affectation

affectation \af-ek-TAY-shuhn\, noun:

1. an artificial way of talking or behaving put on to impress others; pretense
2. an unnatural action, expression, or trait that indicates artificiality

In a culture of electricity and annual holidays, for example, to
pace one's work to the rhythm of the seasons or daylight would amount
to affectation.
-- Janet Burroway, Heartbreak Hotel," review of Martin Dressler:
The Tale of an American Dreamer, by Steven Millhauser, New York Times,
May 11, 1992

I had heard talk that Tosca, for all the dissolute life she led,
was a pious person who frequented churches with scrupulous regularity,
yet in this conduct I had always suspected a pose, an affectation.
-- Paola Capriolo, Floria Tosca (translated by Liz Heron)

I extended a hand out into the air for no reason, a professorial
affectation.
-- John Burnham Schwartz, Reservation Road

Wait! my father shouted with an affectation of sudden
comprehension. I recognize you!
-- Ev Ehrlich, Grant Speaks

by 1548, "studied display," from Latin affectationem, from affectare
"to strive for"