Cognitive Appraisal Theory Research Articles

Novelty, unexpectedness and surprise: a conceptual clarification

ABSTRACT This research note distinguishes between the concepts of novelty, unexpectedness and surprise applied in research on tourism experiences. In the existing tourism discourse, these concepts are used interchangeably, generating terminological ambiguity and conceptual confusion. However, in cognitive psychology, each term has a distinct and identifiable meaning. This short communication articulates and interprets each concept through the lens of feelings-as-information and cognitive appraisal theories. In cognitive psychology, novelty is an appraisal dimension influencing the intensity of emotion. Unexpectedness is explained as a conscious recognition that novelty or a feeling of surprise has been experienced. Surprise, on the other hand, is defined as an unconscious (emotional) state, as well as conscious awareness of the event associated with feelings, which occurs due to the mismatch between expectations and actual experience (leading to an appraisal of novelty). Each of these three concepts has neutral valence, and thus may be associated with both pleasant and unpleasant tourism experiences. Overall, this research demonstrates that the use of cognitive psychology can provide much needed conceptual clarity on mental processes which underpin travel behaviour and experience memorability.

How consumer confidence affects price conscious behavior: The roles of financial vulnerability and locus of control

Despite their ubiquity in academic and commercial research, evidence of the usefulness of consumer confidence indices is mixed. To contribute to this debate, we examine the psychological mechanisms through which consumer confidence does (and does not) affect consumer behavior. We develop a conceptual model, which we test via structural equation modelling and moderated mediation analysis, using data from a sample of US consumers (n = 1,090). Rather than conceptualize consumer confidence as a single construct, our study is the first to distinguish between national consumer confidence and personal consumer confidence. Consistent with cognitive appraisal theory, personal consumer confidence mediates the relationship between national consumer confidence and perceived financial vulnerability, which in turn leads to increased price conscious behavior. Drawing on attribution theory, we find that external locus of control enhances the effects of national consumer confidence. We provide practical advice to economic forecasters, business analysts, marketers, and financial educators.

Chinese public\u2019s knowledge, perceived severity, and perceived controllability of COVID-19 and their associations with emotional and behavioural reactions, social participation, and precautionary behaviour: a national survey

BackgroundThe outbreak of the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) has caused enormous stress among the public in China. Intellectual input from various aspects is needed to fight against COVID-19, including understanding of the public’s emotion and behaviour and their antecedents from the psychological perspectives. Drawing upon the cognitive appraisal theory, this study examined three cognitive appraisals (i.e., perceived severity, perceived controllability, and knowledge of COVID-19) and their associations with a wide range of emotional and behavioural outcomes among the Chinese public.MethodsParticipants were 4607 citizens (age range: 17–90 years, Mage = 23.71 years) from 31 provinces in China and they took part in a cross-sectional survey online.ResultsThe results showed that the public’s emotional and behavioural reactions were slightly affected by the outbreak of COVID-19. Moreover, the public had limited participation in the events regarding COVID-19 but actively engaged in precautionary behaviour. In addition, results of structural equation model with latent variables revealed that the three appraisals were differentially related to the outcome variables (i.e., negative emotion, positive emotion, sleep problems, aggression, substance use, mobile phone use, social participation, and precautionary behaviour).ConclusionsThe findings highlight the utility of cognitive appraisal, as a core process of coping stress, in explaining the public’s emotion and behaviour in the encounter of public health concern. Practically, the findings facilitate the government and practitioners to design and deliver targeted intervention programs to the public.

Workplace Spirituality and Experienced Incivility at Work: Modeling Dark Triad as a Moderator

Management scholars view workplace spirituality as an effective means of improving employee well-being and organizational productivity. However, a spiritual work environment may also be beneficial for controlling employees’ experiences of uncivil behaviors in the workplace. Drawing on conservation of resources theory and cognitive appraisal theory, we proposed and explored the linkage between workplace spirituality and incivility experienced from supervisors and colleagues in the workspace. We also investigated the moderating effect of the dark triad on the relationship. The data collected from two different samples (Sample 1—Banking industry, N = 225, and Sample 2—Information Technology (IT) industry, N = 220) provided support for our hypotheses. In both studies, we found a significant negative correlation between workplace spirituality and incivility experienced from the two sources (supervisors and colleagues). While only psychopathy moderated the linkage between workplace spirituality and supervisor incivility in Sample 1, the moderation effect of all three dark traits was significant in case of colleague incivility. In Sample 2, each member of the dark triad moderated the association between workplace spirituality and incivility experienced from seniors and peers. The findings provided support for the cognitive appraisal theory by explaining how the practice of workplace spirituality alters employees’ perceptions of uncivil behaviors shown by their superiors and peers. The study makes a significant contribution to theory, research, and practice by presenting workplace spirituality as a solution to the ever-rising epidemic of incivility in the workplace.

