Bloom’s taxonomy of affective educational objectives

Posted by Greten on 27 Feb 2023 under Terms, Theories

The affective domain of Bloom's taxonomy covers the learner's attitudes, values, and feelings. It involves developing the learner's ability for emotional response and constructive interpersonal interaction.

I almost forgot about the affective learning objectives (and psychomotor, too) until I read some articles to write about Bloom's taxonomy and revised taxonomy for the cognitive domain, which I thought was all there about Bloom's taxonomy. In 2006, I had a job writing courseware materials for higher education. One of our standards is to have cognitive, affective, and psychomotor learning objectives in all courses. That's basically my first encounter with three domains of learning objectives, but I didn't realize the connection with Bloom's taxonomy until I wrote the previous article.

The five levels of affective learning objectives

Cupid preparing to take his aim. The development of learners' sentiments, beliefs, and emotions toward themselves, others, and the learning process itself is within the coverage of the affective domain. The five levels of affective learning outcomes mentioned in this section are receiving, responding, valuing, organizing, and internalization.

Receiving

Receiving is a learner's ability to be receptive to information and experiences. Receiving includes observing environmental signs and being receptive to fresh perspectives and knowledge. An excellent receiver is willing to listen and actively looks for new learning opportunities. This level of learning can be encouraged by creating a welcoming learning atmosphere that promotes active listening and a desire to learn. Additionally, effective teachers may capture learners' attention and inspire them to learn by utilizing techniques like narrative, visual aids, and active involvement.

Responding

A learner's response to environmental cues is referred to as responding. It could be in response to a person, piece of information, or event. This response could be either positive or negative. Responding also requires a readiness to participate, adherence to the rules, and attention. Students at this level exhibit some interest in the material and are starting to interact with it. However, responding signifies only acknowledgment of the stimuli and does not always imply understanding or agreement with the topic.

Valuing

Valuing is the process of giving different environmental stimuli worth or value. It involves identifying and distinguishing between various degrees of importance and appropriately setting priorities. Students at this level can determine their own values and are prepared to evaluate the significance of different concepts or behaviors in light of those values. This phase is essential in developing a person's unique beliefs and attitudes.

Valuing is similar to the evaluating level of the cognitive domain. The difference between the two is that, in evaluation, learners assign values based on the facts and information they learned. In contrast, in valuing, learners assign values based on the beliefs and value system they acquired. It's possible, though, that a lesson has both an evaluating cognitive learning objective and a valuing affective learning objective. Then, should both objectives succeed, the learners can judge based on facts and values. For example, a student decides to become actively involved in organizations seeking to combat climate change because of facts and values. Facts include data on the increasing temperature and damages done to the environment, and values such as the belief that we should live in harmony with all the species and that we have no right to deny future generations of a healthy planet to live on.

Organization

Organization is the process by which learners organize and rank their values. It requires combining and arranging many ideals and principles into one system. This level demands the ability to integrate knowledge and create a unique philosophy or set of beliefs. Students at this level can compromise conflicting ideals and create an organized system of values that aligns with their attitudes and views. They can build a hierarchy of importance among these values and recognize value relationships.

Internalization

Internalization is the process of integrating values and viewpoints into one's own behavior or action. At this point, learners are motivated to act on their beliefs because they have internalized them. They are committed to upholding their values and living by them. At this level, learners must reflect on their experiences and see how their values and attitudes shape their behavior.

Measurable verbs of affective learning objectives

Similar to cognitive learning objectives, you should write affective learning objectives in an observable and measurable manner. That way, you can devise assessment tools and tell if the learning objectives were actually achieved for each learner.

The following table provides the verbs you can use to write learning objectives and an example learning objective for each level of the affective domain.

Affective domain level	Verbs	Example*
Internalization	act, advocate, discriminate, display, influence, qualify, question, revise, serve, solve, verifies	Advocate for change based on their individual opinions and values Display a strong sense of self-efficacy by defining and attaining personal goals that match their ideas and values
Organization	adhere, alter, arrange, combine, compare, defend, explain, formulate, generalize, integrate, modify, order, organize, prepare, relate	Formulate personal belief system by integrating their values and attitudes with their peers Adhere to social responsibility by participating in a community service project
Valuing	appreciate, completes, cherish, form, initiate, invite, join, justify, propose, respect, share	Appreciate cultural diversity by identifying and respecting the practices and beliefs of many cultures
Responding	answer, assist, aid, comply, conform, discuss, greet, help, label, perform, practice, present, read, recite, report, tell, write	Present own perspective in a class discussions
Receiving	acknowledge, ask, choose, describe, follow, give, hold, listen, points to, understand	Give attention in class by keeping eye contact Listen attentively to and consider their classmates' opinions

*Each list item is assumed to be part of a list of objectives that begins with "At the end of this lesson/course/module, you should be able to:".

Conclusion

The affective domain of Bloom's taxonomy focuses on learners' attitudes, values, and emotions, intending to develop their ability to respond constructively to interpersonal interactions and emotional stimuli. The five levels of affective learning outcomes in Bloom's taxonomy are receiving, responding, valuing, organization, and internalization. Receiving involves being receptive to information and new experiences while responding involves reacting positively or negatively to environmental cues. Valuing is the process of assigning worth or value to different stimuli based on one's values and beliefs, and organization involves creating a cohesive system of values. Finally, internalization involves incorporating values and beliefs into one's own identity and behavior. Affective learning objectives should be observable and measurable to ensure optimal learning and assessment.

Bibliography

Arkansas State University (n.d.) "Bloom’s revised taxonomy: cognitive, affective, and psychomotor", Arkansas State University, retrieved 22 February 2023.
Clark, D. (2015) "Bloom's taxonomy: the affective domain", Knowledge Jump, retrieved 25 February 2023
Ruhl, C. (2021) "Bloom’s taxonomy of learning", Simply Psychology, retrieved 22 February 2023.

Last updated on 04 Mar 2023.

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