Cognitive Appraisal Research Articles

How does depressive cognition develop? A state-dependent network model of predictive processing.

Depression is vastly heterogeneous in its symptoms, neuroimaging data, and treatment responses. As such, describing how it develops at the network level has been notoriously difficult. In an attempt to overcome this issue, a theoretical "negative prediction mechanism" is proposed. Here, eight key brain regions are connected in a transient, state-dependent, core network of pathological communication that could facilitate the development of depressive cognition. In the context of predictive processing, it is suggested that this mechanism is activated as a response to negative/adverse stimuli in the external and/or internal environment that exceed a vulnerable individual's capacity for cognitive appraisal. Specifically, repeated activation across this network is proposed to update individual's brain so that it increasingly predicts and reinforces negative experiences over time-pushing an individual at-risk for or suffering from depression deeper into mental illness. Within this, the negative prediction mechanism is poised to explain various aspects of prognostic outcome, describing how depression might ebb and flow over multiple timescales in a dynamically changing, complex environment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Carrying Ostracism Overnight: The Cognitive Mechanism Underlying the Effect of Daily Workplace Ostracism on Next-Day Work Engagement.

Integrating cognitive appraisal theory of stress and attachment theory, the current study explored the influence of daily workplace ostracism on employee short-term work engagement and examined the mediating role of negative work reflection and the moderating effects of employee attachment styles (i.e., attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety). To test the theoretical model, we employed an experience sampling method to collect daily diary data over 10 consecutive workdays, resulting in a final sample of 834 observations drawn from 133 participants. Results of multilevel path analysis indicated that daily workplace ostracism was negatively related to employee next-day work engagement through negative work reflection at night. In addition, we found that employee attachment avoidance not only moderated the within-person relationship between daily workplace ostracism and negative work reflection at night but also alleviated the indirect effect of daily workplace ostracism on next-day work engagement via negative work reflection at night. Taken together, our study contributed by unfolding the dynamic cognitive appraisal process of workplace ostracism and identifying the significant role of attachment avoidance in shaping employees' cognitive reactions to daily workplace ostracism.

Tracing the Integration Journey: A Qualitative Study of Conflict Between Gender/Sexuality Identity and Religiosity Among LGBTQ Individuals in Indonesia

The mainstream religious perspective that opposes homosexuality and cross-gender expression creates a dilemma for LGBTQ individuals, especially those who grew up with a specific religious affiliation. This can result in internal conflict between gender and religiosity. The present study aims to explore how individuals perceive and cope with the conflict between their religious status and gender and sexual identity over time. We used qualitative methods, specifically the grounded theory approach, which allowed for a focus on the process of theory formation and development. Six participants were selected using purposive and snowball sampling criteria: 1) they identified as part of the LGBTQ community; 2) they had practiced or were currently practicing a particular religion, and; 3) they were at least 18 years old. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. We developed an “Integration Model of Conflict Between Gender/Sexuality Identity and Religiosity” derived from Cass’s Gender Identity Formation Model [6]. This model consists of the following stages: nonconform, questioning, conflict, exploration, self-identify, compromise, self-integration, and spiritual integration. Additionally, we observed how cognitive appraisal and attachment to religion as a community can play a role in preventing gender-religiosity conflict. This study provides insight into the experiences of LGBTQ individuals who also have a religious affiliation and may be struggling with conflicting identities. The model developed in this study can be used as a framework for understanding and supporting individuals going through this process. Keywords: LGBTQ+, gender, Indonesia

Fear more or fear no more: examining the emotional and behavioral consequences of FOMO and JOMO

PurposeFear of Missing Out (FOMO) is characterized by anxiety over potentially missed experiences, while Joy of Missing Out (JOMO) embraces contentment in opting out of social engagements. Drawing on cognitive appraisal theory, this study aims to investigate how FOMO and JOMO appeals influence pride, gratitude and purchase intention while considering the impacts of age and social comparison orientation.Design/methodology/approachThree experiments examined the impact of FOMO (Study 1), JOMO (Study 2), and comparison between FOMO and JOMO (Study 3) on pride, gratitude and purchase intention. Moderated-moderated mediation models were also tested to assess the roles of age and social comparison orientation (SCO).FindingsFOMO appeals tend to boost feelings of pride, while JOMO appeals promote gratitude, both of which result in a higher likelihood of making a purchase. The effect of FOMO appeal on purchase intention via pride is stronger among younger consumers with high SCO. In contrast, the impact of JOMO appeal on purchase intention via gratitude is higher among older consumers with low SCO.Practical implicationsUnderstanding the nuances of different advertising appeals and their effect on consumer emotions (e.g. pride and gratitude) and purchase intention can inform marketers and advertising agencies in crafting more targeted and effective advertising campaigns that resonate with diverse consumer segments.Originality/valueThis study adds to the consumer emotion literature and generational research by emphasizing the role of emotions and age in shaping consumer responses to advertisements.