Drinking “Green”: What Drives Organic Wine Consumption in an Emerging Wine Market

The global fever for wine demands concerted endeavors for understanding determinants of wine consumers’ purchase decisions. Applying the cognitive appraisal theory, this study aims to identify factors that motivate Chinese consumers to purchase organic wines by incorporating consumers’ values (i.e., health consciousness), cognitive evaluations (i.e., social trust), and affective references (i.e., positive emotion) into the conceptual model. Moreover, the moderating effect of product familiarity on the conceptual model is examined. A multistage data collection via multiple sample techniques was employed. A total of 1,745 responses were collected in a 2-year duration from all 33 Provincial Level Administrative Units in China. The findings confirm the significant role of the three antecedents on consumers’ purchase intention of organic wines, regardless of their product familiarity level. It is also found that the relative importance of the three antecedents to consumers’ purchase intention show different patterns for consumers with varying levels of product familiarity. Implications of the study are drawn based on the study findings.

Compassion at Work: Looking at the Heart of Organizations

As the world moves from one crisis to another, compassion in response to human suffering is an essential, yet often overlooked, aspect of life. Suffering is also pervasive in organizational life as work is an essential part of life. Whether the suffering is stemming from an employee’s life outside of work (e.g., financial problems), part of one’s job role (e.g., taking care of sick patients), or organizationally induced (e.g., abusive leadership), organizations harbor the suffering of its employees and its clients or consumers. Yet there are significant gaps in understanding the antecedents, consequences, and boundary conditions of expressing compassion at work. The objective of this symposium is to offer new methodological and theoretical directions to highlight areas of inquiry focusing on the expression of compassion at work. All four papers in the session employ novel conceptualizations, designs, and analyses (e.g., in the moment, interactional dyadic design, team-level analyses with objective medical error data, and experimental designs) and make new theoretical connections (e.g., using attribution theory, cognitive appraisal theory, process model of emotion regulation) that serve as a catalyst for new scholarship on workplace compassion. The Role of Appraisals and Values-Directed Action in the Compassion Responding Process Presenter: Shanta Dey; U. Of Sydney Presenter: Anya Madeleine Johnson; U. Of Sydney Presenter: Helena Nguyen; U. Of Sydney Presenter: Paul Atkins; Australian National U. Presenter: Felicia Huppert; U. of Cambridge Compassion at Work: Perceived Self-Concern vs. Other Orientation and the Attribution Impacts Presenter: Jason Kanov; Western Washington U. Presenter: Hongguo Wei; U. of Central Oklahoma Presenter: Shaobing Li; Miami U. Ohio Compassion as a Regulatory Strategy for Coping with Difficult Colleagues Presenter: Hooria Jazaieri; Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara U. Collective Compassion on Team Outcomes and Roles of Collective Mindfulness and Meditative Practices Presenter: Helena Nguyen; U. Of Sydney Presenter: Karyn L. Wang; U. Of Sydney Presenter: Nickolas Yu; Sydney Local Health District Presenter: Greg Fairbrother; U. Of Sydney

How Supervisor Gossip and Regulatory Focus Interact to Impact Target's Proactive/Withdrawal Behavior

Research on workplace gossip has predominantly examined its impact from the gossiper’s and the receiver’s perspectives. By regarding supervisor negative gossip as a stimuli of the target employee’s job stress and self-regulation, this article elucidates the impact of the interaction of supervisor negative gossip and regulatory focus on target employees’ cognitive appraisal of the gossip and subsequent proactive/withdrawal behavior. Integrating regulatory focus theory with the cognitive appraisal theory of stress, this article developed a dual-pathway model to explore how supervisor negative gossip interacts with the target employees’ regulatory focus to influence their proactive/withdrawal behavior via increasing their challenge/hindrance appraisal of the gossip. It is proposed that the interaction of supervisor negative gossip and the target employees’ promotion focus increases the employees’ proactive behavior and decreases their withdrawal behavior through improving their challenge appraisal, while the interaction of supervisor negative gossip and the target employees’ prevention focus decreases the employees’ proactive behavior and increases their withdrawal behavior through improving their hindrance appraisal.

