Am J Psychiatry 1975; 132:1215-1217
Copyright © 1975 by American Psychiatric Association
Affect, mood, emotion, and feeling: semantic considerations
R Ketal
There is considerable variation in the use of words that describe emotional
experience and expression. The author illustrates this semantic problem by
reviewing the use and definitions of the terms "affect," "mood," "emotion,"
and "feeling" in some classical and contemporary works of psychiatry and
psychology. He concludes that these words refer to distinct pscychological
phenomena and suggests that they be used clearly and carefully to
facilitate communication about emotions.
