Affekt

Affekt is a term used in psychology, psychiatry, and musicology, deriving from Latin affectus and used in German to denote emotion or an emotional state.

In psychology and psychiatry, affect denotes the observable expression of an emotion, as opposed to mood, which is a more persistent internal state. Clinicians assess affect to determine its consistency with reported mood and with cognitive and behavioral context. Common descriptors include full affect, restricted or blunted affect, flat affect, and labile or incongruent affect. Disturbances of affect are noted in various disorders, including mood disorders (such as depression and bipolar disorder), schizophrenia spectrum disorders, and certain neurological conditions.

In psychiatry, the term is used alongside emotion and mood; affective adjectives appear in the concept of affective disorders, historically encompassing mood disorders. The German term Affekt remains standard in clinical language there, where it can refer to a current emotional state or, more generally, affectivity in a given moment.

In musicology, the Affekt theory of the Baroque period posited that music should express a single emotional state or affect and guide the listener’s emotional response through tonal choice, rhythm, and melodic design. Composers and theorists sought to embody specific affekte—such as joy, sorrow, anger, or wonder—in a piece.

See also: affect (psychology), mood, flat affect, affective disorders, Baroque music theory.