Sentimentality originally indicated the reliance on feelings as a guide to truth, but current usage defines it as an appeal to shallow, uncomplicated emotions at the expense of reason. Sentimentalism in philosophy is a view in meta-ethics according to which morality is somehow grounded in moral sentiments or emotions. Sentimentalism in literature ... Found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentimentality
Emotion in excess of its object; the term is generally used negatively to depict exaggeration in depiction and extreme emotional reactions. See also pathos. Found on https://www.encyclo.co.uk/local/22695