Researchers have developed several theories of how human emotions arise and are represented in the brain. The mechanisms behind our experience of emotions and our cognitive processing of them remains a central topic of research and debate. The appraisal theory of emotion, developed primarily through the work of prominent researchers Magda Arnold and Richard Lazarus, proposes that emotions are extracted from our "appraisals" (i.e., our evaluations, interpretations, and explanations) of events. The central question that the appraisal theory seeks to answer is why different people have different perceptions of and emotional reactions to the same situations.

For example, if a person goes on a romantic date and perceives this date as positive, they might feel happiness, joy, giddiness, excitement, or anticipation because they have appraised this event as one that could have positive effects. On the other hand, if the date is perceived negatively, the person's resulting emotions might include dejection, sadness, emptiness, or fear (Scherer et al., 2001).

Magda B. Arnold

Magda Arnold (1903–2002) was an American psychologist who coined the term appraisal to refer to the cognitive processes preceding the elicitation of emotion. She developed her “cognitive theory” in the 1960s, which specified that the first step in experiencing an emotion is an appraisal of the situation. According to Arnold, an initial appraisal begins the emotional sequence by arousing both the appropriate physiological reactions and the emotional experience itself. In this way, she identified physiological changes as important to the process but not as the initiator of people's reactions and experiences.

Richard Lazarus

Psychologist Richard Lazarus (1991) adapted Arnold's work slightly in the development of his cognitive-mediational theory, which asserts our emotions are determined by our appraisals of stimuli. This appraisal mediates between the stimulus and the emotional response, and it is immediate and often unconscious. In contrast to the Schachter–Singer theory of emotions, which views emotion as an outcome of the interaction between physiological arousal and cognition, Lazarus argued that the appraisal precedes cognitive labeling, simultaneously stimulating both the physiological arousal and the emotional experience itself.

Comparing the theories of emotion

This figure illustrates how Lazarus' appraisal theory differentiates from the James–Lange, Cannon–Bard, and Schachter–Singer theories of emotion.

Lazarus argued that the cognitive activity involved in interpreting emotional context could be conscious or unconscious and may or may not take the form of conceptual processing. He stressed that the quality and intensity of emotions are controlled through cognitive processes, which mediate the relationship between the person and the environment through coping strategies, which in turn are the basis of the emotional reaction.

In his research, Lazarus specified two major types of appraisal methods: 1) primary appraisal, which seeks to establish the significance or meaning of an event, and 2) secondary appraisal, which assesses the ability of the individual to cope with the consequences of the event. In the specific context of emotion and stress, Lazarus described primary appraisals as judgments about the degree of potential harm or threat to well-being that a stressor might introduce. The perception of a threat then triggers the secondary appraisal—judgment of the options available to cope with the stressor—as well as perceptions of how effective such options will be.

Lazarus: Primary and secondary appraisal

According to Lazarus' cognitive-mediational theory, upon encountering a stressor, a person judges its potential threat (via primary appraisal) and then determines if effective options are available to manage the situation (via secondary appraisal). Stress is likely to result if a stressor is perceived as threatening and few or no effective coping options are available.