The CBIC Certified Infection Control Exam Study Guide (6th edition) describes three primary domains of educational learning: cognitive, psychomotor, and affective. The affective domain specifically involves growth in feelings, emotions, attitudes, values, motivation, and professional behaviors. This domain addresses how learners internalize information and how education influences beliefs, attitudes, and commitment to practice change.
In infection prevention and control, the affective domain is particularly important because compliance with practices such as hand hygiene, isolation precautions, and use of personal protective equipment depends not only on knowledge or skill, but also on attitudes and values. Education that targets the affective domain helps foster accountability, ethical responsibility, and sustained behavior change among healthcare personnel.
The cognitive domain (Option B) focuses on knowledge acquisition, comprehension, and critical thinking—such as understanding guidelines or surveillance definitions. The psychomotor domain (Option C) involves physical skills and task performance, such as donning PPE or performing aseptic technique. Option D, perceptive, is not a recognized educational learning domain in standard instructional theory.
For the CIC® exam, it is essential to recognize that affective learning influences attitudes and behaviors, making it a key component of successful infection prevention education and culture change initiatives.
