Deck 4: What Elicits Emotions

Question 1

Which of the following is the best definition of appraisal, in the context of emotion theory?

A) Our understanding of how much a stimulus is likely to be worth, in terms of value
B) The objective implications of some event for our goals and well-being
C) The meaning our culture ascribes to a stimulus or event
D) Our subjective interpretation of what a stimulus or event means for our own goals, concerns, and well-being

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Studies measuring electrical signals caused by brain activity or facial muscle movement have found that people can detect and respond to emotional stimuli in less than second(s).

A) 50 milliseconds, or 1/20^th of a
B) 500 milliseconds, or 1/2 of a
C) 1
D) 2

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Research evidence suggests that emotion-eliciting appraisals:

A) occur rapidly, without conscious analysis of the situation.
B) develop slowly, after thinking consciously about the situation for a while.
C) are influenced by emotions that preceded the current situation, as well as the situation itself.
D) Research has documented all three of these appraisal processes.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Richard Lazarus proposed that emotions are elicited by the perception of "core relational themes" in environmental stimuli and/or events. This hypothesis about the causes of emotion is mostly closely aligned with which major theory of emotion?

A) Basic/discrete emotions theory
B) Core affect theory
C) The component process model
D) The evaluative space model

Question 5

According to Richard Lazarus (1991), the core relational theme evoking the emotion of guilt is:

A) an uncertain, existential threat.
B) having transgressed a moral imperative.
C) failing to live up to an ego-ideal.
D) being moved by another's suffering and wanting to help.

Question 6

According to Richard Lazarus (1991), the core relational theme evoking the emotion of pride is:

A) progress toward achieving a goal.
B) wanting something someone else already has.
C) taking credit for a valued object or accomplishment.
D) feeling entitled to affection from another person.

Question 7

According to Richard Lazarus (1991), the core relational theme evoking the emotion of anger is:

A) a demeaning offense against me and mine.
B) an indigestible object or idea.
C) resenting a third person for threat to another's affection for you.
D) someone blocking or interfering with achievement of your goal.

Question 8

According to Richard Lazarus (1991), the core relational theme evoking the emotion of sadness is:

A) wanting something that you cannot have
B) perceiving that another person is suffering
C) experiencing an irrevocable loss
D) feeling physically tired and depleted

Question 9

Klaus Scherer has proposed that emotions are elicited by appraisals along dimensions such as novelty, unexpectedness, pleasantness, certainty, and control. This hypothesis about the causes of emotion is mostly closely aligned with which major theory of emotion?

A) Basic/discrete emotions theory
B) The evaluative space model
C) Core affect theory
D) The component process model

Question 10

Which of the following major theories of emotion allows for an emotion blend - the simultaneous experience of multiple emotions?

A) Basic/discrete emotions theory
B) Core affect theory
C) The component process model
D) All three of these theories allow for emotion blends.

Question 11

Which of the following best summarizes the distinction between primary and secondary appraisal, in Richard Lazarus' theory?

A) Primary appraisal assesses what caused the situation; secondary appraisal assesses what is likely to happen next.
B) Primary appraisal assesses the eliciting situation and its implications for your own goals; secondary appraisal assesses your ability to cope with the situation.
C) Primary appraisal assesses your own role in creating the situation; secondary appraisal assesses other people's role in creating it.
D) Primary appraisal assesses implications of the situation for you and your goals; secondary appraisal assesses implications of the situation for other people's goals.

Question 12

According to both the core relational theme and dimensional approaches to appraisal, the way in which we appraise a given situation is strongly influenced by , and the links between appraisal and emotional response are .

A) cultural learning; also culturally learned
B) cultural learning; innate and universal
C) universal rules; culturally learned
D) universal rules; also innate and universal

Question 13

Which of the following best describes the difference in physiological responding when people interpret the same task as a threat vs. challenge?

A) Cardiac activity increases and the blood vessels contract in threat, but not in challenge.
B) Cardiac activity increases in threat but decreases in challenge; in both, the blood vessels contract.
C) Although cardiac activity increases in both, the blood vessels contract in challenge and relax in threat.
D) Although cardiac activity increases in both, the blood vessels contract in threat and relax in challenge.

Question 14

Which of the following best describes the main implications of the Tomaka and colleagues (1997) threat/challenge study described in your textbook?

A) People will show different physiological response profiles in the same situation, if they appraise that situation differently.
B) People's appraisals of a situation can be manipulated experimentally.
C) People have control over how they appraise stressful situations.
D) Physiological stress responding includes both changes in heart rate and changes in vascular pressure.

Question 15

In the study by Klaus Scherer (1997), examining the appraisal dimension profiles associated with specific emotions in countries around the world, the primary differences between anger and fear were seen in .

A) unpleasantness and coping potential
B) unfairness and coping potential
C) immorality and unfairness
D) unfairness and self-consistency

Question 16

In the study by Klaus Scherer (1997), examining the appraisal dimension profiles associated with specific emotions in countries around the world, the highest cross-cultural consistency was observed for .

