What is the primary difference between affect and mood?

• A. Affect is the emotional tone observed by the interviewer, and mood is the client's self-reported emotional state.
• B. Mood is the emotional tone observed by the interviewer, and affect is the client's self-reported emotional state
• C. They are the same concept
• D. Mood is physiological arousal

Answer: (B)

The key distinction is between internal experience and outward expression. Mood is the client’s internal, sustained emotional state that they report—how they feel over time, such as sad, anxious, or elated. Affect is what the clinician observes in the moment—the outward emotional expression you see in their face, voice, and posture. Affect can be congruent with mood (what they report matches what you observe) or incongruent (they report sadness but their facial expression seems flat or cheerful). This difference is important because it helps clinicians assess how a person is truly feeling versus how they are presenting externally, which can reveal conditions like mood disorders or potential incongruence between experience and expression.

The option that incorrectly assigns mood to observable tone and affect to self-report is inconsistent with how these terms are used in practice. The other options either treat them as the same concept or confuse mood with physiological arousal, which is not accurate.