The Affective Foundation of Political Opinion Expression on Social Media: A Panel Analysis

AbstractSocial media (SM) allow citizens to not only read news but also express their political opinions. Drawing from cognitive appraisal and affective intelligence theory, this study investigated the affective foundation of political opinion expression on social media (POESM) using two-wave panel data. The results indicate that enthusiasm and anger stimulated POESM but only for individuals with a minimum threshold motivation to use SM for political purposes. Among the politically motivated, anxiety increased POESM for individuals with low political knowledge but lessened POESM for ones with high political knowledge. Thus, emotional states can be powerful drivers of POESM. In contexts with low levels of POESM, emotions may stimulate online discussion as well as contribute to the further emotionalization of political debates.

Emotion Display Rules, Emotion Regulation, and Teacher Burnout

Cognitive appraisal theories of emotions suggest that emotions are elicited by evaluations of events and situations and that our beliefs influence the ways we appraise or judge situations that we encounter. Gross and John (2003) theorized cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression as two general forms to regulate emotions. Although teacher emotion has been studied more extensively in the recent decade, Chang (2009b) has argued that there is a need for research into the ways that teachers’ implicit beliefs and cognitive processes influence their emotional reactions to the sources of burnout. Particularly, how emotional display rules serve as underlying principles that guide teachers to make decisions either consciously or unconsciously to express or not to express emotions. This study aims to examine the relationships among teachers’ beliefs about emotional display rules in the classroom, and the approaches in emotion regulation, and the subsequent feelings of burnout. Survey data was collected from 561 full-time teachers and subjected to hypothesis testing using structural equation modeling. The model provides evidence supporting a pathway between emotion display rules and expressive suppression. These display rules are particularly influential to expressive suppression which also leads to all three dimensions of burnout: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. Further, uses of cognitive reappraisals are found negatively associated with teacher burnout in all three dimensions. Results of the study indicated that teacher education or profession development should be designed to help teachers to detect and reframe their beliefs about display rules and to engage in cognitive reappraisal so that they may effectively manage their day-to-day emotions in the classroom.

Avoidance strategies: stress, appraisal and coping in hostel accommodation

Living in temporary accommodation (TA) can impact negatively on social and emotional well-being, particularly where it is poor-quality, large-scale, or congregate in nature. None-the-less, the ‘avoidance’ of TA, where an individual will sleep rough or squat when a bed space is available for their use, often provokes puzzlement on the part of the public, service providers and policy makers. Homeless people who abandon or avoid TA are often viewed as holding beliefs, characteristics or traits that render them unable or unwilling to make choices which prioritise their own well-being. Drawing on cognitive appraisal theory, and qualitative testimony from those with direct experience of TA in Belfast, this article challenges these perspectives, arguing that the avoidance of TA is better understood as a rational and reasoned response to an environment where intolerable levels of stress often pertain and individual control over stressors is extremely limited.

Examining the Influence of Emotional Expressions in Online Consumer Reviews on Perceived Helpfulness

Drawing on the cognitive appraisal theory of emotions and the attribution theory, this study extends existing research by examining how the emotional expressions influence perceived helpfulness of online consumer reviews (OCRs). We include two negative emotions (anger, fear) and two positive emotions (pride, surprise). Each of these four emotions can be described with respect to six emotional appraisal dimensions which containing certainty, pleasantness, attentional activity, anticipated effort, control and others’ responsibility. Hypotheses thus developed were empirically validated using the laboratory experiment in the context of restaurant services. Research results indicated that emotion expressions in OCRs have an indirect effect on perceived helpfulness through attribution about the reviewer's cognitive effort. We find that reviews with negative emotions are perceived to be more reviewer's cognitive efforts than positive emotions. More specifically, OCRs with negative emotions tend to comprise more diagnostic features related the product or service, and are more informative. We further examined whether the gender of reader moderates the relationship between different emotional expressions and perceived reviewer's cognitive effort. The results find that reviews conveying positive emotions tended to have a greater impact on male readers’ perception of reviewer's cognitive effort than those of female readers. Reviews conveying negative emotions were found to have a greater impact on female readers’ perception of reviewer's cognitive effort than that of male readers. The study results add to existing knowledge of the influence of emotional expression on perceived helpfulness, which will advance our understanding of information processing in the psychological mechanisms influencing the attitude. Applying the results from this study, restaurant service providers can make different coping strategy for discrete emotions and platform administrators can assistant reviewer express their emotions more precisely.