A) joy
B) sadness
C) fear
D) disgust

Question 17

In the study by Klaus Scherer (1997), examining the appraisal profiles associated with specific emotions in countries around the world, which appraisal dimensions showed the greatest tendency to differ across cultures?

A) unfairness and coping
B) expectedness and coping
C) unfairness and immorality
D) expectedness and goal obstruction

Question 18

Which of the following accurately describes the mere exposure effect?

A) People associate discrete emotions with abstract stimuli (such as Japanese writing characters), even when exposed to them for the first time.
B) People report greater preference for abstract stimuli that they have seen a greater number of times, though they are unaware of the link between exposure and preference.
C) People report greater liking for people to whom they have exposed themselves more, by revealing personal information.
D) None of the above is an accurate description of the mere exposure effect.

Question 19

Research evidence suggests that:

A) at the dispositional level, people who are more prone to blaming other people in unpleasant situations also tend to experience anger more frequently.
B) at the situational level, most people report feeling angry only when they blame another person for something bad that has happened.
C) people who experience anger in response to one situation are more likely to perceive ambiguous words, presented later on, as threatening.
D) Evidence suggests that all of the above are true.

Question 20

Which of the following does NOT characterize the appraisal profile associated with anger, according to research by Klaus Scherer?

A) unexpectedness
B) unpleasantness
C) low controllability
D) All of the appraisals above are associated with anger.

Question 21

According to Berkowitz's (1990) cognitive neoassociationistic (CNA) model, which of the following can lead to the experience of anger?

A) Pain or other discomfort
B) Goal blockage
C) Appraisal of another's hostile intent
D) According to the CNA model, all of the above can lead to anger.

Question 22

Which of the following best summarizes Berkowitz's (1990) cognitive neoassociationistic (CNA) model of anger generation?

A) Any unpleasant event or sensation facilitates anger and aggression.
B) Any event that causes frustration, or goal blockage, will cause anger.
C) Any unpleasant event for which we blame another person will elicit anger.
D) Any event we have previously associated with a negative outcome will lead to anger.

Question 23

Which of the following hypothetical study results would NOT support Berkowitz's (1990) cognitive neoassociationistic (CNA) model of anger generation?

A) In a study of participants recovering from a painful injury, those who have taken acetaminophen (an over-the-counter painkiller) are less angered by a staged computer breakdown than those who have taken a placebo.
B) In a study of appraisals in specific unpleasant situations, the correlation of external causation appraisal with self-reported anger intensity is .87.
C) In a study of emotional responses to repeated, loud noise blasts, participants told they could stop the noises by asking the experimenter to end the study over an intercom reported feeling anger, whereas participants who believed they were locked in the room and had no way to communicate with the experimenter reported feeling fear.
D) All of the results described above would support the CNA model.

Question 24

Appraisal biases may help contribute to some psychological disorders, in which emotional reactions are consistently excessive relative to the eliciting situation.

Question 25

Emotion theorists assume that the appraisals leading to emotion reflect conscious, deliberate analyses of the situation.

Question 26

Research participants have shown appropriate facial expressions and physiological responses to emotion stimuli, even if those stimuli were presented so quickly that participants were not consciously aware of what they had seen.

Question 27

According to both the core relational theme and the appraisal dimensions approaches, the links between appraisals and emotional outcomes are innate, and should be cross-culturally universal.

Question 28

According to both the core relational theme and the appraisal dimensions approaches, the ways in which we appraise a given situation can be strongly influenced by culture.

Question 29

Cardiac activity increases in "threat" appraisal, circulating more blood through the body, but decreases in "challenge" appraisal.

Question 30

In a study by Klaus Scherer (1997), people in different parts of the world linked specific emotions, such as anger and disgust, to profiles of appraisal dimensions in dramatically different ways.

Question 31

Extensive research evidence suggests that people reliably form preferences for otherwise neutral stimuli, after simply seeing those stimuli many times.

Question 32

Explain the distinction between primary and secondary appraisal, as described by Richard Lazarus.

Question 33

In class, you learned about the difference between "threat" and "challenge" appraisals of stressful situations. Analyze this difference in terms of Richard Lazarus' distinction between primary and secondary appraisals: in what aspect are threat and challenge similar, and in what way are they different?

Question 34

Think about (a) a recent time when you felt angry, and (b) a recent time when you felt bad. Describe each of these events, and analyze your own appraisal of each situation, comparing and contrasting how you interpreted the meaning of the situation. Use at least three of Klaus Scherer's appraisal dimensions, as well as identifying the "core relational theme" the event held for you.

Question 35

Compare and contrast the explanations offered by (a) Lazarus' core relational themes approach, (b) Scherer's appraisal dimensions approach, and (c) the cognitive neoassociationistic model for what elicits anger.