A CONCEPTUAL ANALYSIS OF THE AFFECTS

Abstract

It is suggested that affects are defined conjunctively by physiological events, cognitive structures, and behavioral programs linked to specific classes of incentives. Further, distinctions must be made between affect states that are and those that are not detected by consciousness and, in addition, between affect states in the subjective frame of the experiencing agent contrasted with the objective frame of an observer. It is also likely that several different neural circuits participate in the family of affect states called fear or anxiety. Finally, it is argued that scholars should use different constructs for states that represent (1) acute temporary changes in behavior and physiology to an incentive event, (2) chronic states that are the products of experience; and (3) temperamentally based vulnerabilities to specific affective states. Support for this last argument comes from research on the temperamental categories of inhibited and uninhibited children. The children in these two categories maintained their respective profiles over time and differed from each other in reactivity in limbic sites. It is suggested that inhibited children are at special risk for the development of panic disorder and agoraphobia.