Affect, which is primarily a verb, means to have an influence, to act on the emotions. It might occur as a noun, in that case, affect refers to a feeling or an emotion which is manifested by facial expressions or body language. Influence, on the other hand, means a power which affects people, a thing or events. It also refers to the power or affect based on prestige, wealth, ability or position. In addition, it can also relate to a determining factor which is believed to affect individual tendencies. As a verb, it means to have an effect upon something or somebody. The main difference between them is found in the connotations: while influence has two, affect has only one. Influence relates to process rather than state. The second connotation relates to emotive response.
