Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
affect modulable
English translation:
affective mobility
Added to glossary by
medeast
Jun 13, 2012 14:13
11 yrs ago
6 viewers *
French term
affect modulable
French to English
Medical
Psychology
I am translating some chart notes concerning a 25-year-old patient diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and who attempted suicide. At one point, the physician writes "Affect modulable, congruent et réactif". Could "modulable" be "flexible" here? Thanks for your help.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 3 +2 | affective mobility |
Anne Schulz
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| 4 +1 | approprie |
Michele Lemaire
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| 4 | flexibility of affect |
B D Finch
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| 3 -1 | labile affect |
Altrum
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Proposed translations
+2
2 hrs
Selected
affective mobility
affective mobility/responsiveness/modulation intact (in other words, the patient is able to react appropriately to emotional stimuli)
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
: This one makes sense : adaptability, appropriateness.//Agree with you on the use of "approriate" for "congruent".
1 hr
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Thank you, Nikki. (IMO, 'appropriate' could rather be used for the 'congruent' part of the phrase.)
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| agree |
John Holland
: I agree, also. From Wikipedia at http://ur1.ca/9hyn1 : "Mobility refers to the extent to which affect changes during the interview: the affect may be described as mobile, constricted, fixed, immobile or labile."
7 hrs
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Thank you, John.
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks for your help! Much appreciated."
-1
14 mins
labile affect
Peer comment(s):
| disagree |
Michele Lemaire
: Labile veut dire 'instable, qui change tout le temps' et est en contradiction avec les autres qualificatifs, 'congruent' et 'reactif'
7 mins
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I thought "congruence" (as in mood congruence) referred to the correspondence between mood and behaviour. So this would be appropriate for someone who has just attempted suicide. This might also help: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_dysregulation
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+1
19 mins
Michele Lemaire
Native in French
&
English
Specializes in field
Precision, Honesty, Reliability (quoted)
Native in: French 
, English
Works in: English to French, French to English
approprie
Contact affectif approprié, coherent et reactif. Cette personne bien qu'ayant une personalite borderline, n'est pas dans un etat psychotique.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
philgoddard
: Appropriate - I think moduler means "adjust to the circumstances".
2 hrs
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33 mins
flexibility of affect
books.google.co.uk/books?isbn=0470484055...Eric Y. Drogin, Frank M. Dattilio, Robert L. Sadoff - 2011 - Law - 824 pages
"She also shows flexibility of affect by laughing appropriately and responding to various stimuli in an appropriate manner. She indicates that she had been taking ..."
discovery.ucl.ac.uk/8650/1/8650.pdf
by RP Hobson - 2005
"... flexibility of affect, from 0 either little or no ability to shift flexibly among affective states, with watchfulness, fearfulness, or “cut- off” affect or abrupt swings from one ..."
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Note added at 37 mins (2012-06-13 14:51:35 GMT)
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I think this grammatical form is used more in English, rather than "flexible affect" because the flexibility is seen more as an active attribute of the person.
"She also shows flexibility of affect by laughing appropriately and responding to various stimuli in an appropriate manner. She indicates that she had been taking ..."
discovery.ucl.ac.uk/8650/1/8650.pdf
by RP Hobson - 2005
"... flexibility of affect, from 0 either little or no ability to shift flexibly among affective states, with watchfulness, fearfulness, or “cut- off” affect or abrupt swings from one ..."
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 37 mins (2012-06-13 14:51:35 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
I think this grammatical form is used more in English, rather than "flexible affect" because the flexibility is seen more as an active attribute of the person.
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
: "modularity of affect" exists as a notion in the field of cognitive science, see my discussion posts above.//Modularity of mind, modularity of affect has a particular sense in cognitive psycho. See the discussion posts.
48 mins
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I think you might find "modularity of affect" has more to do with computing systems and programs used in cognitive science.//i.e. not appropriate for this context.
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Reference comments
2 hrs
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Native in English
Specializes in field
Psychologist, Court-certified legal
Native in: English 
Works in: French to English
Related KudoZ points
:
46
Reference:
modularity in cognitive science
« There is the notion that the brain contains a certain number of modules, each having a special way of operating such that it is dedicated only to a particular task. This is known as modularity (Fodor, 1985). Modules are described as ‘ecapsulated’, meaning that they can act with autonomy from processing elsewhere in the CNS. According to the modularity view, both types of processes, encapsulated modules and general-purpose central processing, exist and serve complementary roles in adptive cognition and behavior”.
Toates, F., Biological Psychology, Pearson Education, Lippincot Wliimans & Wilkins, 2007, Second Edition, p.491
“Modularity : the notion that certain cognitive processes (or regions in the brain) are restricted in the type of information they process”.
Ward, J., The Student’s GIode to Cognitive Neuroscience, Psychology Press, Taylor & Francis Group, 2006, p.14
By way of information about the notion of modularity in cognitive psychology, a notion initiated by Fodor and not necessarily that well supported. In relation to emotion in this context, it may be the sense being attributed to "affect" here.
The doctor may alos be using the perfectly ordinary meaning of modular, changeable, variable. Choice of term could lead to a positive or negative slant being given so a neutral term may be best.
Toates, F., Biological Psychology, Pearson Education, Lippincot Wliimans & Wilkins, 2007, Second Edition, p.491
“Modularity : the notion that certain cognitive processes (or regions in the brain) are restricted in the type of information they process”.
Ward, J., The Student’s GIode to Cognitive Neuroscience, Psychology Press, Taylor & Francis Group, 2006, p.14
By way of information about the notion of modularity in cognitive psychology, a notion initiated by Fodor and not necessarily that well supported. In relation to emotion in this context, it may be the sense being attributed to "affect" here.
The doctor may alos be using the perfectly ordinary meaning of modular, changeable, variable. Choice of term could lead to a positive or negative slant being given so a neutral term may be best.
Discussion
Explanation below
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_status_examination
"Affect may be described as appropriate or inappropriate to the current situation, and as congruent or incongruent with their thought content. For example, someone who shows a bland affect when describing a very distressing experience would be described as showing incongruent affect, which might suggest schizophrenia."
http://www.u-picardie.fr/servlet/com.univ.utils.LectureFichi...
http://128.220.160.198/login?auth=0&type=summary&url=/journa...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modularity_of_mind
Were this mine, I'd be tempted to ask the client. Modulable could mean anything from flexible, adaptable to variable or changeable. Is this to be given a neutral tone? Modulable? Or is there a negative or positive slant? Answers to these sorts of questions would help you decide which term may be appropriate.