Affects and Affect Consciousness

Initial Experiences flth the

Assessment of Affect Integration

JON T. MONSEN, PH.D., CAND. PSYCHOL.

DAG ERIK EILERTSEN, M.Sc.

TROND MELGARD, CAND. PSYCHO L -

PAL ODEGARD, CAND. PSYCHOL.

Affect consciousness (AC) was operational- Early and global inquiries into the emo-
ized as degrees of awareness, tolerance, non- tions were focused on areas such as inten-
verbal xpression, and conceptual expression sity of affect and qualitative differentiation
between emotions. As improved theories of
of nine specific affects. A semutructured inter-
affect have emerged, however, inquiries of this
view (ACI) and separate scales were devel-
kind have been replaced by signal models.
oped to assess these aspects of affect
Theories have developed that view affects as
integration. Their psychometric properties
sensitive markers conveying meaningful infor-
were preliminarily explored by having 20Jbr- mation about situations and interpersonal re-
mer psychiatric outpatients complete the inter- lationships. Darwin’s claim’ that certain affects
view. Concurrent validity was assessed by are innate responses with an evolutionary his-
using DSM-HI-R Axis land H diagnoses, tory are supported by Ekman and Friesen,2
the Health-Sickness Rating Scale, SCL-90- whose findings showed that the facial expres-
R, and several indexes from the Minnesota sions of joy, anger, fear, surprise, contempt,
Multi)hasic Personality Inventory. Satifac- and sadness have a universal meaning. The
tory interrater reliability and high levels of in- expressive patterns of these six affects are also
highly specific. The combination of particular
ternal consistency supported the construct
expressive motor behaviors and universality
validity of the measure. Results suggest the
of meaning suggests a phylogenetic develop-
most meaningful use of this instrument is in
ment in humans toward a capacity to interpret
measuring specific affect and overallAC.
basic emotional expressions.
Clinically, the ACI /wsprovided highly spe- A number of theorists have stressed the
cific and relevant qualitative data for use in biologically adaptive nature of affects.Emo-
planning psychotherapeutic interventions. tions do not have uniform effects on individu-
(The Journal of Psychotherapy Practice als, however. The perception and qualitative
and Research 1996; 5:238-249)

Received March 28,1995; revisedJuly 21,1995; accepted

August 1, 1995. From the Department of Psychology,
University of Oslo, Norway. Address correspondence to
Dr. Monsen, Department of Psychology, University of
Oslo, P.O. Box 1039 Blindern, 0317 Oslo, Norway.
Copyright 0 1996 American Psychiatric Press, Inc.

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MONSEN ETAL. 239

experience of affects are never totally inde- Affect Consciousness

pendent of cognition. It seems clear that emo-
tional experience is shaped by cognitive A main difficulty with evolutionary and
appraisals of situations, individual schemas, or expressive theories of emotions’5 is that they
fixed systems of expectations based on earlier tend to take emotion itself for granted and
life experience. assume that emotions can be experienced
The individual’s style in coping with affec- without self-awareness of the mechanisms that
tive experience and expressions has been cen- create them.” Even when we assume that hu-
tral to psychodynamic theory. The theoretical man beings are biologically endowed with
status of affects has changed, however; for- certain basic affects, the adaptive functions of
merly they were viewed of a pathogenic
as part these seem to depend largely on the individ-
conflict disturbing the individual’s perception ual’s consciously experiencing and reacting to
of self and others, but in recent models they particular affects that are related to specific
are seen as central organizers of self-experi- experiences and situations. From a clinical
ence. perspective, the use of affects as signals and
In earlier articles9”0 we suggested that the conveyers of meaningful information seems to
triggering of affects may create either a sense depend on the extent to which individuals can
of cohesion or a sense of disruption. We further allow emotions to affect them experientially
suggested that affect consciousness (AC) plays and the level of differentiation with which they
an essential role in the organization of self-ex- can express themselves in interpersonal rela-
perience. The aim of the present study is to tionships.
explore the construct validity of affect con- In this study the concept of affect con-
sciousness and provide a theoretical rationale sciousness was used to describe and systema-
for the AC concept. We will also provide a tize the relationship between the activation of
description of the semistructured interview specific affects and the individual’s capacity to
instrument (Affect Consciousness Instrument; consciously perceive, reflect on, and express
ACI) made for the assessment of affect con- affect AC was defined and operationalized as
sciousness and present some preliminary find- degrees of awareness and tolerance (experi-
ings on the psychometric properties of this encing ability) and nonverbal and conceptual
instrument expression (expressiveness) of the nine spe-
cific affects referred to in Figure 1. Separate
CONCEPTS scales (Affect Consciousness Scales; ACSs)
were developed to assess these four aspects of
Feeling, Affect, and Emotion affect integration.

