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Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences pp 1–9Cite as

Appraisal Theory of Emotion

Synonyms

Cognitive emotion theory; Evaluation theory of emotion; Information processing theory of emotion

Definition

Appraisal theory of emotion proposes that emotions or emotional components are caused and differentiated by an appraisal of the stimulus as mis/matching with goals and expectations, as easy/difficult to control, and as caused by others, themselves or impersonal circumstances.

Introduction

Appraisal theories (e.g., Arnold 1960; Ellsworth 2013; Frijda 1986; Lazarus 1991; Ortony et al. 1988; Roseman 2013; Scherer 2009) are a species of emotion theory. The basic premise of appraisal theories is that emotions are caused and differentiated by appraisal, a process in which values are determined for a number of appraisal factors such as goal relevance, goal in/congruence, un/expectedness, control, and agency. To situate appraisal theories in the theoretical landscape, the current chapter starts by clarifying how scientific theories often develop, and then applies it to the case...

Keywords

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Group of Quantitative Psychology and Individual Differences; Centre for Social and Cultural Psychology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Agnes Moors

  2. Department of Experimental-Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Agnes Moors

Authors
  1. Agnes Moors
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Correspondence to Agnes Moors .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Virgil Zeigler-Hill

  2. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Institute of Psychology, University of Lodz, Smugowa 10/12, 91-433, Lodz, Poland

    Monika Wróbel

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Moors, A. (2017). Appraisal Theory of Emotion. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_493-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_493-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

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