Comparing the distinctive influences of physical and social servicescapes on brand love for internet‐famous restaurants

Purpose This study aims to investigate the different effects of physical and social servicescapes on brand love for internet-famous restaurants, focusing on their pathways and strengths of influence. Design/methodology/approach Structural equation modeling was applied to analyze data from 387 online questionnaires in China. Findings Results indicate that social servicescape directly influences brand love for internet-famous restaurants, while physical servicescape does not. The effect of physical servicescape on brand love for internet-famous restaurants is mediated by perceived coolness and perceived enjoyment, whereas social servicescape’s influence is mediated solely by perceived enjoyment. Overall, physical servicescape has a stronger impact on brand love for internet-famous restaurants compared to social servicescape. Practical implications The findings help internet-famous restaurants create effective physical and social servicescapes to enhance brand love, underscoring that physical servicescape is more crucial than social servicescape for cultivating this love. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by analyzing the heterogeneous pathways and strengths of physical and social servicescapes influencing brand love for internet-famous restaurants, while highlighting the mediating role of perceived coolness and expanding the application scope of cognitive appraisal theory.

A systematic review on mediators and moderators of job insecurity–health relation before and after COVID-19 pandemic

PurposeJob insecurity is one of the most hazardous work stressors in the twenty-first century, placing employees between employment and unemployment may threaten employees’ health in the workplaces. Using a systematic review, the first aim of this study is to list the mediators and moderators of the link between job insecurity and health-related outcomes, and second, to explain and discuss the mechanisms that could explain the mediating and moderating effects.Design/methodology/approachWe searched four databases (Science Direct, PubMed, Springer Link and Google Scholar) from 2008 to 2018 to detect these mediators and moderators. Also, as the study was conducted during COVID-19 pandemic, we particularly searched and reported the same associations over this period (2019–2022).FindingsThe results of the review suggest that job insecurity negatively influences a wide range of both health- and safety-related outcomes in the workplace. The results also showed that the most studied mediator and moderator of the job insecurity-health link over the past 10 years has been workload and employability. During COVID-19, the number of studies on mediators were more than moderators and coping strategies appeared to gain more research attention. Additionally, this review suggests that, to explain the mediation and moderation effects, a combination of cognitive appraisal theory and the conservation of resources theory can be used.Originality/valueAlthough this review suggests that job insecurity detrimentally influences employee health, the severity of this impact on health-related outcomes may vary by the effects of various moderators.

Affective Responses, Appraisal processes, and Coping Mechanisms in Intercultural Teams: Insights from the COVID-19 Pandemic

This research study examines the challenges faced by intercultural teams and the coping mechanisms employed while working on a virtual business professional project during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing upon affect event theory and appraisal theory, the study sheds light on the interplay between affective responses, cognitive appraisals, and coping mechanisms adopted by teams during the pandemic crisis. The findings offer valuable insights into effective strategies for steering intercultural teams during and after pandemic crisis. These insights are beneficial for both scholars and practitioners seeking to improve intercultural communication and collaboration within virtual work settings.

How the workplace usage of AI in China influences proactive behaviour? The role of pride and shame

ABSTRACT Based on the cognitive appraisal theory of emotions, we investigated the impact of AI usage on individuals’ positive and negative emotions as well as their proactive behaviour. Through a survey study conducted in China among 203 employees who have work experiences with AI with a one-month interval, we revealed the influence pathway between AI usage and proactive behaviour, which is mediated by two types of self-conscious emotions: pride and shame, and the satisfaction of competence need can moderate the relationship between AI usage and pride. The theoretical and implications of this study were discussed.

Prenatal maternal subjective distress predicts higher autistic-like traits in offspring: The Iowa Flood Study.