Many attempts have been made to define Experiencing Ability

affect and to differentiate feeling, affect, and
emotion. Because these concepts have been The capacity
to use affects as self-signals
used both differently and interchangeably in seems to depend on the specific ego functions
different contexts, we choose to follow of awareness and tolerance of affect The
Stein’s” suggestions, making little effort to dis- awareness function is by nature focusing and
tinguish among as awareness
“feelings of af- selective. It is defined and operationalized as
fect, affect as a more comprehensive term, the manner in which an individual typically
including all thinkable components belonging attends to specffic affects as they become acti-
to this domain, and emotion as the complex vated. The kind and number of awareness
mixture of affect and our previous experience signals and the habitual attitude of a person
with a particular affect, as a rather strongly felt during this process are the main elements of
feeling” (p. xii). individual variation. The awareness signals

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240 AFFECT CONSCIOUSNESS

that the person uses to identify specific affects A high level of awareness and tolerance
may be on a concrete psychomotor or arousal of affects will generally provide a good basis
level of experience or on an imaginatory, sym- for the capacity to transform signal aspects of
bolic level. During this attending process, the affect experiences into concepts, knowledge,
individual’s habitual attitude may range from and insight Through active reflection, the per-
open attempts to notice and recognize the son may realize in what contexts the emotional
activation of affects to active neglect or avoid- responses belong. Because the information in-
ance. herent in affects is different from symbolic
The tolerance function is defined as the content in language, this affective experience
extent to which individuals can consciously and the capacity to use affects as seWsignals
allow themselves to be moved or influenced can be especially valuable in correcting con-
by affects, both physically and mentally. These scious and unconscious images, schemas, in-
are by no means passive processes. In our trojects, or preestablished models of the self
view, the ability to contain and sustain the and others.
psychomotor activity as well as the mood con-
tent inherent in specific affect experiences is a Expressiveness
prerequisite for being able to decode the infor-
mation aspects of distinct affects. Without this Expression of affects is commonly re-
tolerance, the affect will not penetrate in such garded at two levels of communi-
as occurring
a way that the emotional content can be inte- cation, one involving the enactment of mimic
grated, and the individual will lose or evade a gestures, body posture, respiration, and tone
personal experience. of voice, and the other being conceptual and

FIGURE 1. Degree of affect consciousness: scoring scheme.

