otions, and moods.
Affect is a generic term that covers a broad range of feelings people experience,
including both emotions and moods. 4
Emotions are intense feelings directed at
someone or something. 5
Moods are less intense feelings than emotions and often
(though not always) arise without a specific event acting as a stimulus. 6
Most experts believe emotions are more fleeting than moods. 7 For example,
if someone is rude to you, you’ll feel angry. That intense feeling probably comes
and goes fairly quickly, maybe even in a matter of seconds. When you’re in a
bad mood, though, you can feel bad for several hours.
Emotions are reactions to a person (seeing a friend at work may make you
feel glad) or an event (dealing with a rude client may make you feel frustrated).
You show your emotions when you’re “happy about something, angry at someone,
afraid of something.” 8 Moods, in contrast, aren’t usually directed at a
person or an event. But emotions can turn into moods when you lose focus on
the event or object that started the feeling. And, by the same token, good or
bad moods can make you more emotional in response to an event. So when a
colleague criticizes how you spoke to a client, you might show emotion (anger)