Affectivity

Affectivity is the set of experiences that define and delimit emotional life.
of the individual. It is made up of different elements, such as feelings, the
emotions, desires, and passions, among others. Therefore, affectivity represents the
a set of states and emotions of the mind that the individual experiences personally and
subjective, transcending their personality and behavior, especially in their capacity
of communication and which, generally, are distributed between two opposite poles and
extremes.
Term
Emotion: Sudden and sharp feelings triggered by a perception (internal or external) and have
abundant somatic correlation. Ephemeral response
Feeling: More diffuse emotional states, experienced gradually or progressively and that are more
durable without being accompanied by somatic symptoms
Affect: Subjective feeling that accompanies an idea or a mental representation
Humor: The subject's baseline emotional state. Affective tone, especially as it is internally experienced.
individual. Equivalent to mood
Affectivity: It constitutes the total emotional life of the individual.

ELEMENTS OF AFFECTIVITY
The emotion
Sudden and sharp affects that are triggered by a perception (internal or external) and
they have abundant somatic correlation. It is a state of internal affective response
accompanied by somatic symptoms (generally vegetative) that occur from
sudden form as a response to an experience that tends to maintain or abolish the
triggering event.
Therefore, it can be defined as a state of mind produced by impressions of the
feelings, ideas, or memories that are often translated into gestures, attitudes, or others
forms of expression. Fear, anguish, rage or anger are examples of
emotions.
They are intense feelings, short-lived and usually appearing abruptly.
accompanied by physical symptoms (generally from the autonomic nervous system). In the
emotions we can identify psychic, somatic, and behavioral components that
they are related to affection and mood.
An emotion must encompass different aspects, such as the stimulus that the
triggers (real, imaginary, or symbolic), the psychophysiological reaction (e.g., sweating,
diarrhea, dyspnea, polyuria, muscle spasms or changes in blood pressure), the
cognitive component of the subject (based on their beliefs, thoughts, defenses,
etc.) and, finally, the context (e.g., related to toxins or a situation
stressful serious).
Elements or components of an emotion:
Cognitive appraisals of the situation: Perception of a situation as threatening
2. Subjective emotional states: Psychic tension
3. Physiological alterations: Palpitations, sweating, tremors
4. Motivational trends: Desires to escape the situation
5. Expressive behavior: Expression of distress on the face
6. Instrumental behavior: The escape

EMOTIONAL REACTIONS:

For delay-Pichot, emotional behavior evolves according to three successive phases:

1. Immediate Response: of brief duration, corresponds to the emotion itself, example, surprise,
fear-anger.
- The behavior of surprise is a type of identical behavior from one subject to another (in all
people, except for epileptics). Triggered by an unexpected stimulus. Quickly modifies the
body position (neck muscles tense, shoulders lift, blinking, etc.).
- The behavior of FEAR-ANGER tends to prepare the subject for a violent activity, necessary
for its preservation (fleeing or attacking) when it perceives the situation as threatening. It can produce a
paralyzing effect (panic)
- An intense emotional stimulus can produce a SYNCOPE. Preceded by a feeling of weakness.
muscular, sweating, nausea, yawning, darkening of vision. Loss of
knowledge. This set of behavior is linked to the decrease in venous pressure caused by
cerebral anoxia (accumulation of blood in the lower parts of the body).

These 3 entities translate a marked exaltation of affections, an inhibition of higher intellectual functions and
a predominance of automatic and neurovegetative activity. The individual consequently has a partial memory
of the actions taken in this emotional state.

2. SECONDARY RESPONSE

Of variable duration, short, unless it is pathological. It expresses the recovery period to the emotional response.
immediate. It is characterized by feelings of fatigue, apathy, and depression.

CATEGORIES OR COMPONENTS OF EMOTIONS

Escalation of the complexity of the affective scale

1. Background Emotions: they are expressions composed of homeostatic regulatory actions insofar as
they develop. Includes metabolic adjustments associated with internal or external needs. They are the emotions most
Basics that regulate body homeostasis such as temperature level or body hydration.
2. Primary Emotions: they are those that we bring phylogenetically (inherited) with us. It is the most basic.
what we bring as a species. They are - transcultural - and - interspecies - can be conscious or not voluntary. They are
fear, anger, disgust, surprise, sadness, happiness. They are also identifiable in different cultures.
of human beings and in non-human species.
Social Emotions: they are basic but a bit more complex than primary emotions. They are accepted everywhere.
cultures. They are sympathy, disturbance, shame, guilt, pride, envy, gratitude, admiration, indignation and
disdain.
4. Feelings: they are the most complex part of the affective repertoire. They occur in different areas of the brain.
coordinates that map how the body is, what emotions it feels.
 2. The feelings
They constitute the subjective experience of emotion, present a longer duration and do not
they are accompanied by a wide range of vegetative symptoms that occur in the
emotions.
Jaspers refers to feeling as everything that we cannot name otherwise.
manner. Feelings are similar to emotions in that they are affective states.
complex, but they differ from those in that they are stable, lasting, and less intense.
pride, love, jealousy, sympathy, or shame are feelings.

