Affectivity and Human Nature

Humans are complex beings, and can be argued as a higher animal. Humans are a bundle of emotions which can be expressed in different forms and manner. Getting a mastery of these entails paying attention to the mix, finding a balance between reception and reacting based on the input received.

Affectivity is best described as a range of emotions, feelings, and moods an individual experiences in response to both internal and external stimuli. This also includes the intensity associated with these emotions. Affectivity is so complex that its effect can be seen in the way we interact with other, all the way from a personal standpoint to the corporate society. These emotions range from joy, happiness, fear, disgust, anger, excitement, sadness, pride, and a lot more. In this piece, we will explore how this affects our nature, relationship with others, which in-turn drives productivity and profit.

How can we be impacted?

Studies have shown that our emotions are triggered by what we perceive and allow into our being. This can be through our sensory organs; sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell.  Our hormones also influences the intensity of these emotions, for example, a mother is filled with love for her newborn and the bond between both is intense which cannot be separated at that point. Our mind interprets the information received and attaches a meaning to a distinct object, unifying all attributes into a bundle called perception.

The individual we are today is a result of various intrusions in our formation as we journey through time. Just like the Nature of Human Beings Faculty mentioned, our current personality and character is an interplay of our biological, psychological, cultural and social factors.

We can’t control what we receive, but we can control how we respond to these. We can easily move from sadness or anger to being happy and joyful, sometimes we hang in between two emotions.

At our core, expression of our emotions separates us from the animals and this is interconnected with our physical health, our reasoning ability and INTERACTION. For humans, this is why we act irrationally.

Overcoming this, we need to invest in our emotional intelligence battery and not to be in a hurry to carry out decisions. Emotional intelligence pack includes being aware of our emotions, being able to regulate our mood, knowing how to respond to others.

There is a relationship between the will, intellect, and affectivity as it is a broad field that tends to influence our decisions, why? They work hand-in-hand to help an individual arrive at a decision beneficial to the general good. Researchers are scurrying to understand this interplay as it is more of a mesh than a straight line as they seek to answer questions around human behaviour, their reason, and decisions.

Learning about ourselves and the other facets allows us to make quality decisions that bring positivity to our endeavours. We need to understand emotions, take away the negative triggers, learn how to mask our body language and comportment when faced with an ill stimulus from either within or withal.

When we do this, we uncover ways to promote positive emotional well-being, improve our mental health and our quality of life.

Know that, Affectivity affects our lives and those we care about. Take some time to reflect on ways to improve your being.

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