EXPERIENCING ABILiTY EXPRESSiVENESS

CONCEP-
SPECIFIC AFFECTS AWARENESS TOLERANCE EM(YIIONAL
TUAL

1. INTERE/
12345 12345 12345 12345
EXCiTEMENT

2.ENJOYMENT/JOY 123 45 1 2345 12345 12345

3.FEAR/PANIC 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

4.ANGER/RAGE 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

5.HUMILLATION/SHAME 1 2 3 45 1 23 45 1 23 45 1 23 45

6.SADNESS/DESPAIR 12345 12345 12345 12345

7.ENVY/JEA.LOUSY 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

8.GUIIT/REMORSE 12345 12345 12345 12345

9. TENDERNESS/
12345 12345 12345 12345
DEVOTION

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MONSEN ETAL. 241

linguistic. We will refer to these levels as, re- systems difficult, and 3) vagueness in the mo-
spectively, emotional and conceptual modes tives for actions.3’4 A low degree of affect con-
ofexpression. Emotional expressiveness is de- sciousness would also influence self-boundary
fined as the degree to which individuals show formation and the capacity to form mutual
their affect experiences in a differentiated and relationships; if severe, it would contribute to
nuanced way in the appropriate interpersonal a loss of contact with a basic sense of self.7
situations. Conceptual expressiveness is de- Enduring inhibitions of the immediate action
fined as the degree to which individuals are tendencies generated by activation of affects
able to use clear, nuanced, and differentiated will generally hinder the individual from real-
language to describetheir affect experience. For izing ambitions and goals.9
both of these modes of expression, the inten- A high degree of affect consciousness
sity of affect expression is deliberately left out, would accordingly be associated with gener-
not because it is regarded as unimportant, but ally sound levels of mental health, including
because in our opinion it is practically impos- the capacity to experience intimacy, the ca-
sible to operationalize. pacity to regulate social contacts, and motiva-
Differentiated affect expression is consid- tion for realizing personal ambitions and
ered to be a prerequisite for experiencing in- goals.
tersubjectivity or shared reality.7 The more
differentiated and articulated the ways in Assessing Affect Consciousness
which individuals represent themselves inter-
personally, the more differentiated the re- To our knowledge there is no instrument
sponses that they will evoke from their designed to express these four dimensions of
surroundings, and this in turn will facilitate affect integration (awareness, tolerance, and
further development nonverbal and verbal expression). There are
several reasons for developing such an instru-
The Importance of Affect Consciousness ment If reliable and valid, it will allow us to
study the role of affect integration in various
According to theories of psychodynamic psychological disorders at different levels of
self psychology (for example, those of Kohut,6 severity. It may also allow us to specify pro-
Stern,7 or Stolorow et al.8), affect conscious- cesses of affective change in psychotherapy.
ness, as defined above, is an essential structural Because such an instrument would be closely
aspect of the self. The level of affect conscious- related to forms of treatment that focus on
ness may regulate the degree to which specific integration of affect, it might also allow in-
affects will rupture or sustain the continuity of creased precision in studies of outcome.
self-experience. To the extent that affect states The Affect Consciousness Instrument was
are not integrated into the organization of developed as part of an outpatient psychother-
self-experience, defenses against them be- apy project treating patients with personality
come necessary to preserve the integrity of a disorders and psychoses.’2”3 For clinical pur-
weak self-structure and as a way of maintain- poses, this instrument provided relevant infor-
ing compensatory self-esteem. mation for treatment planning at an early
A generally low degree of affect con- stage. The instrument was also an excellent
sciousness would imply several distortions of tool for generating clinical hypotheses for use
the adaptive functions of affects in the organi- in reconstructive interpretations. The struc-
zation of personality functioning. These distor- ture of the interview and the question phras-
tions would include 1) a tendency toward ing, designed to explore ego functions related
acting out rather than tolerating the affect to nine specific affects, seemed to engage the
state, 2) deficient signal function that would interviewees and help them focus their self-de-
make changes in fixed belief and expectation scriptions.

JOURNAL OF PSYCHOTHERAPY PRACTICE AND RESEARCH

242 AFFECT CONSCIOUSNESS

METHODS months prior to observation at T3, and only 3

patients had used psychoactive medications
Procedures during that same period.

