from modern logical thinking in that emotions played a much greater role in it.
Freud was also interested in affects - he concluded that repressed affects cause mental illness: they remain in the subconscious of a person and continue to vaguely disturb him. Sometimes they are expressed in physical symptoms - paralysis, pain and other involuntary sensations.
[ The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy is made -Affect - what is it, what kind of state is it? This term came from psychiatric and criminal practice into everyday everyday life. How does it differ from ordinary emotions when it becomes a dangerous pathology?
Emotions are different
Emotion is a mental and physiological process that reflects a personal unconscious assessment of a situation or phenomenon. Positive changes cause joy, while unpleasant ones cause irritation, sadness, fear or anger. Of the latter, the affect consists. What is a state? This is an intense state that lasts a relatively short time, but has vivid psychosomatic manifestations - a change in breathing and pulse, spasms of peripheral blood vessels, increased sweating, impaired movement.
What are the types of affect?
What is affect, we found out. Now let's analyze its classification. The main types of affect are divided depending on their impact on asthenic (horror, melancholy - everything that paralyzes activity) and sthenic (delight, anger - mobilization and motivation for action). If the situations that caused this condition are repeated often, then the tension accumulates. view. The most dangerous is pathological, which is caused by a violation of the adequate functioning of the psychophysiological system of a person. which lasts from thirty minutes to an hour, during which a person behaves "on autopilot" and is not aware of his actions. After the termination of the state, the individual usually does not remember his actions, feels exhaustion and prostration. That is why, if a person committed a murder in a state of passion, this is extenuating circumstances, since the accused did not control his actions and was not aware of them.
Legal aspects
It is necessary to make certain clarifications on the issue of the legal justification of this kind of altered states. In legal practice, only a pathological proven affect is a mitigating circumstance. If a person has committed pathological, then he will receive a maximum of three years in prison. All other types are taken into account only mediocre.
History of study
"Affect" - what does this word mean? It comes from Latin. affectus means "passion", "excitement". Even the Greeks knew this state. Plato called it as an innate spiritual principle. If a person showed a tendency to affect, then he should have taken up military affairs. The Christian view considered these states as manifestations of the influence of dark forces, obsession. It was not until the time of Descartes and Spinoza that the role of the relationship between emotions, mind, and body began to be understood. Emotional affect came to the attention of scientists in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Researchers such as Mauss and Durkheim found that society influences the individual through affectation. Psychological affect was also of interest to Freud, who concluded that the suppression of such states leads to serious mental disorders and diseases, pathologies. They can then be expressed in such physical symptoms as pain, paralysis, and so on.
Action example
Let's look at an example of how affect works. All people have anxious moods that are replaced by fear. This feeling is already more definite, and it usually has a known cause. When fear reaches its climax, terror sets in. And this is such a psycho-emotional state, which is characterized by unusual strength and violent expression in external actions, physiological internal processes, often uncontrolled. If a person is annoyed, then this feeling can develop into anger, and then into rage. It is stormy feelings, unconscious and uncontrollable, that are called affects in psychological and criminal practice.
Characteristics from the point of view of the central nervous system
The central nervous system in a state of passion experiences violent irritation due to strong emotional experiences. The concept of affect is characterized by the maximum strength of inhibitory and excitatory processes in the area of the cerebral cortex, by the increased activity of the subcortical centers. Excitation in the centers of the brain, which are associated with emotions, is accompanied by inhibition of the areas of the cortex, which are responsible for analyzing what is happening and reporting on their actions. The subcortical centers, released during the action of affect from the control of the cerebral cortex, are responsible for the external vivid manifestation of this state. Affect has its own peculiarities. The course of this emotional experience is limited in time, as this process is excessively intense. That is why he quickly becomes obsolete. There are three main stages.
Stage one: initial
In some cases, the state of affect comes suddenly, like a kind of flash or explosion, and then instantly reaches its maximum intensity. In other cases, the intensity of the experience increases gradually. Excitation and inhibition in different centers of the cerebral cortex and subcortical centers become more and more active. As a result, a person loses his self-control more and more.
Stage two: central
During this stage, abrupt changes and disturbances in the adequate activity of the body are observed. Excitation in the subcortical centers reaches its highest strength, inhibition covers all the most important centers of the cortex and depresses their functions. Thanks to this, many nervous processes that are associated with upbringing and morality break up. Speech and thinking are disturbed, attention is reduced, control over actions is lost. There is a disorder of fine motor skills. The functions of the endocrine glands, the autonomic nervous system are enhanced. Breathing and blood circulation are disturbed. At this stage, the affect has not one culminating peak, but several: the period of active flow changes with a period of attenuation, and then the cycle repeats several times.
Stage three: final
During this stage, the inner and altered states fade away. The vital activity of the whole organism falls sharply: the enormous waste of nerve forces exhausts it. A person experiences apathy, drowsiness, fatigue.
Characteristics of emotional experiences
Affect is an unconscious state to a lesser or greater extent, depending on its intensity. This is expressed in reduced control over actions. During an affect, a person is not able to control his actions, he is engulfed in emotions that he is almost unaware of. However, absolute lack of accountability is observed only during especially strong states, when the most important parts of the brain are completely inhibited. It is this condition that is in criminal practice. In most cases, especially in the initial, growing stage, control is maintained, but in a truncated and partial form. A strong affect captures the whole personality. Sharp and strong changes are observed in the course of activity of consciousness. The volume of processed information is significantly reduced to a small number of perceptions and ideas. Many facts and phenomena are perceived in a completely different way, there is a change in personal attitudes. The very personality of a person is changing, moral and ethical ideas are being shed. In these situations, they say that a person has changed before our eyes.
