Affect consciousness or mentalization? A comparison of two concepts with regard to affect development and affect regulation

Abstract

Affect consciousness refers to the ability to adequately perceive, reflect upon and express affect. The concept is used in clinical work with adults, but lacks an equivalent for children's experience of affect. This paper examines the developmental prerequisites for affect consciousness, as well as the concept's applicability to work with children. The main focus is on the development of affect regulation throughout the first 6 years of life. Special emphasis is put on the role of attachment and the unfolding of mentalization ability in this development. The role of play as an organizing factor for affective experience is discussed. Observation of play is highlighted as a strong indicator of affect consciousness in children.

Consciousness about own and others’ affects: A study of the validity of a revised version of the Affect Consciousness Interview

“…It might be enough to ask for three or four different affects to capture the general ability to be conscious about affects. It also seems to support the mentalization model, where affects are seen as more exchangeable, over the theoretical model behind the concept of affect consciousness that implies that different emotions are independent but still interacting (Mohaupt et al ., 2006). However, the factor analysis presented in this study was based on summary scores (e.g., higher order factor analysis).…”

“…Moreover, they contended that the theoretical model behind the concept of affect consciousness implies that different emotions are independent but still interacting. This is in contrast to the mentalization model, where affects are seen as more exchangeable (Mohaupt et al, 2006). They also maintained that affect consciousness implies a stronger relation to cognition, whereas the concept of mentalization implies that affects are basically beyond cognitive apprehension.…”

“…The relationship between mentalization and Monsen et al . 's (1996) model of affect consciousness has been outlined in more detail by Mohaupt, Holgersen, Binder and Nielsen (2006). They argued that there are great similarities between the concepts, although they differ in some respects.…”

“…With this increased attention to the interpersonal and interactional side of affects, the concept of affect consciousness moves in the direction of some other concepts such as mentalization (Fonagy, 2001;Fonagy & Target, 1998) and relational affective experiences (Fosha, 2000). The relationship between mentalization and Monsen et al's (1996) model of affect consciousness has been outlined in more detail by Mohaupt, Holgersen, Binder and Nielsen (2006). They argued that there are great similarities between the concepts, although they differ in some respects.…”

Affect Consciousness and Adult Attachment

“…The relationship between the concepts of mentalization and affect consciousness (Monsen et al, 1996) has been theoreticcally outlined by Mohaupt, Holgersen, Binder and Nielsen (2006) and Choi-Kain and Gunderson (2008). The latter authors suggest that the concepts of affect consciousness and mentalization partly overlap.…”