Professional Education · The School Curriculum
Bloom’s Taxonomy — Part 2 of 3
The Affective and Psychomotor Domains
The Affective Domain
The affective domain covers attitudes, values, emotions, and feelings — how learners feel about their learning and how they develop their value systems. Developed by Krathwohl, Bloom, and Masia in 1964, it has five levels from simple awareness to a fully integrated personal value system (Krathwohl et al., 1964).
| # | Level | Description & Example |
| 1 | Receiving | Willingness to attend and be aware. Student listens when the teacher explains proper waste disposal. |
| 2 | Responding | Active participation; reaction to the stimulus. Student participates in a school clean-up drive. |
| 3 | Valuing | Attaching worth to an object or behaviour; demonstrating commitment. Student consistently segregates waste at home without being told. |
| 4 | Organising | Integrating a new value into one’s existing value system; resolving conflicts between values. Student develops a personal environmental advocacy plan that balances economic and ecological concerns. |
| 5 | Characterisation by Value | The value system becomes part of one’s lifestyle and character; behaviour is consistent and predictable. Student’s entire lifestyle reflects environmental stewardship. |
Exam Tip: LET items on the affective domain usually describe a student’s attitude or behaviour and ask which level is illustrated. The most tested distinction is between Valuing (consistent personal commitment without external prompt) and Characterisation (it has become a permanent lifestyle). If the student is consistently doing something without being told, that is Valuing. If their entire way of life reflects that value, that is Characterisation.
Sample LET Item — No. 1
After a unit on responsible citizenship, Joshua began volunteering at a community centre every weekend without being asked by his teacher or parents. He said he now genuinely believes in giving back to his community. Which level of the Affective Domain does Joshua’s behaviour illustrate?
A. Receiving
B. Responding
C. Valuing
D. Characterisation by Value
Answer: C
Joshua volunteers without external prompting and genuinely believes in the value — this is Valuing: attaching worth to a behaviour and showing personal commitment. Choice D (Characterisation) would require the value to have become a permanent fixture of his entire lifestyle and identity across all contexts, which the stem does not establish — it describes a recent, consistent behaviour, not an all-encompassing life philosophy. Choice B (Responding) was the prior stage when he simply participated in school activities when asked. Receiving (A) would be the earliest stage of simply paying attention.
The Psychomotor Domain
The psychomotor domain covers physical skills and motor abilities — how learners develop and refine bodily movements and coordination. Two widely used classifications are Simpson (1972) and Dave (1975), each with slightly different terminology. Both are referenced in LET review materials.
| # | Simpson (1972) | Dave (1975) | Description & Example |
| 1 | Perception | Imitation | Uses senses to guide action / copies a demonstrated movement. Student watches teacher demonstrate how to hold a basketball, then tries. |
| 2 | Set | Manipulation | Mental, physical, emotional readiness to act / performs from instructions. Student prepares posture and grip before dribbling. |
| 3 | Guided Response | Precision | Early stage of learning a skill under supervision. Student dribbles with teacher corrections. |
| 4 | Mechanism | Articulation | Skill becomes habit; confident, habitual performance. Student dribbles automatically during a game. |
| 5 | Complex Overt Response | Naturalisation | Complex movement performed with skill and minimal effort. Student plays full-court basketball smoothly integrating all skills. |
| 6 | Adaptation | Skills are modified to fit special requirements. Student adjusts dribbling technique when playing on a wet court. | |
| 7 | Origination | Creates new movement patterns for specific situations. Student invents a new basketball drill for their team. | |
Sample LET Item — No. 2
A MAPEH teacher notices that her student Maria can now sew a straight seam without looking at her hands or thinking about each movement. The skill has become automatic and accurate. Which level of the Psychomotor Domain (Simpson, 1972) does Maria’s performance illustrate?
A. Guided Response
B. Mechanism
C. Complex Overt Response
D. Adaptation
Answer: B
A skill performed automatically and accurately without conscious thought = Mechanism (Level 4). The key phrase is “without looking at her hands or thinking about each movement.” This describes a habitual, automatic performance. Choice A (Guided Response) was the earlier stage when Maria was learning under supervision and still making errors. Choice C (Complex Overt Response) involves performing complex, multi-step skills with smooth efficiency — not just one simple skill becoming automatic. Choice D (Adaptation) would require modifying the skill for a different or unexpected context.
Coming Up in Part 3
Part 3 puts all three domains together and focuses on the most practical LET application: writing learning objectives and designing assessment items using Bloom’s Taxonomy — the most heavily tested area in the whole topic.
References
Dave, R. H. (1975). Psychomotor levels. In R. J. Armstrong (Ed.), Developing and writing behavioral objectives. Educational Innovators Press.
Krathwohl, D. R., Bloom, B. S., & Masia, B. B. (1964). Taxonomy of educational objectives: Handbook II: Affective domain. David McKay.
Simpson, E. J. (1972). The classification of educational objectives in the psychomotor domain. Gryphon House.