Affectivity

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˌæfɛkˈtɪvɪti/

Definitions

1. The ability to experience and express a variety of emotions constitutes a psychological characteristic that influences how individuals interact emotionally with others
2. This term describes the emotional responsiveness that shapes interpersonal connections and the manner in which feelings are conveyed and regulated
3. This concept refers to the capacity for emotional engagement and the ways in which emotions influence human relationships and communication patterns

Etymology: Affectivity is a plain compound: the adjective "affective" with the suffix "-ity" added. The suffix has a long history of its own. It comes from Latin "-itas", which turned adjectives into nouns of quality or state, then passed through Old French as "-ite" and into Middle English in that form before becoming the "-ity" used today. The adjective it grows from concerns the feelings, so the noun names the quality of responding to them. Adding "-ity" turns a description of emotional matters into a measurable trait, which is why the word appears most often in psychology and research writing.

Synonyms: emotionality, sentimentality