Post-service recovery emotion and customer trust: The role of satisfaction as mediation

Service failure is inevitable, leading to the provision of a recovery method by companies to overcome customer mistrust, that creates certain emotions. This research, therefore, aims to examine the indirect effect of customer emotion on trust and service recovery mediated by satisfaction. Data were obtained from 104 participants that read the vignette on service failure and recovery. This study used the data analysis of Process Hayes to measure the role of mediation. The result showed that customer satisfaction moderated the indirect effect between emotion and trust after service failure. In addition, cognitive appraisal theory supports the interactional and procedural process used to provide positive judgment. The implication of this study is useful for companies to minimize the possibility of service failure and provide recovery in order to maintain customer trust.

Why and when cognitive job insecurity relates to affective job insecurity? A three-study exploration of negative rumination and the tendency to negative gossip

ABSTRACT The job insecurity literature distinguishes between cognitive job insecurity and affective job insecurity where cognitive job insecurity reflects perceptions regarding the likelihood of total job loss or job features loss and affective job insecurity refers to emotional reactions to that potential loss. Indeed, affective job insecurity is demonstrated to be an affective reaction to cognitive job insecurity. However, the relationship between cognitive job insecurity and affective job insecurity may be neither direct nor unconditional. Drawing from cognitive appraisal theory, this research takes a nuanced approach to exploring the mediating role of negative work rumination and the moderating role of the tendency to negative gossip in the relationship between cognitive job insecurity and affective job insecurity. We examined our hypotheses using three time-lagged survey studies with employees recruited from the U.S. and China. These studies found that negative work rumination mediated the relation between cognitive job insecurity and affective job insecurity (Studies 1–3) and the tendency to negative gossip attenuated the positive relation between cognitive job insecurity and affective job insecurity (Studies 1 and 2). Thus, this research advances the job insecurity literature by identifying a mediator and a moderator in the process of how employees may experience job insecurity.

How to win the consumer’s heart? Exploring appraisal determinants of consumer pre-consumption emotions

• Pre-consumption emotions are explained by appraisal dimensions. • Emotions are goal-relevant signals that beneficially guide consumer behavior. • Goal-relevant contents is the key success factor of emotion-focused marketing. • eWOM is effective in improving consumer appraisal of goal relevance. Emotions are key drivers of consumption in the tourism and hospitality sector. Therefore, advancing our understanding of the determinants of consumer emotions is critical for tourism and hospitality marketers to effectively influence consumer affect-driven consumption behavior. However, research on the determinants of pre-consumption emotions remains under-explored. This study aims to fill the research gap and proposes a theoretical framework to explain affect-driven behavior. Grounded on the cognitive appraisal theory of emotions, we hypothesize that marketing stimuli are personally appraised based on several dimensions such as novelty and goal relevance. These appraisal dimensions determine the elicitation of positive emotions, leading to behavioral intentions. A total of 655 participants were recruited for an empirical study to test this framework in the context of a tourism event experience. We use an experimental research design to examine consumer appraisals, emotions and behavioral intentions in four conditions: two marketing visual formats (poster vs. video) over two delivery channels (advertising vs. e-word-of-mouth). Research outcomes support the theoretical framework of consumer affect-driven behavior, suggesting that the elicitation of positive emotions beneficially guides consumer behavior in goal striving and novelty seeking. Based on this, emotion-focused marketing implications are recommended, including goal-based segmentation, goal-relevant content development and the use of eWOM as an emotion-enhancing message delivery channel.

Meta-analysis of outcomes of leader–member exchange in hospitality and tourism: what does the past say about the future?

Purpose Leader–member exchange (LMX) theory is particularly relevant to the hospitality and tourism industry due to its labor-intensive and service-focused nature. However, the hospitality literature regarding the impact of LMX on its various outcomes have inconsistent results. A holistic review of LMX studies is nonexistent in the current literature. Thus, the purpose of this study is to use a meta approach to quantitatively summarize and examine the relationship between LMX and its outcomes in the hospitality and tourism literature. Design/methodology/approach A total of 89 individual observations from 36 studies conducted between 1997 and 2018 were identified. A Bayesian random effect model was introduced into the hospitality and tourism literature for the first time to implement the meta-analysis. Findings The results suggest significant differences in the impact of LMX on various groups of outcomes. LMX has the strongest impact on firms’ practice-related outcomes, such as organizational justice and employee empowerment. Few moderators are identified on the impact of LMX, such as LMX measure, culture, industry sector and statistical method. Practical implications Findings yielded several recommendations for both hospitality researchers and organizations in developing LMX related studies, as well as managing employees. Originality/value This study is the first Bayesian meta-analysis in the hospitality and tourism literature; it complements LMX theory by linking it to cognitive appraisal theory. Specific characteristics of LMX in the hospitality and tourism industry, such as the measurement of LMX and the effect of industry sector, are also identified.

