Affectif

Affectif is a French adjective meaning related to affect or emotion; in English-language contexts it is often rendered as affective. The noun form affectivité denotes affectivity, or the emotional life and emotional attitudes of an individual or group. In everyday French, affectif can describe moods, feelings, or emotional states, as in expressions like état affectif or lien affectif.

Etymology and distinction: affectif derives from the noun affect (emotional state) with the suffix -if. It is distinct from affecting in the sense of artificial or contrived, as in affecté, which in French can mean exaggerated or pretentious. The distinction between affectif and affectifité is important in academic usage, where the former relates to emotion and the latter to affectation or affectation in behavior.

In psychology and social sciences: the term is used to designate emotional processes and states. It appears in discussions of affective development, affective disorders, or affective experiences in social relationships. The expression liaisons affectives or liens affectifs refers to emotional bonds between people, while l’affectivité concerns the broader capacity to feel and express emotions.

In education and pedagogy: the affective domain is a key concept in some educational theories, describing non-cognitive aspects of learning such as attitudes, motivation, values, appreciation, and emotional engagement. In taxonomies that separate learning domains, the affective domain complements the cognitive and psychomotor domains, guiding objectives related to feelings, values, and dispositions.

In linguistics and cultural analysis: affectif can describe language or discourse with emotional coloring, and the term affectif or registre affectif is used to refer to the emotional tone conveyed by words and expressions.

See also: affect, affectivity, affective domain, émotion.