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{{Short description|Feeling or type of love}}
{{Redirect|Public Affection|the band formerly known as Public Affection|Live (band)}}
{{Other uses}}

[[File:Affection LCCN2003670229.tif|thumb|right|200px|Two children showing affection]]
{{Emotion}}

''' Affection''' or '''fondness''' is a "[[disposition]] or state of mind or body"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dictionary.com/browse/affection |title=Affection |website=Dictionary.com |access-date=19 November 2017}}</ref> that is often associated with a [[feeling]] or type of [[love]]. It has given rise to a number of branches of [[philosophy]] and [[psychology]] concerning emotion, disease, influence, and state of being.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/emotions-17th18th/LD7Hutcheson.html |title=Francis Hutcheson on the Emotions. Supplement to 17th and 18th Century Theories of Emotions |website=Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |access-date=19 November 2017}}</ref> "Affection" is popularly used to denote a feeling or type of [[love]], amounting to more than goodwill or [[friendship]]. Writers on [[ethics]] generally use the word to refer to distinct states of feeling, both lasting and spasmodic. Some contrast it with ''[[passion (emotion)|passion]]'' as being free from the distinctively sensual element.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=1|wstitle=Affection|volume=1|pages=299–300}}</ref>

Even a very simple demonstration of affection can have a broad variety of emotional reactions, from embarrassment, to disgust, pleasure, and annoyance. It also has a different physical effect on the giver and the receiver.<ref>{{Cite web |title = The Effects of Affection |url = https://researchmatters.asu.edu/stories/effects-affection-960 |website = Research Matters |access-date = 2015-08-30}}</ref>

==Restricted definition==
[[File:Smooches (baby and child kiss).jpg|thumb|right|A young girl kisses a baby on the cheek.]]
More specifically, the word has been restricted to [[emotion]]al states, the object of which is a living thing such as a human or animal. Affection is compared with passion,<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=94G2AgAAQBAJ&q=affection+vs+passion&pg=PA1 |title=Cuba and the Politics of Passion |first=Damián J. |last=Fernández |date=1 January 2010 |publisher=University of Texas Press |access-date=19 November 2017 |via=Google Books |isbn=9780292782020}}</ref> from the Greek "[[pathos]]". As such it appears in the writings of [[France|French]] philosopher [[René Descartes]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/assets/pdfs/descartes1649part2.pdf |title=The Passions of the Soul |author=René Descartes |website=Earlymoderntexts.com |access-date=19 November 2017}}</ref> [[Netherlands|Dutch]] philosopher [[Baruch Spinoza]],<ref>{{cite book |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2015/entries/spinoza-psychological/ |title=Spinoza's Psychological Theory |first=Michael |last=LeBuffe |editor-first=Edward N. |editor-last=Zalta |date=19 November 2017 |website=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University |access-date=19 November 2017}}</ref> and most of the writings of early British ethicists. However, on various grounds (e.g., that it does not involve anxiety or excitement and that it is comparatively inert and compatible with the entire absence of the gratifyingly physical element), it is generally distinguished from passion. In this narrower sense, the word has played a great part in ethical systems, which have spoken of the social or parental ''affections'' as in some sense a part of moral obligations.<ref name="EB1911"/> For a consideration of these and similar problems, which depend ultimately on the degree in which the affections are regarded as voluntary.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/assets/pdfs/sidgwick1874book4.pdf |pages=345–349 |title=Methods of Ethics |website=Earlymoderntexts.com |access-date=19 November 2017}}</ref>