Autism spectrum disorder prevalence more than quadrupled in the United States between 2000 and 2020. Ice storm-related prenatal maternal stress (PNMS) predicts autistic-like trait severity in children exposed early in gestation. The objective was to determine the extent to which PNMS influences the severity and trajectory of autistic-like traits in prenatally flood-exposed children at ages 4-7 years and to test moderation by sex and gestational timing. Soon after the June 2008 floods in Iowa, USA, 268 women pregnant during the disaster were assessed for objective hardship, subjective distress, and cognitive appraisal of the experience. When their children were 4, 5½, and 7 years old, mothers completed the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) to assess their children's autistic-like traits; 137 mothers completed the SCQ for at least one age. The final longitudinal multilevel model showed that the greater the maternal subjective distress, the more severe the child's autistic-like traits, controlling for objective hardship. The effect of PNMS on rate of change was not significant, and there were no significant main effects or interactions involving sex or timing. Prenatal maternal subjective distress, but not objective hardship or cognitive appraisal, predicted more severe autistic-like traits at age 4, and this effect remained stable through age 7.

Understanding the formation process of positive customer engagement behaviors: a quantitative and qualitative interpretation

PurposeTo investigate the impact of cognition, emotion and other factors on positive customer engagement behaviors and to identify the differential formation processes and dynamic changes in these behaviors.Design/methodology/approachWe used cognitive appraisals and coping theory as well as justice theory, to analyze comment data from the Xiaomi Community with natural language processing and binary logistic regression.FindingsOur results indicate that cognition and emotion are unnecessary for positive customer engagement. Users expressing different cognitions and emotions exhibit varied positive engagement behaviors. The behavioral dimension was the most frequently combined, followed by the affective and cognitive dimensions. Managers should adopt material or spiritual incentives to encourage users with positive emotions and cognition to become loyal. Additionally, addressing comments with distributive justice cognition can promote positive customer engagement.Originality/valueThis study clarifies the complex interplay between cognition, emotion and customer engagement behaviors, providing actionable insights for brand managers to foster customer loyalty and positive customer engagement.

Does job gamification perception promote the job involvement of gig workers? The role of cognitive assessment and overwork—evidence from Chinese delivery platforms

PurposeThis paper takes the gig workers in Chinese delivery platform as the research object and adopts a questionnaire survey to explore the complex influence of job gamification perception on the job involvement of gig workers, via the mediating role of cognitive assessment and moderating role of overwork, in order to provide research and data support for the development of platform gamification.Design/methodology/approachThe study conducted a three-wave online questionnaire survey to obtain 300 final samples from Chinese delivery platforms. Hypotheses were tested hierarchical regression and bootstrap methods.FindingsDrawing on cognitive appraisal theory, we observed an inverted U-shaped relationship of gig workers between job gamification perception and job involvement. The mediating role of cognitive assessment and moderating role of overwork were also considered. Both challenge and threat assessment mediate the relationship between job gamification perception and job involvement. Direct effect of job gamification perception on job involvement and indirect effect of job gamification perception on cognitive assessment are moderated by overwork.Originality/valueIn the past, the research on job gamification mostly focused on the traditional forms of employment, but this study focuses on the new forms of employment and from the perspective of individual self-perception, explores the influence of job gamification perception on the job involvement of gig workers in Chinese delivery platform and investigated the dialectical role of job gamification perception. The findings enrich the literature and theoretical research on job gamification perception and job involvement and provide new references and perspectives for management practice.

Navigating Societal Stressors Through Yoga in Korea

Modernization in Korea has led to increased psychological tension driven by changes in societal expectations and social norms. The current study explores the role of yoga in promoting stress-related growth in response to psychological stress and trauma within Korean society. We adopted interpretive phenomenological analysis to explore the lived experiences of 12 adults who practiced yoga regularly through in-depth interviews. Reflexive engagement with the data led to the development of the following themes: a) societal stressors in Korea, b) emotional regulation through the mind-body connection, c) self-care and d) manifestation in other dimensions of life. Building on the theoretical foundation of cognitive appraisal theory, our findings revealed that yoga facilitated a shift in perceptions and ability to manage stress by cultivating mindfulness. This research highlights the multifaceted dynamics of yoga in managing societal expectations in Korea and emphasizes its potential to promote psychological well-being and stress-related growth.

Cognitive and affective links between childhood adversity and psychological adjustment in emerging adults with chronic medical conditions.