The assessment of affect consciousness Instruments

was carried out as part of a prospective follow-
up study at an outpatient psychotherapy unit The English translation of the instructions
specializing in treating patients with personal- for the Ad, the four ACSs, and the scoring
ity disorders and psychoses. The initial scheme is available from the first author.
criterion for inclusion in the study was a long- The ACI consists of a semistructured in-
standing, serious form of psychological disor- terview concerning the nine specffic affects
der within the range of personality disorders listed in Figure 1. The interview was con-
or psychoses. Exclusion criteria were chronic ducted according to the principles of partici-
forms of schizophrenia, severe alcohol or drug pant observation,’4 meaning that the
dependency, and mental retardation. The first interviewer attempted to establish dialogue
collection of data (T,) took place during the around one standardized question/statement
test treatment period, the second collection for each of the nine affects.After a short intro-
(T2) at termination of therapy, and the third duction, the interviewer started with the first
collection (T3) 5 years after termination of of the nine questions (A1-A9): “What can
treatment We have earlier reported statisti- make you feel interested or excited?” The
cally significant, substantial changes during interviewee then usually pictured a scene or
the treatment period (T,-T2), with patterns of identified an object, situation, or theme asso-
change remaining highly stable during the ciated with the affect in question. For each
follow-up period (T2-T3).’2”3 The present re- specific affect,the following aspects of the four
port is based largely on data from the last ego functions were explored:
observation (T3). The main reason for this is
that we had improved methodology at T3: 1. How do the interviewees feel, sense, be-
there was greater independence of raters con- come aware of, recognize, or notice
cerning both the assessment of diagnoses when they are experiencing a particular
(DSM-III-R) and affect consciousness. The affect [A1-A91?
observations at T3 also included two new in- 2. To what extent do they typically allow
struments (Health-Sickness Rating Scale and themselves to be moved by the affect;
Symptom Checklist-90-Revised) that facili- that is, to carry or contain the psycho-
tated comparisons on severity of levels of motor movements and the mood con-
pathology. tent inherent in the affect? Do they try
to read, decode, or reflect on the mood
Subjects content as a means of gaining interper-
sonal knowledge?
From the original sample of 25 patients, 3. How do they typically express them-
21 participated at T3 follow-up. One of these selves nonverbally in different kinds of
refused to participate in the ACI. The majority object relationships?
of patients in the sample (67%) were livingwith 4. How do they typically articulate their af-
their families (spouse, cohabitant, and/or chil- fect experiences in different interper-
dren). More than half (62%) were employed at sonal settings?
least part time. Four of the 21 patients still had
an Axis I DSM-III-R diagnosis, and 6 still had The interview proceeds following the
an Axis II disorder. Fifteen had had no contact structure of Figure 1, but the interviewer of
with psychiatric health services during the 6 course adapts the questions and clarifies or

VOLUME NUMBER
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MONSEN ETAL. 243

confirms comments according to the inter- within occasions (T,-T3; 3 matrices), within
viewee’s answers, statements, and attitudes. To ego functions (4 matrices), and within occa-
obtain scorable answers during exploration of sions x ego functions (12 matrices) and ana-
the four ego functions, the interviewer uses lyzed by PCA. Stability was analyzed by
certain standardized ways of phrasing ques- orthogonal rotation of loading matrices to a
tions. Some examples follow. common target matrix by the method pro-
Typical questions about awareness signals posed by Cliff.’6 In this method, the observed
and attending attitudes are: “How do you loading matrix is rotated to match the target
know that you are/feel [name of affect, Al- matrix without changing the angles between
A9]?” Occasionally a contrasting remark is component vectors. An idealized two-dimen-
added, such as: “and not... [name of another sional loading matrix with one dimension con-
affect]?” “When you are [A1-A9], how do you sisting of only pleasant affects and one
sense [recognize, notice] it?” dimension consisting of only unpleasant af-
To elaborate tolerance: “When you are fects was chosen as a target matrix. The corre-
feeling [A1-A9], how does this feeling affect spondences between matrices were analyzed
you?” Or: “What do you do then?” Or: “What by visual inspection and by using Tucker’s
do you do about this feeling or what can this coefficient of congruence.
feeling do to you?” Or: “How do you deal with Construct validity was difficult to assess
[react to] [A1-A9]?” directly because we have no established crite-
To elaborate emotional expression: rion measure in the assessment of AC. Accord-
“What do you feel about showing others that ing to our theoretical assumptions, however,
you are [A1-A9]?” “How do you show others AC should in general be positively correlated
that you are [A1-A9], or how can other per- with ego strength, extraversive personality
sons know that you are [A1-A9]?” traits, quality of interpersonal relationships,
To elaborate conceptual expression: and global level of mental health, and itshould
“How do you feel about telling others that you be negatively correlated with severity of pa-
are [A1-A9J?” “When you feel that you are thology, such as neuroticism, introversive and
[A1-A9], can you tell others?” “How do you nonagreeable personality traits, identity diffu-
typically tell others that you are [A1-A9]?” sion, and high levels of general symptoms. As
The interview was videotaped and later for discriminant validity, AC (among adults)
scored according to the four 5-point scales, should be uncorrelated with age, gender, edu-
where 5 stands for the highest possible degree cation, complexity of work, and income.
of affect consciousness (see Figure 1). All scales DSM-III-R Axis I and II diagnoses’7 were
were constructed such that 3 indicates an av- made by two independent interviewers (a
erage level of consciousness. The interviews clinical psychologist and a psychiatrist) on the
were conducted by qualified clinical psycholo- basis of audiotaped SCID interviews.’8 Reli-
gists unacquainted with these patients, and ability for the SCID-I diagnoses was perfect
they were scored by two independent raters for all categories except anxiety disorders,
who were clinical psychologists trained in this where there was an observed agreement for 20
scoring method. Interrater reliability was as- of 21(20 persons had no diagnoses). On the
sessed by using intraclass correlation coeffi- consensus diagnosis, the one person about
cients’5: ICC(1,1). Internal consistency was whom the interviewers disagreed was given no
assessed by using Cronbach’s alpha coeffi- diagnosis. The weighted kappa value for per-
cient sonality disorders was 0.89 (Millon’s’9 criteria
The dimensionality of the “affect-space” for severity levels: No PD, First,Mid, Severe).
was analyzed by principal component analysis The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality
(PCA) of the 9 x 9 correlation matrix of affects. Inventory (MMPI) was administered as a
These correlation matrices were computed paper-and-pencil test2’’ The scoring was

