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Research Article  |   February 1989
Affective Responses to Activities: A Comparative Study
JoAnne Boyer; Wendy Colman; Linda Levy; Brena Manoly
Author Affiliations
  • JoAnne Boyer, MS, OTR, is Senior Occupational Therapist, Day Treatment Program, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, DC. At the time of this study, she was Director, Therapeutic Activities, Medical College of Pennsylvania– Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute. (Mailing address: 6806 Reynard Drive, Springfield, VA 22152.)
  • Wendy Colman, PhD, OTR, at the time of this study, was Associate Professor, Director of Graduate Education, Department of Occupational Therapy, Temple University, Philadelphia
  • Linda Levy, MA, OTR, is Associate Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy, Temple University, Philadelphia
  • Brena Manoly, PhD, OTR, at the time of this study, was a consultant to the Department of Occupational Therapy, Temple University, Philadelphia
Article Information
Mental Health / Features
Research Article   |   February 1989
Affective Responses to Activities: A Comparative Study
American Journal of Occupational Therapy, February 1989, Vol. 43, 81-88. doi:10.5014/ajot.43.2.81
American Journal of Occupational Therapy, February 1989, Vol. 43, 81-88. doi:10.5014/ajot.43.2.81
Abstract

The purpose of this study was to document variation in affective responses to different types of traditional occupational therapy activities. Each of 45 subjects (24 psychiatric inpatients and 21 matched control subjects) participated in a series of four activities: leather lacing, working with clay, filing, and exercycling. Immediately following each activity, each subject completed the Affective Self-Report Checklist designed to elicit affective responses. In addition, each of the activity sessions was professionally videotaped and later rated for affective responses by trained observers. The data analysis revealed no significant differences in affective responses to activities between groups. However, with the groups combined, significant differences were found in affective responses on 6 of the 15 scales of the checklist, with clay and filing the pair of activities that differed most. These findings are a necessary first step in the collection of baseline data regarding responses to activities.