Affect and Personality

Affect refers to the experience of feeling or emotion—how we typically feel about things, such as happiness, sadness, or anger. It reflects our emotional state at a given moment or over time. Personality, on the other hand, encompasses the consistent traits and patterns that influence how we think, feel, and behave across different situations. While affect can change from moment to moment, personality traits tend to remain stable, shaping how we respond emotionally and behaviorally throughout our lives. Together, affect and personality help explain individual differences in emotional experiences and behavior.