What it shows
The affective domain of Bloom’s taxonomy, concerned with attitudes and values rather than knowledge (Krathwohl, Bloom and Masia 1964). Its five levels run from receiving at the base to characterizing at the top.
The levels are ordered by internalization: each level marks a value more fully internalized than the one below. The bands narrow toward the top, like the familiar figure of the cognitive domain.
How to read it
Receiving, at the base: the learner pays attention.
Responding: they actively participate. Valuing: they attach worth to something.
Organizing: they prioritize their values and reconcile conflicts between them.
Characterizing, at the top: a value system controls their behavior.
The five levels
- Receiving: pays attention.
- Responding: actively participates.
- Valuing: attaches worth to something.
- Organizing: prioritizes and reconciles values.
- Characterizing: a value system controls behavior.
- Krathwohl, Bloom and Masia (1964) call the top two levels “Organization” and “Characterization by a value or value complex”.
Ways to use it in teaching
Helpful when writing learning outcomes for professional programs, where attitudes matter alongside knowledge.
Writing one learning outcome at each level for the same topic makes a short exercise.
Set it beside the cognitive domain to show the taxonomy’s other domains.
Sources
Krathwohl, D. R., Bloom, B. S. and Masia, B. B. (1964), Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. Handbook II: Affective Domain, New York: David McKay. Level descriptions after Clark, D. R. (1999), "Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains".
