Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Reduced affect display
open-in-new
<p>Reduced affect display, sometimes referred to as emotional blunting or emotional numbing, is a condition of reduced <a href="/facts/Emotion/kvAr22wa">emotional</a> reactivity in an individual. It manifests as a failure to <a href="/facts/Affect_display/bR8qWFFk">express feelings</a> either verbally or nonverbally, especially when talking about issues that would normally be expected to engage emotions. In this condition, expressive gestures are rare and there is little animation in <a href="/facts/Facial_expression/polSzUsf">facial expression</a> or vocal inflection. Additionally, reduced affect can be symptomatic of <a href="/facts/Autism/6MTwMNoJ">autism</a>, <a href="/facts/Schizophrenia/FMP4lQ57">schizophrenia</a>, <a href="/facts/Depression_(mood)/GDNFWm1L">depression</a>, <a href="/facts/Posttraumatic_stress_disorder/9etKu7bX">post-traumatic stress disorder</a>, <a href="/facts/Depersonalization-derealization_disorder/VHk6cPvR">depersonalization-derealization disorder</a>, <a href="/facts/Schizoid_personality_disorder/A9QXVE1s">schizoid personality disorder</a> or <a href="/facts/Brain_damage/70hWCEhs">brain damage</a>. It may also be a side effect of certain medications (e.g., antipsychotics and <a href="/facts/Antidepressants/N62ND3Fa">antidepressants</a>). </p><p>However, reduced affect should be distinguished from <a href="/facts/Apathy/1Vp2zGnn">apathy</a> and <a href="/facts/Anhedonia/SMPHrCon">anhedonia</a>, which explicitly refer to a lack of emotional sensation. </p><p>The <a href="/facts/ICD-11/AAItcoCH">ICD-11</a> identifies several types of affect disturbances, particularly focusing on variations in the reduction of emotional expression. <i>Constricted affect</i> refers to a noticeable limitation in the range and intensity of expressed emotions, though it is less pronounced than blunted affect. <i>Blunted affect</i>, in turn, describes a more severe reduction in emotional expressiveness, though not as extreme as <i>flat affect</i>, which is characterised by an almost complete absence of any observable emotional expression. </p>