Status:: #🌱 Tags:: Links:: <% tp.file.cursor(4) %> ___ # The affective context model The affective context model according to Shackleton-Jones N. in his book [[How People Learn]] **theorizes all cognition is a variation of affective response and we remember by reconstructing our affective experiences.** Let's start by examining the first part of the theory, cognition is a variation of affective response. This statement is saying we don't *think* in the traditional sense we have been taught by Western philosophy. Western philosophy has taught us to believe what separates us from animals is our capacity for logic and reason through thinking over just feelings. Shackleton-Jones N. disagrees as he believes thoughts are simply fancier feelings. Shackleton-Jones argues this is the case because all thoughts have some degree of affect to them. For example, let's say I thought *I wonder if there will be peanut butter cheesecake for dessert tonight.* While this is what we traditionally would call a thought, it can come with a spectrum of affect as well. For me, it gives the feelings of excitement and hunger. However, if you were allergic to peanut butter, it would more likely spark anxiety. This is a more obvious example, what about something not so clear? Like the thought *that is a chair.* At first glance, this doesn't seem to have any affect tied to it. However, if you examine deeper, you will see this thought actually expresses the feeling that the semblance of physical matter you see might be suitable for sitting in based on past experiences. In fact, the theory goes as far as saying [[All language is a medium for sharing feeling]]. Now let's look at the second aspect of the theory. **We remember by reconstructing our affective experiences.** For example, put two people in the same class with different interests, and they will remember completely different things. They have different genetics, experiences, and interests, and therefore will have different concerns when coming to the class they learn. In effect they will have different affect to the information and in turn *remember* different things after the class. **This is because people have different affective contexts, realms of things they are concerned about.** All humans are concerned about food, water, shelter, and relationships. But one person might be concerned about gardening, another fishing, and another video games. These differing concerns will cause them to have different affective responses to information they come across. Therefore they will reconstruct differing affective experiences and remember different things. I learned this from [[How People Learn]].