Appraisal theory
On the other hand, if the date is perceived negatively, then our emotions, as a result, might include dejection, sadness, emptiness, or fear.
[example needed] Personality psychology relates to analyzing factors that influence how people are similar to one another and their unique differences.
In history, the most basic ideology dates back to some of the most notable philosophers such as Aristotle, Plato, the Stoics, Spinoza and Hume, and even early German psychologist Stumpf (Reisenzein & Schonpflug, 1992).
[7] Dating back to the 1940s and 1950s, Magda Arnold took an interest in researching the appraisal of emotions accompanying general arousal.
[9] A notable advancement was Arnold's idea of intuitive appraisal in which she describes emotions that are good or bad for the person lead to an action.
The 1970s were difficult as fellow researchers challenged her theory with questions concerning the involvement of psycho-physiological factors and the psychological experiences at the Loyola Symposium on Feelings and Emotions.
[9] Despite this and re-evaluating the theory, Arnold's discoveries paved the way for other researchers to learn about variances of emotion, affect, and their relation to each other.
To simplify Lazarus's theory and emphasize his stress on cognition, as you are experiencing an event, your thought must precede the arousal and emotion (which happen simultaneously).
Then, Your mouth goes dry, your heart beat quickens, your palms sweat, and your legs begin to shake and at the same time you experience fear.
The way in which people view who or what should be held accountable directs and guides their efforts to cope with the emotions they experience.
[6] Problem-focused coping refers to one's ability to take action and to change a situation to make it more congruent with one's goals (Smith & Kirby, 2009).
On the other hand, emotion-focused coping refers to one's ability to handle or adjust to the situation should the circumstances remain inconsistent with one's goals (Smith & Kirby, 2009).
The structural model of appraisal suggests that the answers to the different component questions of the primary and secondary categories allow researchers to predict which emotions will be elicited from a certain set of circumstances.
One suggested approach was a cyclical process, which moves from appraisal to coping, and then reappraisal, attempting to capture a more long-term theory of emotional responses (Smith & Lazarus 1990).
Perceptual stimuli are what the individual picks up from his or her surroundings, such as sensations of pain or pleasure, perception of facial expression (Smith & Kirby 2000).
[14] Reasoning is a slower, more deliberate, and thorough process that involves logical, critical thinking about the stimulus and/or situation (Marsella & Gratch 2009).
[17] In addition, the different levels of intensity of each component are important and greatly influence the emotions that are experienced due to a particular situation.
Using this orientation for evaluating appraisals, we find fewer issues with repression, a "mental process by which distressing thoughts, memories, or impulses that may give rise to anxiety are excluded from consciousness and left to operate in the unconscious" (Merriam-Webster, 2007).
To begin, Roseman's (1996) model shows that appraisal information "can vary continuously but categorical boundaries determine which emotion will occur".
To accurately understand this concept, an example of Roseman's model could come from a motive-consistent goal as it is caused by the self and someone else to reach one's objective in which a positive emotion is created from the specific appraisal event.
To solve the problem between categorical and continuous appraisal order, it may be a good idea to place discrete emotional categories (i.e. happiness, sadness, etc.)
In 1962, Schachter and Jerome E. Singer devised an experiment to explain the physiological and psychological factors in emotional appraising behaviors.
You approach the podium and look out into the audience as your mouth goes dry, your heart beat quickens, your palms sweat, and your legs begin to shake.
This study demonstrates the significance of cognitive appraisal in coping with emotionally difficult circumstances and their own behavioral adjustment and self-esteem.
In another study conducted by Jacobucci (2000),[21] findings suggested that individual differences and primary appraisals had a very strong correlation.
One study completed by Folkman et al. (1986) focuses on the relationship between appraisal and coping processes that are used across stressful events, and indicators of long-term adaptation.
[23] In another study by Folkman, the goal was to look at the relationship between cognitive appraisal and coping processes and their short-term outcomes within stressful situations.
For example, they found that appraisals of changeability and having to hold back from acting were related to the encounter outcomes (Folkman, Lazarus, Dunkel-Schetter, DeLongis & Gruen, 1986).
[24] In another experiment that was based on this concept of appraisal theory (Lazarus 1991, 1990), a study completed by Amy M. Bippus and Stacy L. Young (2012) looked to closely examine the role of primary as well as secondary appraisals of those receiving hurtful messages, such as cyber bullying, and how this played an effect into how much hurt those people felt upon receiving these messages and also affected how they chose to cope with their pain.
The results of this study went on to show that the primary and secondary appraisals of the participants were only meekly able to predict the coping mechanisms that the participants took part in, but, on the other hand, were rather strong predictors as to what emotion they ended up feeling, as those receiving the messages were more likely to be hurt when they viewed the messages as rather intended or out of spite instead of a misunderstood form of humor in bad taste.
