ASSESSMENT IN THE AFFECTIVE DOMAIN In the affective domain, and in particular, when we consider learning competencies, we

Affective domain – describes learning objectives that emphasize a feeling tone, an also consider the following focal concepts:
emotion, or a degree of acceptance or rejection
- Vary from simple attention to selected phenomena to complex but internally Attitudes – a mental predisposition to act that is expressed by evaluating a particular
consistent qualities of character and conscience therefore it can’t be simply entity with some degree of favor or disfavor. Individuals generally have attitudes that focus
analyzed objectively. on objects, people or institutions. Attitudes are also attached to mental categories. Mental
“Students nowadays are only SCHOOLED but not EDUCATED.” orientations towards concepts are generally referred to as values.
Attitudes are comprised of four components:
David Krathwol’s* Taxonomy of Affective domain:
Level Definition Example 1. Cognitions – beliefs, theories, expectations, cause-and-effect beliefs, perceptions
Being aware of or attending to Individual would read a book
1. Receiving relative to the focal point; statement of beliefs and expectations which vary from
something in the environment passage about civil rights.
Individual answers questions
one individual to the next
Showing some new behaviors about the book, read another 2. Affect – refers to feelings with respect to the focal object – fear, liking, anger;
2. Responding color blue refers to loneliness); others as calm or peace
as well as experience book by same author, another
book about civil rights. 3. Behavioral intentions – our goals, aspirations, and our expected responses to the
Individual demonstrates this by attitude object
Showing some definite
3. Valuing
involvement or commitment
voluntarily attending a lecture 4. Evaluation – central component of attitudes; imputations of some degree of
on civil rights goodness or badness to an attitude object; positive or negative attitude toward an
Integrating a new value into object; functions of cognitive, affect and behavioral intentions of the object;
The individual might arrange
4. Organization one’s general set of values stored in memory
civil rights rally
giving it some priority.
Why study attitudes???
The individual is firmly
Attitudes influence the way person acts and think in a social communities we belong. They
5. Characterization by value Acting consistently with the committed to the value,
new value perhaps becoming a civil rights can function as frameworks and references for forming conclusions and interpreting or
leader. acting for or against an individual, a concept or an idea. It influences behavior. People will
behave in ways consistent with their attitudes
Affective Learning Competencies - Affective learning competencies are often stated in
the form of instructional objectives Motivation - a reason or set of reasons for engaging in a particular behavior. The reasons
Instructional objectives – specific, measurable, short-term, observable student behaviors. include basic needs, object, goal, state of being, ideal that is desirable. Motivation also
- Objectives are the foundation upon which you can build lessons and assessments that you refers to initiation, direction, intensity and persistence of human behavior.
can prove meet your over-all course or lesson goals.
- Tools used to make sure you reach your goals; arrows you shoot towards your target THEORIES IN MOTIVATION
(goal). Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs theory is the most widely discussed theory
- Ensures that learning is focused clearly enough that both students and teachers know of motivation. The theory can be summarized as thus:
what is going on, and so learning can be objectively measured.  Human needs have wants and desires which influence behavior: only unsatisfied
needs can influence behavior, satisfied needs cannot.
Quantitative Terms used in affective domain  Needs are arranged in order of importance, from basic to complex. (physiological,
1. Receiving – Differentiate, Listen, Accept, Attend, Develop, Recognize safety and security, social/love, self-esteem, self-actualization (PSSSS)
2. Responding - Volunteer, Complete, Comply, Cooperate, Discuss, Examine, Obey,  the person advances to the next level of needs only after the lower need is at least
Respond, Follow minimally satisfied.
3. Valuing - Accept, Support, Defend, Devote, Pursue, seek, debate  the further the progress up the hierarchy, the more individuality, humanness and
4. Organization - Codify, Discriminate, Display, Order, Organize, Systematize, Weight, psychological health a person will show. 