==Expression==
{{Further|Public display of affection}}
Affection can be communicated by looks, words, gestures, or touches. It conveys love and [[social connection]]. The five love languages deeply explains how couples can communicate affections to each other.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Understanding The Five Love Languages And How It Affects Your Relationships |url=https://www.datingreporter.com.ng/2021/02/understanding-the-five-love-languages.html |access-date=2021-02-27 |website=Dating Reporter's Blog |language=en-US |archive-date=2021-04-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410135822/https://www.datingreporter.com.ng/2021/02/understanding-the-five-love-languages.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Affectionate behavior may have evolved from parental nurturing behavior due to its associations with hormonal rewards.<ref>According to [[Communication]] professor Kory Floyd of the [[University of Arizona]].{{full citation needed|date=June 2021}}</ref> Such affection has been shown to influence brain development in infants, especially their biochemical systems and prefrontal development.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gerhardt|first=Sue|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/883460873|title=Why love matters : how affection shapes a baby's brain|date=24 October 2014|isbn=978-1-317-63579-6|oclc=883460873}}</ref>
Expressions of affection can be unwelcome if they pose implied threats to one's well-being. If welcomed, affectionate behavior may be associated with various health benefits. It has been proposed that positive sentiments increase the propensity of people to interact and that familiarity gained through affection increases positive sentiments among them.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.techsociety.com/articles/JMF_Lawtonetal.pdf |author=Leora Lawton |author2=Merril Silverstein |author3=Vern Bengtson |title=Affection, Social Contact, and Geographic Distance between Adult Children and Their Parents |journal=Journal of Marriage and the Family |volume=56 |number=1 |date=Feb 1994 |pages=57–68 |doi=10.2307/352701 |jstor=352701|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316162825/http://www.techsociety.com/articles/JMF_Lawtonetal.pdf |archive-date=2012-03-16 }}</ref>

===Benefits of affection===
Affection exchange is seen as an adaptive human behavior that contributes to greater physical and mental well-being. The expression of affection mediates emotional, physical, and relational benefits for the individual and significant counterparts. The communication of positive feelings towards others has shown health benefits that include lower stress hormones, lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure and stronger immune system.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://asunow.asu.edu/content/study-expressing-love-can-improve-your-health |author=Diane Boudreau |title=Study: Expressing love can improve your health |date=February 8, 2013 |website=ASU News}}</ref> Benefits are internally noticed when the emotion is expressed and not merely felt; if affection is not reciprocated through the receiver, effects of the affection are still felt through the giver.

===Parental relationships===
Affectionate [[behavior]] is often regarded as the result of parental nurturing behavior due to its associations with hormonal rewards. Positive and negative parental behaviors can be linked to later life health problems. Abuse is a common attribute to poor health in later life, as the lack of affection leads to naturally poorer well-being and mental health. A 2013 study showed the effects of early child abuse and the outcome between lack of affection and the strong biological link for how these negative early-life experiences affect physical health.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/lack-of-parental-warmth-abuse-248580 |author=Enrique Rivero |title=Lack of parental warmth, abuse in childhood linked to multiple health risks in adulthood |date= September 30, 2013 |website=UCLA Newsroom}}</ref>

== Affectionism ==
Affectionism is a [[school of thought]] which considers affections as central importance. Although it is not found in [[mainstream]] [[Western philosophy]], it does exist in [[Indian philosophy]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Transformations in Consciousness: The Metaphysics and Epistemology: Containing His Introceptualism|author=Franklin Merrell-Wolff|author-link=Franklin Merrell-Wolff|publisher=[[State University of New York Press]]|date=1995|page=45|isbn=0-7914-2675-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pxQjKEMB1EsC&pg=PP1}}</ref>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Affectional orientation]]
* [[Affective filter]]
* [[Affective videogames]]
* [[Attraction (emotion)|Attraction]]
* [[Crush (emotion)|Crush]]
* [[Doctrine of the affections]]
* [[Emotion]]
* [[Hug]]
* [[Infatuation]]
* [[Contrasting and categorization of emotions|List of emotions]]
* [[Social connection]]
* ''[[The Four Loves]]''
* [[Terms of endearment]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Wikiquote-inline}}

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[[Category:Affection| ]]
[[Category:Phrenology]]
[[Category:Emotions]]
[[Category:Love]]
[[Category:Personal life]]

Affection - Revision history

>Unknown user at 15:05, 4 March 2022