Affective Domain and Key Issues

Tom Koballa
Department of Mathematics and Science Education
University of Georgia

Therecanbelittledoubtthataffectisthemost
importantyetleastunderstoodinfluenceonthe
waypeoplethinkandbehaveinsocialsituations.
JosephP.Forgas,AffectandSocialCognition(2001)

Affectivedomain
I.Affectanditsorigins
II.Attitude
III.Motivation
IV.Controversialissues

Contemporarythinking
Theaffectivedomain(fromthe
Latinaffectus,meaning
feelings)includesahostof
constructs,suchasattitudes,
values,beliefs,opinions,interests,
andmotivation.
Itdescribeslearningobjectives
thatemphasizeafeelingtone,an
emotion,oradegreeof
acceptanceorrejection.
Affectisnotjustasimplecatalyst,
butanecessaryconditionfor
learningtooccur.

I.Affectanditsorigins
Classicphilosophersviewedaffectasaprimitive,
animalisticmodeofrespondingthatisincompatiblewith
reason.(Elser,1985)
Empiricalpsychologysfundamentalassumptionthat
feeling,knowing,andwillingcanbestudiedinseparation.
(Hilgard,1980)
ChristianWolfffacultascognoscivitaandfacultasappetiva
MosesMendelssohnthreefoldclassificationofmentalfaculties
ImmanuelKanttripartitedivisionintohisphilosophicalsystem

InScienceEducation
Classificationofmentalfacultiesledtocognitivedomain,
affectivedomain,andpsychomotordomain.
Reasonsforimbalancedattentiontoaffectivedomain
include:
Archetypalimageofscienceitself,wherereasonisseparatedfrom
feeling
Longstandingcognitivetraditionofscienceeducation
Confusingdefinitionsofaffectiveconstructs
Underdevelopedaffectiveassessmentpractices

Cognitiveparadigminpsychology
1960s
Emergenceofacognitiveparadigmasthemainstream
orientationacceptedbymostpsychologists.Affectwas
consideredadisruptiveinfluenceonthinking(Hilgard
1980).
1980s
Researchbegantolinkaffectandsocialcognitionfeeling
andthinking(Forgas,2001).

Affectincontemporarypsychology
Affectencompassesthebroadrangeofexperiencesreferred
toasemotionsandmoods.(Forgas,1991;Petty,DeSteno,
Rucker,2001)
Emotionsspecificandshortlivedinternalfeelingstates
Moodsglobalandenduingfeelingstates
(Schwarz&Clore,1996)

II.Attitude
Attitudeageneralevaluationregardingsomeperson,
objectorissue(Fazio,1986;Petty&Cacioppo,1981).
Attitudesrefertovalencedreactionstospecificattitude
objectsanddonotrepresentaglobalaffective
experienceonthepartoftheindividual.
Ahappyorsadpersoncanpossessbothpositiveand
negativeattitudes.

Affectivefactorsinattitudechange
Cognitivethoughtsor
ideas,expressedas
beliefs
Behavioralintentionsto
actorobservable
behaviors
Affectemotionsrelated
totheattitudeobject

III.Motivation
Motivationisaninternalstatethatarouses,
directs,andsustainsbehavior.
Thestudyofmotivationattemptsto
explainwhystudentsstriveforparticulargoals
whenlearningscience,
howintensivelytheystrive,
howlongtheystrive,and
whatmoodsandemotionscharacterizethemin
theprocess.(Glynn&Koballa,2006)

Importantmotivationconstructs
IntrinsicandExtrinsic
Motivation
GoalOrientation
Selfdetermination
Selfefficacy
AssessmentAnxiety

IV.Controversialissuesandproblems
Issueanideaaboutwhichpeoplehold
differentbeliefs
mandatoryrecycling
stripmining
Evolution
Problemasituationthatplacesapopulationatrisk
Fishingindustryandpeopleshealthplacedin
jeopardyduetoindustrialwaste

Instructionalapproachesfordealing
withcontroversy
IssueandProblemAwareness
Fourcorners
Vignette

IssueandProblemInvestigation
Analyticaldecisionmaking(Oliver&Newman,
1967)
Structuredcontroversy(Johnson&Johnson,1988)

Movingforward
Affecthasapastthatweaves
thoughphilosophyand
psychology.
Affectinfluenceslearning,
andlearningstrategiescan
playacrucialrolein
regulatingaffect.
Attitudeandmotivationare
importantconstructsofthe
affectivedomaininscience
education.