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244 AFFECT CONSCIOUSNESS

done with the computer program MMPI-PC levels of specfficity: one global score of affect
v. 4.31, Norwegian norms.22 In addition to the consciousness based on all 36 items and com-
clinical scales, the scales on ego strength23 puted as amean score; one specific mean score
(ES), Welsh anxiety (WA) and Welsh repres- for each ofthe integrating ego functions across
sion24 (WR), and the MMPI scales for DSM- the nine affects (awareness, tolerance, emo-
III personality disorders’s were also tional expression, and conceptual expression);
computed. Because Norwegian norms were one mean score for each of the nine specific
not available for ES, WA, WR, and the per- affects; and one score for each ofthe 36 items.
sonality-disorder scales, U.S. norms were The results (Table 1) indicate that subjects
used. Factor analysis in Norwegian samples, can be reliably classffied at all of these levels
based on personality disorder scales (Himle except for the last mentioned. That is, they can
and Havik, unpublished manuscript, 1993), be reliably classffied for overall mean score,
shows two factors: the firstis clearly defined the scores on each of the four ego functions,
as an introversive-extraversive dimension, and the score on each separate affect (A1-A9).
and the second seems to represent “nonagree- ICC calculated separately for each of the 36
able” traits.26 Factor analyses of this sample items ranged from 0.16 to 0.84 (median =

have consistently shown the same patterns 0.59, SD = 0.17.)

across T,, T2, and T3. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were high
The following psychological dimensions on all levels of specfficity, indicating consis-
were derived from the clinical scales: 1) neu- tently high inter-item correlations. With such
rotic discomfort: the mean value of scales 2 high alpha levels, one might ask whether all
(depression), 7 (psychasthenia), and 0 (social items in fact measure the same dimension.
introversion); high score is associated with No evidence for a multidimensional con-
depressive symptoms, high tension, uneasi- cept of AC was found. Some indications did
ness/social anxiety, and low self-esteem; and emerge of a two-dimensional solution, with
2) identity diffusion: the mean value of scales “unpleasant” affects forming one dimension
F (frequency), 6 (paranoia), and 8 (schizophre- and “pleasant” affects forming another, but
nia); high score is associated with confusion, this solution was too unstable across analyses.
suspiciousness, weak self-boundary forma- Although a multidimensional concept of AC
tion, and problems in establishing interper- was not supported in this study, this possibility
sonal relationships.27 should be investigated in studies with a larger
The overall level of psychopathology and number of observations.
mental health was rated on the Health-Sick- As seen in Table 2, affect consciousness at
ness Rating Scale28 (HSRS) by the two raters all levels of specificity consistently showed
who gave the DSM-III-R diagnoses. Reliabil- positive correlations with the four variables
ity was calculated by using ICC. Before scor- measuring resources (ego strength, extraver-
ing this sample, the raters tested their sive personality traits, quality of interpersonal
calibration on a training sample with five other relationships, and global health), and negative
judges. ICC ranged between 0.78 and 0.94. correlations with all variables measuring dif-
ICC in this sample was 0.76. ferent aspects of pathology. Low and insignifi-
Patients’ subjective experience of nervous cant correlations were found with age (-0.01),
symptoms was also measured by using the gender (0.24), education (0.18), complexity of
Symptom Checklist-90-Revised.29 work (-0.02), and income (0.25), indicating
good discriminant validity.
RESULTS However, the strength of the associations
varied somewhat for different variables and
The construction of this instrument sug- different levels of AC specfficity. At the overall
gests that scores may be used on four different level of affect consciousness, the highest posi-

