FEASP

Definition

• The F(ear)E(nvy)A(nger)S(ympathy)P(leasure)-approach for designing positive feeling instruction postulates that the instructional designer has to analyze emotional problems before and during instruction (Astleitner, 2000: 175).

• See also:
  • MacFadden's constructivist emotionally-oriented model.
  • Further related issues like motivation and motivation-based design models like ARCS.

The FEASP model

According to Astleitner (2000: 175):

There are five basic categories of emotional conditions that the instructional designer must understand and use in order to produce instruction which is emotionally sound, " Fear" refers to a negative feeling arising from subjectively judging a situation as threatening or dangerous. "Envy" is a negative feeling resulting from the desire to get something that is possessed by others or not to lose something that one is possessing. "Anger" refers to a negative feeling coming from being hindered to reach a desired goal and being forced to an additional action. "Sympathy" is a positive feeling referring to an experience of feelings and orientations of other people who are in the need of help. "Pleasure" is a positive feeling based on mastering a situation with a deep devotion to an action.

Accordingly, Fear, envy, and anger should be reduced during instruction, sympathy and pleasure should be increased.

The following FEASP overview table is copyright by Astleitner, reproduced here with permission and retrieved 16:18, 27 May 2006 (MEST) from http://www.sbg.ac.at/erz/feasp/overview.htm by DKS)

This table associates all instructional strategies of the FEASP-approach with examples in traditional and technology-based instruction.

Instructional strategies	Examples from traditional instruction	Examples from instructional technology based instruction
Fear reduction
F1 Ensure success in learning	Use well-proven motivational and cognitive instructional strategies	Cognitive learning design
F2 Accept mistakes as opportunities for learning	Let student talk about their failures, their expectations, the reasons for errors, etc.	Q&A, success statistics
F3 Induce relaxation	Apply muscle relaxation, visual imagery, autogenics, or meditation	Trainings via media players
F4 Be critical, but sustain a positive  perspective	Train students in critical thinking, but also point out the beauty of things	Cognitive tools (semantic networking)
Envy reduction
E1 Encourage comparison with autobiographical and criterion reference points instead of social standards	Show students their individual learning history	Student progress tracking, using target lists
E2 Install consistent and transparent evaluating and grading	Inform students in detail about guidelines for grading	Programmed fact-based evaluation and feedback
E3 Inspire a sense of authenticity and openness	Install "personal information boards" telling others who you are	Personal homepages
E4 Avoid unequal distributed privileges among students	Grant all students or no student access to private matters	Rule-based granting of privileges
Anger reduction
A1 Stimulate the control of anger	Show students how to reduce anger through counting backward	Anger buttons
A2 Show multiple views of things	Demonstrate how one problem can be solved through different operations	Linked information
A3 Let anger be expressed in a  constructive way	Do not accept escaping when interpersonal problem solving is necessary	Anger-help option
A4 Do not show and accept any form of violence	Avoid threatening gestures	Non-violent action: motivational design
Sympathy increase
S1 Intensify relationships	Get students to know other students friends and families	Synchronous and asynchronous communication tools
S2 Install sensitive interactions	Reduce students` sulking and increase their directly asking for help	On-/offline trainings for empathic communication
S3 Establish cooperative learning structures	Use group investigations for cooperation	Collaborative learning tools
S4 Implement peer helping programs	Let students adopt children in need	Social networks within the world-wide-web
Pleasure increase
P1 Enhance well-being	Illustrate students a probabilistic view of the future	User-friendly interface design
P2 Establish open learning opportunities	Use self-instructional learning materials	Virtual classrooms
P3 Use humor	Produce funny comics with students	Story/comic/cartoon production systems
P4 Install play-like activities	Use simulation-based instructional games	Instructional computer games

Note that the FEASP approach is not a closed theory, but an open research program telling people what to do in order to improve any kind of instruction in respect to emotional issues.

References

• Astleitner, Hermann, Designing Emotionally Sound Instruction (2000): The FEASP-Approach, Instructional Science 28 (3): 169-198, May 2000 [ http://www.springerlink.com/openurl.asp?genre=article&id=doi:10.1023/A:1003893915778]

• Astleitner, Hermann, Designing Emotionally Sound Instruction: The FEASP-Approach, (open online version, published in: Instructional Science, 2000, Vol. 28, No. 3, pp. 169-198 [1]

• Astleitner, Hermann and Detlev Leutner (2000), Designing Instructional Technology from an Emotional Perspective, RTE, Volume 32, Number 4, Summer 2000.

• J. Keller, Motivational Design of Instruction, in C. Reigeluth (ed.), Instructional Design Theories and Models, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, New Jersey, pp. 383-434, 1983.