Cognitive and Perceptual Appraisals

Cognitive/Perceptual Appraisals

Appraisal theory, which has been based largely on cognitive theories, also seems to imply that appraisals can be both cognitive and perceptual -- or even that the two go hand-in-hand. The whole of appraisal theory stems from the notion that our emotions come from our "appraisals" of situations (i.e. how we perceive situations and the emotions that those appraisals then elicit). These appraisals will be different for each individual. For example, one person may view the idea of a large party as fun, exciting and a chance to meet new people while another person may view the idea of a large party as too noisy and intimidating. Each individual perceives the event based on cognitive history (what happened at a large party in the past, for instance). The same would go for cognitive vs. situational appraisals. For example, one person might view a large party full of strangers as scary but a large party full of friends and family members as fun. Depending upon the situation cognitive connections will be made that are based on things that happened in the past or current fears.

Individuals' emotional responses are so varied and thus one might ask how these differences in responses to the same event can be explained. The answer is not that difficult, however. Most individuals know people who have responded to a break-up, for example, with sadness; however, most individuals probably know others who have responded to a break-up with anger or guilt. Still, others might feel relief and even happiness that the relationship has come to an end (Scherer, Schorr & Johnstone, 2001). Also, a person's response could change over time (2001). One might go from feeling anger, to sadness, to guilt, to eventual relief.

Cognitive Appraisal Theory (CAT), according to Wessler, Hankin and Stern (2001) are essentially cognitive-behavioral in nature and it does assume that affect, behavior and cognitive are all interdependent (distinct psychological components, that is). It implies as well that most people react to things in a certain way because they want to repeat behaviors that worked well for them in the past (i.e. there was a positive experience created).