Blunted affect is the scientific term describing a lack of
emotional reactivity on the part of an individual. The precise boundary between the generally positive personality trait "serious" and the generally pathological "blunted affect" is impossible to describe precisely because it is
culture specific and relies on
subjective values. For example, the
Japanese are often described as "unemotional" (even to the point of "blunted in affect") by Americans, and so the same individual may be considered to display a blunted affect in one culture and be merely "serious" or "unemotional" in another. See
culture-specific syndrome.
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