The Sales Impact of Using Handheld Scanners: Evidence from the Field

Anecdotal evidence is mixed regarding whether handheld scanners used in stores increase or decrease consumer sales. This article reports on three field studies, supported by eye-tracking technology and matched sales receipts, as well as two laboratory studies that show that handheld scanner use increases sales, notably through unplanned, healthier, and impulsive purchases. The findings highlight that these effects may be limited by factors such as not having a budget; for those without a budget, use of scanners can decrease sales. Building on embodied cognition and cognitive appraisal theories, the authors predict that scanners, as a bodily extension, influence sales through both cognitive (shelf attention, perceived control) and affective (number of products touched, shopping experience) mechanisms. The results offer implications for retailers considering whether to integrate scanners into their store environments.

Effects of Armed Conflict on Children’s Health: The Case of Libertad, Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte, Philippines

This study describes the effects of August 18, 2008 hostilities on the health of twentyfour selected children in Libertad, Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte. Derived through interviews, the quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Wilcoxon tied ranks test while the qualitative ones were thematically analyzed. While these children were not directly hurt, they have witnessed and experienced the consequences of bombing, burning, and looting of houses, human killing and mutilation, and rape of a pregnant woman by the politically-motivated MILF perpetrators of the August 18, 2008 attack in their community. The Wilcoxon tied ranks test of differences in children's health before, during, and after the attack yielded significant effects on their physical, mental and social health. Children experienced sleeping difficulties, showed signs of depression and learning difficulties. Findings suggest that the harrowing experiences of children during the MILF attack have resulted in stress and trauma affecting their mental conditions and social skills preventing them from interacting with people outside their family. The findings of this study validate the assumptions of Gerhardt’s Psychosocial perspective and the Cognitive Appraisal Theory of Richard Lazarus which postulates that the emotional reactions of individuals experiencing traumatic events may depend on how they perceive the situation.

Cognitive appraisal in fish: stressor predictability modulates the physiological and neurobehavioural stress response in sea bass.

The role of cognitive factors in triggering the stress response is well established in humans and mammals (aka cognitive appraisal theory) but very seldom studied in other vertebrate taxa. Predictability is a key factor of the cognitive evaluation of stimuli. In this study, we tested the effects of stressor predictability on behavioral, physiological and neuromolecular responses in the European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax). Groups of four fish were exposed to a predictable (signalled) or unpredictable (unsignalled) stressor. Stressor predictability elicited a lower behavioural response and reduced cortisol levels. Using the expression of immediate early genes (c-fos, egr-1, bdnf and npas4) as markers of neuronal activity, we monitored the activity of three sea bass brain regions known to be implicated in stressor appraisal: the dorsomedian telencephalon, Dm (putative homologue of the pallial amygdala); and the dorsal (Dld) and ventral (Dlv) subareas of the dorsolateral telencephalon (putative homologue of the hippocampus). The activity of both the Dm and Dlv significantly responded to stressor predictability, suggesting an evolutionarily conserved role of these two brain regions in information processing related to stressor appraisal. These results indicate that stressor predictability plays a key role in the activation of the stress response in a teleost fish, hence highlighting the role of cognitive processes in fish stress.

The Influence of Contemporary Negative Political Relations on Ethnic Dining Choices

The marketing literature has demonstrated that political animosity influences consumers’ boycott intention. However, this question has rarely been examined in the hospitality setting. Thus, by utilizing cognitive appraisal theory and value-belief-norm theory, this study proposes a model to investigate the effect of animosity on ethnic dining behavior. To this end, this study examines the effect of animosity on switching intention by examining the structural relationships among anticipated negative emotions, personal norms, and switching intention. Study results demonstrate that individuals’ animosity beliefs influence their intention to switch to a different ethnic restaurant through anticipated negative emotions and personal norms. The current study’s findings provide ethnic restaurateurs with insights on how to revise marketing strategies when animosity is raised toward the origin country of which their ethnic cuisine is based on.

Does job stress affect innovative behaviors? Evidence from dubai five-star hotels

Drawing on Cognitive Appraisal and Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theories, this study examines how job stress and work-related curiosity may affect employee’s innovative behavior. The study utilized two-wave longitudinal data collected from 311 frontline employees from five-star hotels in the UAE. The study found that employees who demonstrated curiosity about different aspects of their work were more likely to engage in innovative behavior. On the other hand, stress was observed to have a different effect. The negative effect of job stress on innovative behavior tended to become positive and significant when curiosity was part of the response to stress.