Childhood adversity has been linked to poor psychological adjustment and decreased emotion regulation (ER) abilities. The extended process model of ER outlines the pivotal role of cognitive appraisals in the generation and expression of emotion as well as the pursuit of ER. The aim of the current study is to examine whether illness-related cognitive appraisals (i.e., illness uncertainty and illness intrusiveness) and emotion dysregulation serially mediate the relationship between childhood adversity and psychological adjustment for emerging adults with chronic medical conditions (CMCs). Participants included 557 undergraduate college students (Mage= 19.53 years, SD = 1.34) enrolled in a Midwestern public university with self-reported CMCs. Participants completed measures of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), illness uncertainty, illness intrusiveness, emotion dysregulation, anxious symptoms, and depressive symptoms. A path analysis was conducted examining ACEs → cognitive appraisals (i.e., illness uncertainty, illness intrusiveness) → emotion dysregulation → depressive and anxious symptoms. The overall model was significant and predicted 63.5% of the variability in anxious symptoms and 60.2% of the variability in depressive symptoms. All anticipated direct and indirect paths were significant. The current study indicates that greater childhood adversity is indeed associated with negative appraisals of one's CMC, such as greater perceived uncertainty and intrusiveness. Negative illness-related cognitive appraisals thus may limit one's ability to effectively employ adaptive strategies to regulate emotions, which could contribute to greater depressive and anxious symptoms.

Uncertainty tolerance moderates the link between job insecurity and service performance: evidence from China’s hotel frontline employees

The pandemic crisis outbreak has impacted the hospitality industry tremendously. This study investigated the effect of job insecurity on service performance and examined the mediating role of cognitive appraisal and the moderating effect of uncertainty tolerance from the perspectives of cognitive appraisal theory of stress. The study collected a questionnaire from 316 hotel employees at three time points, with a one-month interval between the two time points. The SPSS PROCESS macro and MPLUS are used to test the research hypotheses. The results highlighted that the mediating role of challenge-hindrance appraisal, affirming that job insecurity positively impacts service performance via increasing challenge appraisal, and job insecurity negatively impacts service performance via increasing hindrance appraisal. Furthermore, the results show that uncertainty tolerance moderates the relationship between job insecurity and cognitive appraisal and also moderated the indirect effect of job insecurity on service performance through cognitive appraisal. The research results provide implications for human resource management in the hospitality industry.

Discovering implicit role of tourists’ perceived distance and emotions in decision-making: combing grounded theory and sentiment analysis

ABSTRACT Analysing the attitudes and emotions behind tourists’ perceptions of distance provides powerful assistance for destination marketers and scholars. However, there is yet to be a universally adopted scale of tourists’ perceived distance. It is hard to effectively extract tourists’ attitudes from the distance scale toward a destination. This paper identifies the critical dimensions of perceived distance voiced by 19 Chinese tourists with grounded analysis, an inductive, comparative, and interactive method that effectively captures nuanced information. Advanced techniques for linguistic analysis provide the opportunity to extract emotional meaning from tourists’ textual data through the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) algorithm. The results identify a set of appraisal dimensions as antecedents to perceived distance. With cognitive appraisal theory (CAT), different evaluations on these dimensions provide multiple paths to eliciting emotion change. The findings contrast with previous research in the distance decay model, which noted a single distance involving tourism demand. We also find differences based on demographic segments. Social network analysis helps further identify the relationship between dimensions. We conclude by discussing the study's implications for future studies and practice.

To Leave or to Stay? Research on the Double-Edged Sword Effect of Illegitimate Tasks on Employee Turnover Intention.

Purpose: This study explores the double-edged sword impact of illegitimate tasks on turnover intention and how this influence is manifested. Design/methodology/approach: Multisource data were collected from employees in different industries in South China at two points in time. The hypotheses were tested with hierarchical multiple regression analysis in combination with PROCESS macro-based bootstrapping. Findings: Illegitimate tasks can both weaken employees' turnover intention by triggering challenge stressor appraisal and enhance employees' turnover intention by triggering hindrance stressor appraisal. The research results confirm the double-edged sword effect of illegitimate tasks on employees' turnover intention. Practical implications: To mitigate employees' turnover intention and reduce turnover rates, organizational managers need to pay attention to the negative impact of illegitimate tasks and be concerned about employees' subjective cognition of these tasks. Additionally, organizations must optimize work design to reduce unnecessary tasks and assign unreasonable tasks to suitable employees. Originality/value: Based on the cognitive appraisal theory of stress, this study constructs a double-edged sword effect model. The results show that illegitimate tasks not only have negative impacts on employee turnover intention but also have potential positive impacts through two mediating pathways: challenge stressor appraisal and hindrance stressor appraisal. The research results indicate that illegitimate tasks have both a dark side and a bright side.

Associations between cognitive appraisals and emotions: A meta-analytic review.