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MONSEN ETAL. 245

tive correlation was with the quality of inter- the lowest and was the only ego function that
personal relationships and global level of men- was not significantly correlated with these
tal health (HSRS). Moderate positive traits. Among the specific affects, interest/ex-
correlations were found with extraversive per- citement (Al), enjoyment/joy (A2), and ten-
sonality traits and ego strength. The highest derness/devotion (A9), which generally are
negative correlations were with neurotic dis- considered pleasant affects, were the only ones
comfort, identity diffusion, and introversive that correlated significantly with the repres-
personality traits. The lowest negative correla- sion scores. These same affects showed the
tions were found with repression and nona- highest negative correlations with the mea-
greeable personality traits. These last two were sures of neurotic discomfort, introversiveness,
the only ones that did not reach a level of and severity of personality disorder. They also
statistical significance. showed the highest positive correlations with
Differences within the four specffic ego quality of interpersonal relationships. The
functions (awareness, tolerance, emotional ex- only affects that correlated at a level of statis-
pression, and conceptual expression) were tical significance with nonagreeable personal-
generally small. However,
awareness tended ity traits were humiliation/shame (A5) and
to show the highest correlations (positive as sadness/despair (A6).
well as negative), and emotional expression
systematically showed the lowest Interest- DISCUSSION

ingly, tolerance of affects showed the highest

association with extraversive personality This preliminary study explored the construct
traits, whereas emotional expression showed validity of a new instrument designed for as-

TABLE!. Affect consciousness: Interscorer reliability (ICC) and Internal consistency on three different
levels of specificity (N= 20)

CronbacWs
Variables ICC Alpha

Specffic affectsa
1. Interest/excitement 0.72 0.86
2. Enjoyment/joy 0.78 0.84
3. Fear/panic 0.76 0.80
4. Anger/rage 0.66 0.86
5. Humiliation/shame 0.74 0.81
6. Sadness/despair 0.87 0.94
7. Envy/jealousy 0.71 0.86
8. Guilt/remorse 0.79 0.87
9. Tenderness/devotion 0.82 0.94
Specffic ego functionsb
Awareness 0.88 0.92
Tolerance 0.87 0.92
Emotional expression 0.85 0.86
Conceptual expression 0.93 0.90
Overall mean scoreC
Global affect consciousness 0.94 0.97
.aBa.wd on mean scores across the four ego functions (awareness, tolerance, emotional and conceptual expression)
for each specific affect.
bBd on mean scores across all the nine affects.
CBcJ on mean scores across all the 36 items.

JOURNAL OF PSYCHOTHERAPY PRACTICE AND RESEARCH

246 AFFECT CONSCIOUSNESS

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VOLUME 5.NUMBER 3. SUMMER 1996

