Part of Project Lirec

Affect is a term in psychology used to describe the experience of feeling or emotion. It's a less troublesome word than emotion, which can be used to describe both a feeling and it's cause. Affect is the instinctual reaction to a stimulation.

Affective state is the current context of these reactions - the state of an agent's emotions.

As well as emotions affective state can also describe moods, emotional disorders, attitudes and personality traits.