The core premise of cognitive appraisal theories of emotion is that emotions are produced from our interpretation of what we experience. Compared to other major theoretical frameworks in emotion, the appraisal perspective emphasizes the centrality of these cognitive interpretations in giving rise to emotions. Decades of research have yielded numerous studies that broadly agree on the centrality of the appraisal process, but differ in the details, with different lists of appraisal dimensions, terminology, and only qualitative predictions for the relationship between select appraisals and emotions. Despite hundreds of published empirical studies, the field still lacks a systematic, quantitative meta-analysis that can establish support for the detailed relationships between appraisals and emotions. Here, we conducted a mixed-effects meta-analysis of 2,634 effect sizes from 309 studies across 251 reports, covering 47 distinct appraisals and 63 emotions, to assess the evidence for 853 specific appraisal-emotion relationships. We find that 75.0% of previously hypothesized relationships between appraisals and emotions were statistically significant, with an average moderate-to-large effect size (mean r = .33). We also highlight many previously unpredicted relationships, with an average small-to-moderate effect size (mean r = .27), which can form the basis for future confirmatory studies and theory refinement. As a summary, we provide a taxonomy of appraisal dimensions, as well as appraisal profiles of these emotions, which could be useful to affective scientists, clinical psychologists, and applied behavioral researchers. Taken together, this review documents the state of knowledge in the field and generates new hypotheses for future research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The Nitty Gritty of Stress and Mental Health: The Role of Grit in Moderating the Relationship Between Stress, Anxiety, and Depression

ABSTRACT College students in the United States contend with unprecedented mental health difficulties. College-specific challenges and stressors associated with emerging adulthood exacerbate these mental health struggles. In the ABC-X model of stress, cognitive appraisal or perception mediates the relationship between stressful events and degraded mental health. In this model, a resource, such as grit, may strengthen student resilience. Using data collected from 844 US college students, the path analysis results identified the mediation effect of the perception of stress on the association between college life challenges and mental health difficulties (depression and anxiety). These mediation effects were not significantly affected by the level of grit. However, the relationships between the perception of stress and both anxiety and depression were weaker at higher levels of grit. The implications of these findings, relative to grit interventions and attrition, are considered.

You have got a nerve: examining the nexus between coworkers' cyberloafing and workplace incivility

PurposeWhile cyberloafing has emerged as a prevalent issue in numerous workplaces, research on its consequences is still underdeveloped, highlighting a need for further exploration and analysis. Drawing upon the cognitive appraisal theory of emotion, this study investigates the influence of coworkers' cyberloafing on employees' workplace incivility, mediated by negative emotions and moderated by task interdependence.Design/methodology/approachIn Study 1, the hypothesized research model was tested utilizing three-wave time-lagged survey data collected from 333 employees and their coworkers. In Study 2, an additional sample of 274 employees was surveyed. Data were analyzed using hierarchical regression analysis and the bootstrap method.FindingsThe results indicated that coworkers' cyberloafing positively influenced employees' workplace incivility, with this relationship mediated by negative emotions. Additionally, task interdependence was found to positively moderate both the direct relationship between coworkers' cyberloafing and negative emotions and the indirect path from coworkers' cyberloafing to employees' workplace incivility through negative emotions.Practical implicationsThis study helps managers gain a deeper understanding of cyberloafing's effects, enabling them to manage and curb it more effectively.Originality/valuePrior research has predominantly explored the effects of cyberloafing on its implementers. However, this study innovatively shifts focus to the observer perspective, empirically demonstrating whether and how coworkers' cyberloafing affects employees' workplace incivility, enriching and expanding the existing literature.

When knowledge workers meet AI? The double-edged sword effects of AI adoption on innovative work behavior

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) adoption on knowledge workers' innovative work behaviors (IWB), as well as the mediating role of stress appraisal and the moderating role of individual learning abilities. Design/methodology/approach This study analyzed the questionnaire results of 313 knowledge workers, and data analysis was conducted by using SPSS 25.0, SPSS 25.0 macro-PROCESS and AMOS 28.0. Findings This study found that AI adoption has a double-edged sword effect on knowledge workers' IWB. Specifically, AI adoption can promote IWB by enhancing knowledge workers' challenging stress appraisal, while inhibiting IWB by fostering their hindering stress appraisal. Moreover, individual learning ability significantly moderated the relationship between AI adoption and stress appraisal, which further influenced IWB. Originality/value This study integrates the conflicting findings of previous studies and proposes a comprehensive theoretical model based on the theory of cognitive appraisal of stress. This study enriches the research on AI in the field of knowledge management, especially extending the understanding of the relationship between AI adoption and knowledge workers’ IWB by unraveling the psychological mechanisms and behavior outcomes of users' technology usage. Additionally, we provide new insights and suggestions for organizations to seek the cooperation and support of employees in introducing new technologies or driving intelligent transformation.