213
Faculty Guidebook
Faculty Development Series
Section 2
2.3.6 Affective Domain
by Wendy Duncan-Hewitt (Dean of Pharmacy, St. Louis College of Pharmacy), Cy Leise (Psychology & Human
Services, Bellevue University), and Ann Hall (Allied Health Technologies, Sinclair Community College)
The affective domain contains learning skills that are predominantly related to emotional (affective) processes. The
learning processes in the affective domain include being open to experience, engaging in life, cultivating values, managing
oneself, and developing oneself (Table 1). Within each of these general process areas are several “clusters” of specific
learning skills that can be improved by means of constructive intervention and assessment. The classification of affective
skills presented in this module incorporates many of the skills described in Bloom’s original work. Although these earlier
authors and contemporary educators generally focus more on learning objectives, cognitive learning skills, or in some
contexts, psychomotor skills, the movement to learner-focused teaching/learning methods makes clear the significance
of integrating learner skills across all domains. Skills in the affective domain are strongly related to student buy-in, self-
management, persistence, attitudes toward assessment, and level of success. The present classification provides a valuable
reference for curriculum design, facilitation, and personal growth.
The Importance of Affect in Human Behavior
Affect or emotion influences one’s awareness of important
sensory and situational changes, and motivates action. One
example is the well-known “fight or flight” response. The
importance of affect in human and animal life is clearly
demonstrated in the extensive body of theory and research
related to emotion and motivation. Oatley (1992), Nesse
(1990), and Lewis and Haviland (2004) are examples
of a wide range of approaches to affect that include
neuroscience, psychoanalysis, behavioral psychology,
cross-cultural psychology, and evolutionary psychology.
One indication of the increasing attention paid to affective
skills is the work of Lopez and Snyder (2003), as described
in their presentation of measurement options for positive
psychology. Another is Goleman’s (1997) popularization
of the finding that “emotional intelligence” is often a better
predictor of individual success than general intellectual
ability as measured by most IQ tests.
Individuals who learn to recognize and engage their emo-
tions are ready to “grow” affectively so that they can
respond to challenges appropriately and explore their
values. At higher levels in the affective domain classifica-
tion, growth involves managing oneself, managing one’s
performance, and making commitments. Maslow (1970)
calls this “self-actualization.” Peterson and Seligman
(2004) have prepared an important resource for the affec-
tive domain in their comprehensive scholarly review of
what they refer to as “character strengths and virtues” in
the categories of wisdom and knowledge, courage, human-
ity, justice, temperance, and transcendence.
The present classification emphasizes “growable” skills
that tend to be a combination of emotion and motivation,
sometimes referred to as “conation.” What ties all of the
processes, clusters, and skills together is the emphasis on
affective skills that are commonly observed in learning
and growth contexts.
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
