Affect Redux

Thinking About Feeling

I recently learned something about affect from a counselor I met at a networking event.  Just to be clear, we were using the word “affect” to describe the signs of feeling in a person’s face (or body) rather than about the feeling itself.

The counselor (let’s call her Jane) told me that a human face is never in a neutral position.  It is always somewhat animated and showing some sort of energy in reaction to what is going on outside or inside the head.

I had never thought about this.  I usually assume that a face shows no feeling when I can’t tell what someone is thinking.  But when Jane showed me pictures of clinically depressed people, I understood what it means for a face to be entirely without affect.

The pictures showed people with utterly blank faces.  It’s what I would imagine a zombie would look like (although I’ve not seen the films) - not from medication, because none were on medication when the pictures were taken.  These people didn’t look sad.  They just didn’t look present.

We Can’t Think Without Feeling

The experience reinforced for me that human beings can’t think without feeling — something.  They can’t really exist without emotion without seeming seriously off kilter.  We might not know WHAT we’re feeling, but it shows on our face.  And even if others can’t interpret those signs accurately, the fact of those signs is part of what makes us recognize each other as functioning human beings.

So if we can’t exist without feeling, and we often don’t recognize THAT we’re feeling, how can we diagnose the relationship between emotion and thought?  How much more would we understand about our own opinions and convictions if we could untangle this knot a little better?

Looking forward to seeing what Benchmark7 can teach us about this at the Fringe this summer.