ABSTRACT
Any group studying psychological processes can profit from the addition of the affective model to the learning task. The intensity of the anxieties and developmental issues that characterize learning from infant observation are especially well suited to this addition to the process of learning about them. This chapter overviews the rationale for the group affective model, the modifications of the learning process required for its implementation, and some illustrations. The group affective model applies object-relations theory to teaching and learning tasks. The affective-learning link is both emotional and intellectual for students and for faculty. In the infant observation seminar, the small learning group's task is to integrate cognitive, emotional, and informational learning through observational experience. A vignette from an early seminar can serve to illustrate the work of the affective learning model. A small group of four to eight members has a special standing, representing something close to an intimate nuclear-family experience.
