An experience of feeling or emotion is referred to as what term?

• A. Mood
• B. Emotion
• C. Affect
• D. Feeling

Answer: (C)

The main idea here is the broad experience of feeling or emotion captured by the term affect. In psychology, affect is the overall experience of emotion—the way we feel and the outward expression of that feeling. It’s an umbrella concept that covers the subjective experience (how we feel) and how that feeling is shown to others (facial expressions, tone, etc.). Emotions are specific, discrete experiences (like happiness, fear, or anger). A mood is a longer-lasting, diffuse emotional state that colors perception and behavior, not tied to a single event. Feeling refers to the conscious experience of emotion but is often used to describe a specific instance of emotion rather than the entire emotional experience. Because affect encompasses the broad, immediate experience of feeling or emotion and its expression, it is the best fit for this term.