2.3.6 Affective Domain

The Importance of Affect in Human Behavior

The Role of Affect in Learning

Although many educators develop effective affect management skills in their classrooms and other learning contexts, this is often a process of trial and error. The assumption in this module is that affective skills are universally important in learning and growth and that these skills can be facilitated equally as well as those in the other domains. Table 2 provides guidance for assessing the level of competency a learner has achieved with specific affective learning skills. Learning in the cognitive, social, and psychomotor domains is often constrained if the learner is operating at a low level with key affective skills. For example, a large group of learners who do not recognize the significance of taking charge of their own learning will reduce the level of discourse in a course.

Even if a learning objective appears to be cognitive in nature, there will always be affective skills involved. For example, Halpern (1998), using a cognitive psychology perspective, emphasizes the importance of teaching transferable skills as the universal goal of effective teaching/learning. She illustrates this with a four-part critical thinking model that is empirically supported: students must be prepared for effortful cognition, there must be instruction in the skills of critical thinking, there must be training in the structure of problems and arguments, and meta-cognition is necessary for monitoring transfer of learning. The first component of her model is clearly related to the affective domain and includes aspects of a quality learning environment (3.1.3 Methodology for Creating a Quality Learning Environment) such as establishing respect, buy-in, and an assessment “mindset.” The second and third components are mostly related to cognitive domain skills, but learners with more advanced social and affective skills are more likely to persist with the difficult learning involved. While the fourth component involves advanced cognitive domain learning skills, it also requires affective skills related to persistence. When learning is considered in a systems perspective, there are many places where the level of growth in specific affective skills will make the difference between calmly persisting in a cognitive task and “bailing out” due to frustration (4.3.4 The Accelerator Model). It is essential, therefore, to incorporate techniques into facilitation plans to engage learners in ways that lead to active, self-challenging learning attitudes (3.2.5 Creating a Facilitation Plan). When learning attitudes like emotional control and objectivity are highly developed, they facilitate self-control, the deferral of gratification, stability, persistence, courage, and serenity. The affective skills are essential if one is to care enough to put in the considerable time, effort, and discomfort that it takes to improve as a learner and to grow as a person.

Description of the Affective Domain

Concluding Thoughts

Teachers and learners need to become familiar with the hierarchy of processes and skills within the affective domain and work to internalize how those processes and skills can be observed and assessed in real learning contexts. In traditional curricula, the skills in the affective domain are often neglected because it is assumed that students will “discover” them on their own. However, the challenges in facilitating active learning show that this is not true. Affective skills typically become an issue when instructors must build rapport and achieve buy-in. Later the level of affective challenge that learners can handle will significantly influence the quality of course outcomes. As with skills from the other domains, those from the affective domain involve performance improvement which leads to developmental growth and ultimately the empowerment to challenge oneself in all aspects of life.

References

Goleman, D. (1997). Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. New York: Bantam Books.

Halpern, D. F. (1998). Teaching critical thinking skills for transfer across domains. American Psychologist, 53, 879-881.

Krathwohl, D. R., Bloom, B. S., & Mesia, B. B. (1964). Taxonomy of educational objectives (Vol. 2): Affective domain. New York: David McKay.

Lewis, M., & Haviland-Jones, J. M. (Eds.). (2004). Handbook of emotions. New York: Guildford Press.

Lopez, S. J., & Snyder, C. R. (2003). Positive psychological assessment: A handbook of models and measures. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Maslow, A. H. (1970). Motivation and personality (2^nd ed.). New York: Harper & Row.

Mayer, J., & Salovey, P. (1997). What is emotional intelligence? in P. Salovey & D. J. Sluyter (Eds.). Emotional development and emotional intelligence: Educational implications. New York: Basic Books.

Nesse, R. M. (1990). Evolutionary explanations of emotions. Human Nature, 1, 261-289.

Oatley, K. (1992). Best laid schemes: The psychology of emotions. UK: Cambridge University Press.

Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

 

Table 1  Social Domain Learning Skills

Process:  Being Open to Experience (Receiving)
Skill Cluster	Specific Skills
Exploring Self	Observing self – noticing one’s actions Listening to self – being conscious of one’s point of view Perceiving reactions – seeing how other people respond to you Body awareness – recognizing the range of its capabilities Identifying emotions – sensing feelings
Exploring Surroundings	Being curious – wanting to find out more Being open– welcoming, and expecting to find novelty Being positive – having an optimistic state of mind Being playful – seeking fun in experiences Being active – seeking activity
Experiencing Emotions	Feeling loved – being truly valued Grieving – accepting loss Feeling joyful – feeling connected with existence Laughing – finding humor in experience Responding to aesthetics – being moved by forms of beauty Feeling secure – establishing a sense of security
Process:  Engaging in Life (Responding)
Skill Cluster	Specific Skills
Emoting	Loving – giving of oneself Caring – responding to others’ needs Respecting – demonstrating an appreciation of others Giving – relinquishing possessions to others Comforting – providing physical and verbal support
Addressing Life's Challenges	Coping – managing stressors Persisting – continuing despite difficulties Accepting help – surmounting one’s personal limitations with help from others Believing in oneself – developing and maintaining self-esteem Responding to failure – growing in response to barriers and negative results Appreciating evaluation – recognizing value in realistic feedback
Leveraging Life's Successes	Responding to success – investing for the future Being humble – allowing accomplishments to speak for themselves Seeking assessment – analyzing past performance to improve future performance Celebrating – acknowledging the meaning of accomplishments Acknowledging others – recognizing contributions
Process:  Managing Oneself (Organizing)
Skill Cluster	Specific Skills
Regulating Self	Responding to requests– setting boundaries to maintain personal integrity Recognizing dissonance– noticing inconsistencies in situations Managing dissonance – achieving congruence in the face of life’s inconsistencies Managing resources – applying assets and means to important goals Prioritizing – addressing what is most important Being self-disciplined – persisting regardless of emotions
Managing Performance	Being decisive – choosing with confidence Committing to the future– engaging life goals Preparing – realistically envisioning the performance Rehearsing – improving one’s probability of success through practice Challenging standards – raising the expectations for one’s quality Being self-efficacious – synchronizing one’s abilities with one’s beliefs Orchestrating emotions – using feelings to aid in problem solving, judgment, and learning
Managing Emotions	Modulating emotions – returning to one’s balance point Recognizing emotional contexts – tracking affect shifts in emotionally arousing situations Preparing for future emotions – predicting expected feelings Modeling emotions – demonstrating emotional competence in various situations
Process:  Cultivating Values (Valuing)
Skill Cluster	Specific Skills
Valuing Self	Building identity– aligning actions and values Evolving a personal philosophy– bringing meaning to life Trusting self – having an accurate sense of self-efficacy Caring for self – attending to one’s personal emotional, physical, and spiritual needs Reflecting – increasing one’s self-awareness
Valuing Natural Laws	Appreciating diversity – valuing differences as a measure of a healthy ecosystem and social system Valuing nature – seeking to understand and harmonize one’s actions with natural laws Valuing family/significant others – enjoying closeness in a central social group Being spiritual – experiencing awe
Refining Personal Values	Identifying values – labeling main beliefs Exploring beliefs – questioning, researching the basis of one’s values Clarifying one’s value system – achieving consistency Validating values – taking personal ownership from experiential “tests” Aligning with social values – acting according to mutually empowering ethics Accepting ownership – assuming responsibility for one’s behavior
Process:  Developing Oneself (Internalization)
Skill Cluster	Specific Skills
Synergizing Feelings	Associating feelings – connecting emotions such as love and fear Interpreting feelings – understanding the social and historical meaning of emotions Analyzing feelings – understanding causes of complex emotions Predicting feelings – anticipating future emotions Objectifying emotions – temporarily suspending feelings Exploring emotions – learning and growing from both pleasant and unpleasant emotions
Facilitating Personal Development	Recognizing personal potential – identifying strengths and areas of improvement Seeking assessment – focusing on obtaining realistic growth- enhancing feedback Seeking mentoring – seeking relationships that will challenge one’s growth Being patient – being able to “stay the course”
Challenging Self	Exploring potential – developing a life vision Expanding identity – engaging life in new ways Being courageous – taking risks to embrace the unknown Being proactive – planning ahead to create new opportunities Growing culturally – applying insights from human differences Being empathic – responding affirmatively to complex differences in others’ world views
Committing Beyond Self	Committing to caring – taking long-term responsibility Accepting outcomes – adjusting to reality Acting on beliefs – being ethically consistent Enhancing self-esteem – activating one’s potential Maturing – increasing one’s integration and complexity Self-actualizing – taking responsibility for the future