[1] Affect differs from pathos as described by Aristotle as one of the modes of proof[2] and pathos as described by Jasinski as an emotional appeal[3] because it is “the response we have to things before we label that response with feelings or emotions.”[4] In further exploring this term, scholars recognized affect’s rhetorical role in literature,[5] photography,[6][7] marketing[8] and memory.
Du Bois used the structure of his work, The Souls of Black Folk, to affect his audience into feeling shame.
[10] In 2016, Brunner and Deluca proposed the term affective winds to describe “the force of images that moves people to engage and interact by exploring the affective potency of visual arguments.”[11] Affective winds were part of the rhetorical persuasiveness of images shared through social media.
In a different sense, Harold described how the Target Corporation’s advertising used aura and affect to democratize the appearance of some products.
[12] Affect has also been identified as a conduit through which rhetorical memories can be internalized.