Affect logic

The term affect logic describes a comprehensive theory of the interaction between feeling and thinking.

The term is made up of feeling ( emotional and emotional life ) and thinking ( logic ). The concept of affect logic was first published in book form by the Swiss psychiatrist Luc Ciompi in 1982 and has since been further developed in many publications.

Basics

The starting point of the affect logic is the knowledge that feeling ( affectivity ) and thinking ( cognition or logic ) regularly interact in all psychological performances.

In more detail, affect logic is an integrative theory for the interaction of feeling and thinking, so it tries to combine different psycho-socio-biological theories into a meaningful overall concept of practical and theoretical use.

The logic of affect represents a synthesis of modern neurobiological , psychological , psychoanalytic , sociodynamic and evolutionary theoretical knowledge from a systems theoretical perspective.

Originally, the concept was primarily geared towards psychiatric and psychotherapeutic issues. As a result, it proved to be more general and developed into a meta-theory of affective-cognitive interactions of all kinds.

The concept of affect logic can result in a wide range of possible applications in all areas of everyday life and science, in which affective-cognitive interactions are important, in particular in psychology , psychotherapy and psychiatry , in sociology , which have so far only been used to a small extent . Education , Social Work , Advertising and Politics .

Definitions

In affect logic, affects as well as cognition (thinking) and logic are understood in a broad sense, but at the same time sharply delimited from one another in order to clarify their mutual relationships and interactions.

affect

Overlapping terms such as affect , emotion , feeling or mood are defined inconsistently in the scientific literature. Under “affect” or “affectivity”, for example, some authors understand feeling-like phenomena of all kinds, while others apply the term affect only to very specific subjective modes of experience.

The term affect serves as a generic term for feeling-like phenomena of all kinds, which are soon alternately referred to as affect, emotion, feeling, mood, state of mind, mood and more.

An affect in this sense is a comprehensive psycho-physical state of varying duration, intensity, quality and closeness to consciousness . It is characterized by certain expressive, subjective, physical and neurobiological phenomena and corresponds to a specific bio-energetic state or a directed energy consumption pattern.

So-called basic affects, including curiosity / interest, fear, anger, joy and sadness, are predominantly innate, but culturally modulated. They are evolutionarily linked to vital behaviors such as exploring the environment, fleeing, fighting, eating, socializing, sexuality, coping with losses and so on, and they serve the meaningful adaptation of psyche and body to changing environmental situations.

Relaxation, serenity or indifference are also affects in the defined sense, with different effects on thinking and behavior. Seen in this way, one is always in a certain affect state, and affective-cognitive interactions are omnipresent.

cognition

The term cognition is also used as a collective term for a number of individual functions, including in particular perception , attention , memory and combinatorial thinking .

Cognition in this sense is the ability to grasp differences in perception and to process them mentally (for example, to grasp the difference between white and black, warm and cold, dangerous or harmless, and to establish relationships between such differences - and differences of differences ).

Under the logic of the affect logic is not only the formal (under Aristotelian understanding) logic, but also the so-called everyday logic with the inclusion of different types of affective specific logic.

Logic in this sense is the way in which individual cognitive elements are connected to form a comprehensive whole (a "building of thought", for example a certain theory, worldview , mentality or ideology ).

Feel-think-behavior programs as "building blocks of the psyche"

Simultaneously occurring affects, cognitions and behaviors are linked to one another in the memory and increasingly stabilized through repetitions. These links store essential experiences that are activated again and again in similar situations, that is, to a certain extent, can function as a matrix or “program” for future feeling, thinking and behavior (abbreviated to “FDV programs”).

More comprehensive FDV programs can be reactivated by individual of their components (for example by a certain smell, a feeling or a perception). Certain such FDV programs are innate (for example certain fear or startle reactions), but most of them are acquired through experience and in some cases also modified.

Functionally integrated FDV programs of varying complexity are the actual “building blocks of the psyche”.

Omnipresent affective-cognitive interactions

Affects and cognitions mutually influence each other in all psychological performances: Certain perceptions or thoughts trigger certain feelings, which in turn change the cognitive functions - especially attention , memory and combinatorial thinking.

The logic of affect deals in particular with the effects of basic moods on thinking. Affects affect the speed, form and content of thinking and continuously influence what we prefer to perceive, observe, store, remember or forget, and finally assemble into a larger "building of thought" (or a logic in the defined sense).

Cognitive elements with a similar affective coloring (for example all positive or negative aspects of a certain person, a city or a country) are preferably combined and connected with one another, while opposing aspects are preferably excluded (“suppressed”). Similar affect colorations act like glue or connective tissue on cognitive elements. In his “fractal affect logic” (1997) Ciompi takes up chaos-theoretical considerations: He understands affective moods as chaotic attractors that cast a spell on perception and thinking. Humans cannot be in an affective mood - with this assumption he extends Paul Watzlawick's axiom that humans can not not communicate and includes affects in interpersonal communication.

Example: The role of affects in rational and scientific thinking

Contrary to the prevailing opinion, affective components are also involved in all scientific , mathematical and formal logical thinking. Because logical contradictions and inconsistencies go with unpleasant feelings, consistent solutions contrast with feelings of pleasurable relaxation (so-called. Eureka -Gefühlen) accompanied. Positive feelings pave the way for "rational" ones, ie. H. As low-tension and affect-energetic economic solutions as possible, while negative feelings help to avoid logical discrepancies. As in everyday logic, such emotions increasingly take a back seat through repetition and familiarization, but retain their effects in the form of paths of thought once found. In addition, shared positive feelings associated with the individual elements of the theory hold comprehensive scientific theories together in the same way as any other complex structure of thought.

Practical and theoretical consequences

Overall, the logic of affect leads to the conclusion that open or hidden emotional components determine all of our thinking and behavior to a far greater extent than is commonly assumed. This realization has many practical and theoretical consequences. Appropriate consideration of the thinking-influencing effects of feelings leads to a new understanding of interpersonal, microsocial and macrosocial processes, to new techniques for influencing thinking and behavior through predominantly affect rather than cognition-centered procedures, and to new approaches in the treatment of psychological and social disorders . Body-centered therapies are also an interesting area of application for affect logic.

The implications of the logic of affect are particularly important for communication techniques of all kinds, from the partnership to the international level. Information without affective coloring has no energy, appears boring and leaves you indifferent (it should be noted, however, that serenity and relaxation are also affects in the sense of affect logic!).

Successful communication often depends more on the emotional tone than the content of a message. Information with affect colors that harmonize with one's own affective state of mind is given preference and received, while emotionally unpleasant information is ignored. Communication is favored by a similar and hindered by a very different “affective wavelength” of the communication partners involved.

Skilled speakers , salespeople , politicians , diplomats , psychotherapists , performance artists etc. therefore adapt their (verbal and non-verbal) language specifically to the mood of their audience or first try to create a common emotional atmosphere before they bring their message.

Application examples

The logic of affect is used, for example, in research into political extremism .

The practical application of the concepts of affect logic in the therapy of schizophrenia according to the Soteria principle is also known.

Individual evidence

↑ E. Endert: About the emotional dimension of social processes. The theory of affect logic using the example of right-wing extremism and national socialism research. UKW Verlagsgesellschaft, Konstanz 2006.
↑ L. Ciompi, H. Hoffmann, M. Broccard (eds.): How does Soteria work? An atypical schizophrenia treatment - critically screened. Huber, Bern / Stuttgart 2001.