Discuss, Theorize, Formulate, Balance, Examine
5. Characterization - Internalize, Verify, Resolve, to resist, to manage, to revise to
Frederick Herzberg presents another need theory: the two factor theory, the
require
“Motivation-Hygiene Theory”. It concludes that certain factors in the workplace result
*Krathwol co-authored Bloom’s Taxonomy of Affective domain
 in job satisfaction, while others do not, but if absent lead to dissatisfaction. Herzberg
distinguished between:
- Motivators – challenging work, recognition, responsibility, which give positive
satisfaction
- Hygiene factors – status, job security, salary and fringe benefits – do not motivate
if present, but if absent will result in demotivation
Like hygiene, the presence of it will make one healthier, but absence cause health
deterioration
Clayton Aldefer expanded Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. He formulated the ERG Theory
(existence, relatedness and growth). The existence category (physiological and safety)
are lower order needs, followed by the relatedness category ( love and self-esteem) as
middle order needs, and the growth category ( self-actualization and self-esteem ) as
higher order needs
Why motivate students?
- It can direct behavior toward particular goals
- lead to increase effort and energy;
- increase initiation of, and persistence in activities;
- enhance cognitive processing;
- determine what consequences are reinforcing;
- lead to improve performance; 
2 KINDS OF MOTIVATION
Intrinsic motivation brings brings pleasure, or make feel people feel what they are
learning is morally significant
Extrinsic motivation which comes when a student compelled to do something because of
factors external to him
Self-efficacy - is an impression that one is capable of performing in a certain manner or
attaining certain goals. It is a belief that one has the capabilities to execute the courses of
actions required to manage prospective situations. It is also a belief (whether or not
accurate) that one has the power to produce that effect.
Self-Efficacy vs. Self-esteem
Efficacy – relates to a person’s perception of their ability to reach a goal
Esteem – relates to a person’s self-worth
Development of Assessment Tools/Standard Assessment Tools
Assessment tools in the affective domain are those which are used to assess attitudes,
interest, motivations and self-efficacy. These include:
*Krathwol co-authored Bloom’s Taxonomy of Affective domain
1. Self-report. Most commonly used, essentially requires an individual to provide an
account of his attitude or feelings toward a concept or idea or people. It is also
called “written reflections” (“Why I Like or Dislike Mathematics”. The teacher
ensures that the students write something which would demonstrate the various
levels of the taxonomy
2. Rating Scales refers to a set of categories designed to elicit information about a
quantitative attribute in social science. Common examples are the Likert scale and 1-
10 rating scales for which a person selects the number which is considered to reflects
the perceived quality of a product. The basic feature of any rating scale is that it
consists of a number of categories. These are usually assigned integers. 
3. Semantic Differential (SD) Scales tries to assess an individual’s reaction to specific
words, ideas or concepts in terms of ratings on bipolar scales defined with
contrasting adjectives at each end
Good ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ Bad
3 2 1 0 1 2 3
( 3 – extreme; 2 – quite; 0 - neutral) 
4. Thurstone Scale – Thurstone is considered the father of attitude measurement and
addressed the issue of how favorable an individual is with regard to a given issue. He
developed an attitude continuum to determine the position of favorability on the
issue. Below is an example of a Thurstone scale of measurement.
Directions: Put a check mark in the blank if you agree with the item:
____ 1. blacks and whites must be kept apart in all social affairs where they might be
taken as equals ( scale value = 3.2)
_____2. I am not interested in how blacks rate socially. (scale value = 5.4)
5. Likert Scales - In 1932, Likert developed the method of summated ratings (or Likert
scale), which is widely used. This requires an individual to tick on a box to report
whether they “strongly agree” “agree” “undecided”, “disagree” or “strongly
disagree” in response to a large number of items concerning attitude object or
stimulus.
E.g. Statement: I do not like to solve algebraic equation SD D A SA
1 2 3 4
6. Checklists - are the most common and perhaps the easiest instrument in the
affective domain. It consist of simple items that the student or teacher marks as
“absent” or “present” Here are the steps in the construction of a checklist: