Affect tolerance: A model of affect-response using catastrophe theory

Affect tolerance can be defined as the ability to respond to a stimulus which would ordinarily be expected to evoke affects by the subjective experiencing of feelings, rather than by an apparent non-reaction response or a discharge pattern of response such as impulsive behavior, somatic dysfunction, or personality disorganization. The purpose of this study is to enhance our understanding of affect tolerance by developing a model of affect-response. The literature suggests that affect tolerance is particularly influenced by three variables—the capacity to fantasize, the state of the inner container, and the capacity to verbalize affect. Examining the response, A, to an affect-evoking stimulus, S, we see that it has five characteristics: multiple states, sudden jumps, inaccessibility, hysteresis and divergence. And since the mental apparatus is not a static system but rather a dynamic system of forces interacting seeking equilibrium, we are naturally led to a consideration of catastrophe theory, a field designed to model discontinuous phenomena particularly in dynamic systems governed by a potential, for a model of affect-response. As an introduction, we examine first a greatly simplified version of the clinical situation using the cusp catastrophe model. Then we consider the richer, more complex butterfly catastrophe model. This model, given by the single formula A 5 = LA 3 + FA 2 + CA + S, where L is the degree of impairment of the capacity to verbalize affect, F is the capacity to fantasize, and C is the degree of impairment of the inner container, effectively models the affect-response phenomenon. It is consistent with clinical data, provides us with a coherent synthesis of disparate clinical material, and appears to have predictive power as well. Some implications for research, psychoanalytic theory and treatment are discussed.