MONSEN ETAL. 247

sessment ofaffect consciousness. We used van- as neurotic discomfort, identity diffusion, gen-
ous types of evidence to explore validity, in- eral symptoms, severity of personality disor-
cluding interrater reliability, internal der, and introversive personality traits, these
consistency, factor analysis, and test-criterion findings also consistently support the con-
correlations. Results showed satisfactory inter- struct of AC.
validity
rater reliability at three levels of specificity: The correlations between the four specific
mean score for overall affect consciousness, ego functions and the twelve indices of psy-
mean scores for each of the four integrating chopathology and mental health closely re-
ego functions (awareness, tolerance, emo- sembled the correlational pattern for the
tional expression, and conceptual expression), overall level ofAC (Table 2). A differentiation
and mean scores for each of the nine separate in terms of specific ego functions therefore
affects. The high consistency among judges seems to add a minimum of new information.
indicates that they are using the same “no- The homogeneity of the instrument may indi-
mological network,”3#{176}
or that the operational cate that these four ego functions are strongly
definitions of affect consciousness provide a dependent on each other and that they repre-
good enough basis for reliable scoring at these sent four ways of assessing aspects of one
levels of specificity. At the highest level of common phenomenon, integration of affect
specificity,the single-item level (for each of the Among the specific affects, the three
36 different combinations of a specific affect “pleasant” ones, tenderness/devotion (A9), in-
with a specific ego function), the scores terest/excitement (A 1), and enjoyment/joy
showed too much variation and too low a level (A2), showed the highest correlations (positive
of interrater reliability to be used as a reliable or negative) across 5 of the 12 variables tested.
measure. Quite unexpectedly, these three affects were
Internal consistency was high on alllevels also the only ones correlating (negatively) at a
of specificity, indicating the one-dimensional level of statistical significance with the repres-
structure of the instrument Analysis of dimen- sion score (WR) on MMPI. Integration of
sionality showed mainly a one-dimensional these specific affects is theoretically consid-
structure, with only a slight indication of two ered central to a person’s capacity to achieve
dimensions. The homogeneity of this instru- positive emotional intimacy in interpersonal
ment supports the argument that people may relationships. This finding may therefore sug-
be fruitfully described in terms of a general- gest that integration of these affects generally
ized level of affect consciousness. is a somewhat stronger predictor of mental
Analysis of concurrent validity revealed a health than is integration of “unpleasant” or
high degree of convergence with the expected dysphoric affects.
relationships among the variables tested. The The clearest exception to this pattern was
correlational pattern showed statisticallysig- that the “nonagreeable” personality traitswere
nificant and high to moderate positive corre- negatively correlated with humiliation/shame
lations between the overall level of AC and (AS) and sadness/despair (A6). This finding
resource measures such as quality of interper- supports the idea that integration of these spe-
sonal relationships, global mental health, ego cific affects is especially influential in the regu-
strength, and extroversive personality traits. lation of antisocial behavior and the tendency
These findings support the theoretical assump- to act out
tion that different degrees of affect conscious- Affect consciousness is a construct that has
ness are associated with corresponding levels a short history with few empirical findings. It
of personal and social adaptation. Together must be interpreted in terms of attributes for
with the statistically significant and high to which there are no clear-cut criteria, which
medium negative correlations with measures may mean that it is fairly easy to indicate its
of maladaptive personality functioning, such presumed properties. According to the theo-

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248 AFFECT CONSCIOUSNESS

ries from which it is deduced, AC constitutes are mainly the function of a global “mental
an essential structural aspect of the self,deter- health” factor. The primary aim of this report,
mining to what degree affects will have an however, is not to clarify the true dimension-
organizing or disrupting effect on individuals’ ality of the AC construct, but to find ways of
capacity to relate to themselves and others. conceptualizing AC that may be valuable in
Findings in this study support this interpreta- clinical settings.
tion. The small size and limited represen-
In clinical practice, the Affect Conscious- tativeness of the sample restrict generaliza-
ness Instrument has so far demonstrated its tions and more substantial interpretations of
usefulness by providing qualitative data that these initial findings. For example, the rela-
are highly specific and relevant for the plan- tionships found here between variables might
ning of psychotherapeutic interventions. The be different in nonpatient populations or
detailed and multifaceted inquiry about differ- might be biased toward specific character
ent experiential qualities of these nine specific types. However, the instrument is now being
affects seems to trigger associations to central used in other clinical settings that will provide
scenes, topics, object relations, and habitual further data and larger samples. We anticipate
attitudes that prove valuable for both patient that future research will deal with questions
and therapist such as standardization of scales, further ex-
The psychometric properties of the instru- ploration of the AC construct, and relation-
ment demonstrated so far make it difficult to ship of the construct to different psychological
interpret at the levels of the single item and the traits.
specific ego function. Psychometrically, the
most meaningful uses of the instrument appear This study was supported byfisndsfrom the Norwe-
to be at the level of each specific affect and as gian Research Counci4 377.91/013, Dikemark
an overall measure of AC. Obviously, one Hospital, and Haldis andJosefAndresen’s Foun-
cannot rule out the possibility that the scores dation.

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