Key differences: emotion, feeling, mood, and affective state

Feeling as the subjective consequence of emotion

Although they are often used as synonyms, emotion and feeling are distinct concepts. Emotion is the primary, intense, and brief psychophysiological reaction.

Feeling is the subjective and cognitive experience that follows emotion; it is its direct consequence.

It is the emotion filtered through our thoughts, beliefs, and memories. Therefore, feeling is a more lasting and personal mental elaboration of the initial emotion.

Emotional or affective state: long-lasting (love, hate)

Emotional or affective states are even more lasting and stable than feelings. They are characterized by being long-lasting and more permanent.

Concepts such as love, hate, resentment, or devotion are considered affective states because they represent a stable emotional tone that persists over time, influencing multiple thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of a person.

Mood: less intense but longer-lasting (euphoria, dysphoria)

A mood is an underlying affective tone, less intense than an emotion but much longer-lasting. It can last for hours or even days.

A key characteristic is that we are often unaware of the specific cause that originated it; is more diffuse.

Euphoria (an elevated mood) or dysphoria (a low, unwell mood) are clear examples of mood states.

Comparative table: intensity, duration, and origin

To clarify, we can compare these concepts:

• Emotion is of high intensity, short duration, and has a specific origin.
• Feeling is of medium intensity, medium duration, and is an elaboration of the emotion.
• Mood is of low intensity, long duration, and has a diffuse origin.
• An affective state is of variable intensity, very long duration, and is a stable emotional disposition.

Summary

A feeling is the subjective consequence of an emotion. While an emotion is an intense and brief reaction, a sentiment is a more lasting experience, shaped by personal thoughts, beliefs, and memories.

Affective states such as love or hate have an even longer duration. They are stable emotional dispositions that profoundly influence the way you think, feel, and behave over long periods of time.

Mood is less intense but more persistent than emotion. It often has no clear cause and can last for hours or days. The comparison table summarizes these key differences.