Classification of feelings carried out by Schneider.

The classification proposed by Schneider is as follows:

1. State of feelings:
a. Experienced as close to the body itself (vital feelings)
Pleasant: body freshness, vigor, momentum, feeling of well-being, sensation
diligence, etc.
Unpleasant: fatigue, exhaustion, "bad body", chills, feeling of
laziness, feeling of illness, restlessness, etc.
b. Experienced as less close to the body
Pleasant: joy, good humor, feeling of happiness, jubilation, serenity
joy, satisfaction, confidence, etc.
Desagradables: trsiteza, pena, temor, miedo, malestar, desaliento, desamparo,
nostalgia, desesperanza, desgano, desesperación, horro, vacío, irritación, enfado,
anger, envy, rage, jealousy, etc.
2. Feelings of worth:
of its own value
Affirmatives: strength, pride, superiority, triumph, vanity, rebellion, challenge,
etc.
Negativos: insuficiencia, vergüenza, culpa, arrepentimiento, timidez, etc.
b. Of another's value
Affirmative: love, affection, trust, sympathy, compassion, respect, interest,
approval, gratitude, consideration, admiration, adoration, etc.
aNegativos: odio, rechazo, desconfianza, desprecio, hostilidad, burla, desagrado,
spite, etc.
[Link]
The DSM-IV defines affects as 'a pattern of observable behaviors that
they constitute the expression of feelings (emotion) experienced subjectively.
Therefore, this term refers to the set of feelings.
It consists of the emotional response of the patient in the present moment, as it can be
to be inferred from its global expression, including the quantity and range of behavior
expressive. Affection may or may not be congruent with humor.
Sadness, joy, or irritability are examples of affects in language.
psychopathological. Appropriate affect is the state in which the emotional tone is in
harmony with the idea, the thought or the language that accompanies it.
A broad or complete affection is also described, in which it is adequately expressed.
a full spectrum of emotions.

Affective disorders include different alterations:

Flattened affect Almost absent or nearly absent any signs of emotional expression
Blunted affect Significant reduction in the intensity of emotional expression
Labile affect: Abnormal variability in affect, with repeated, abrupt, and rapid changes in expression.
affective
Restricted affect Reduction of the range and intensity of emotional expression
Inappropriate affect Discrepancy between emotional expression and the patient's speech content or ideas

4. Humor
It can be defined as the subject's baseline emotional state, constituting the
equivalent of the mood.
Mood is the maintained and persistent emotion that is experienced subjectively.
and can be observed by others. The term humor or mood is
refers to a more generalized and persistent emotional state than affects (more
fluctuating). It is a type of psychic function that is established more slowly and progressively than
the emotions that define the sustained tone of feelings that prevail with it
time in a patient.
It can last for hours, weeks, and even months, and it is more stable and persistent than the rest.
of the analyzed affections. The most typical moods are those that appear in the
joy-sadness axis, but also irritability, expansiveness, anger, or anxiety
they are examples of other moods.
Psychopathologically, it is important to differentiate between an emotion and a state of
mood. According to the DSM-IV, mood consists of 'a generalized emotion and
persistent that colors the perception of the world. There are different types of state of
spirit
Differences between an emotion and a mood or humor
Emotion
More abrupt establishment Slow
Duration
Less frequent and apparent
Less extensive
Cognitive elaboration Present Present (especially negative states)
 Physical symptoms Alterations in the vegetative system
Broader (vegetative system, sleep, nutrition, hormonal rhythms, etc.)
Table 46-6 Most Relevant Mood Types

Definition
Depressed Low mood, like sadness
Dysphoric Mood unpleasant state with a predominance of the feeling of discomfort
Elevated mood marked by an exaggerated feeling of well-being, euphoria, or joy.
Eutymic Normal mood
Expansive Absence of control over the expression of one's own feelings with a tendency to
disinhibition
Irritable Easily angered

This set of psychic functions shapes the affectivity or total emotional life of the
individual. It designates the entirety of the life of human feelings according to
its most outstanding characteristics, its intensity, its expressiveness, and its duration. By
thus, it constitutes the set of experiences and events that define life
emotional and influence the rest of the psychic functions. There are other concepts:
desires (represent the awareness of a need, of a lack or a
attraction that is usually accompanied by a feeling that expands them) and
passions (affective movements of longer duration than the
feelings and emotions that monopolize a person's emotional life
driving concrete actions with great determination.
Instincts are the functions of living beings that enable them to act in
appropriate way without resorting to experience or learning. They can
distinguish five types of instincts: nutritional, reproductive, defensive, aggressive
and social organization. Therefore, the most relevant alterations in behaviors
Instinctive refer to feeding, sleep, and behavior regulation.
sexual

Psychopathology of Affectivity