Requirements for a Process Model of Appraisal From a Social Functional Perspective

Abstract

Research on computational models of human emotional processes has grown rapidly over the last decade and much of this work has relied on appraisal theories as the basis for the model. However, there is an ongoing debate as to whether appraisal theories, and by extension the computational models based on appraisal, do a good accounting of the social phenomenal that are integral to human emotional processes. We investigate this question using our own work on EMA, a computational process model of appraisal. We lay out the social critiques of appraisal models and use EMA as a frame against which we can assess their computational implications. Finally we conclude with a proposal for a social emotional appraisal process that addresses many of these requirements through incorporation of theory of mind reasoning.