Mood and affect: which statement is true?

• A. Mood is the patient’s subjective report; affect is the clinician’s observed emotional expression, which should generally be congruent with mood.
• B. Mood is the clinician's observation; affect is the patient's internal report.
• C. Mood is external expression; affect is memory function.
• D. Mood and affect are interchangeable terms.

Answer: (A)

Mood is the patient’s internal, sustained emotional state that they report, while affect is the clinician’s observation of the patient’s outward emotional expression—facial expression, voice, and gestures. These two are expected to be congruent most of the time, meaning what the patient says about how they feel generally lines up with what the clinician observes in their mood and emotional presentation. This statement accurately reflects those definitions and the typical relationship between mood and affect. The other descriptions misattribute who reports mood, confuse affect with memory, or claim the terms are interchangeable.