Proquest Dissertations
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Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6” x 9” black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI Bell & Howell Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Aitor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 RESEARCH ON A COGNITIVE-RELATIONAL THEORY OF EMOTION: A REPLICATION AND EXTENSION OF SMITH, HAYNES. LAZARUS, AND POPE DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University by Charles Roderick Blons, M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 1999 Dissertation Committee; Professor Theodore Kaul, Adviser Approved by Professor Lyle Schmidt Adviser Professor W. Bruce Walsh Department of Psychology Professor Don Dell DMI Number; 9941288 UMI Microform 9941288 Copyright 1999, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Copyright by Charles Roderick Blons 1999 ABSTRACT More than two decades of research have produced convincing evidence of a close link between cognition and emotion. A large body of research now supports the view that emotions occur in the wake of complex situational judgments called appraisals, and that each emotion is the result of a unique combination of these appraisals. In a recent series of articles outlining their own cognitive-relational theory, R. S. Lazarus and C. A. Smith have further distinguished appraisals from knowledge, and have suggested a number of ways in which the two may interact to influence (cause) emotion. Knowledge, they argue, is a representation of the way things are and how they work, and consists only of the emotionally relevant "facts" of a given encounter, whereas appraisal is the mediational process by which such knowledge is judged for its relevance and its implications for personal well-being. While this theoretically important distinction is not without empirical support, it has been tested only once in a study by Smith, Haynes, Lazarus, and Pope. The purpose of the present study was to provide (by means of replication) a second test of the model, and to attempt to extend it further by adding a new class of variables (contextual attributions) and testing the associations across a wider range of emotions (eight instead of six). Two hundred forty-three subjects were asked to recall and retrospectively report on the causal attributions, contextual attributions, appraisals, and emotions associated with a variety of past experiences. Data were analyzed through a series of simultaneous and hierarchical regression analyses designed to assess the relative explanatory power of attributions and appraisals. The results closely matched those originally reported by Smith et al., and extended to include both the new class of variables and the two new emotions being studied. Findings from the present study were seen as providing relatively strong support for the cognitive-relational theory in general and the mediational hypothesis in particular. Theoretical implications, implications for counseling, and suggestions for future research are discussed. in for lee IV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This was a very demanding project; one I could not have completed without the help and support of many others. Thanks first to my graduate adviser. Professor Ted Kaul, for his humane wisdom and sensitivity, and for (almost) always being there when I needed him (and never when I didn't). Thanks also to my co-adviser. Professor Lyle Schmidt, for his warmth and generosity, and for the countless ways and times he reached out to help me. Special thanks to my dissertation proposal committee, which included Professor W. Bruce Walsh, for having the compassion and good sense to recommend that I postpone work on study 2 until my post-doctoral year (I could still be entering data). Very special thanks, too, to Professor Don Dell, for his staunch support and his willingness to step in so late in the process. Deepest appreciation to Professor Craig Smith of Vanderbilt University, for providing the materials needed to replicate and extend his earlier work and for sharing his real interest and passion for this topic with me. And finally, warm thanks to Angel Edwards and Lee Blons for agreeing to serve as narrative judges. Their efforts will always be much appreciated. All copyrighted materials first appearing in Smith, Haynes, Lazarus, and Pope (1993) and reappearing in this text have been reproduced with the written permission of the principal investigator, Craig A. Smith. VITA November 11, 1953 ..................................... Bom - St. Paul, Minnesota 1979 .............................................................. B. A. Psychology University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 1994.............................................................. M. A Psychology The Ohio State University, Columbus 1992 - 1994................................................... Academic Advisor and Course Instructor University College The Ohio State University, Columbus 1994 - 1996 ................................................... Graduate Assistant (Counselor) Counseling and Consultation Service The Ohio State University, Columbus 1997 - 1998 ................................................... Psychology Intern University Counseling Service Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, Virginia FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field; Psychology Studies In Counseling Psychology VI TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract.......................................................................................................................... ii Dedication ................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................... v Vita.............................................................................................................................. vi List of Tables................................................................................................................. x Chapters Page 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... I Origins of C T..................................................................................................... 2 Early Work on a Typology of Normal Emotions ............................................ 5 The Status of Current Research ......................................................................... 5 The Present Study ............................................................................................... 6 2. Literature Review ................................................................................................. 7 Heidefs Theory of Phenomenal Causality ........................................................ 8 Appraisal Theory ................................................................................................ 9 Process-Oriented Theories of Appraisal ........................................................... 9 Arnold's Theory ............................................................................................ 9 Schachtefs Two-Factor Theory .................................................................. 10 Work on a Theory of Stress and Coping .................................................... 12 Lazarus and Folkman's Theory of Stress, Appraisal, and Coping 13 Structural Theories of Appraisal ......................................................................... 15 Scherer's Appraisal Component Model ....................................................... 15 vii Roseman's Structural Theory ...................................................................... 16 Smith and Ellsworth's Transtheoretical Model ......................................... 18 Frijda's Work on Appraisal ......................................................................... 19 Reisenzein's Studies of Appraisal and Emotion ........................................ 19 Weiner’s Attributional Theory .................................................................... 20 Lazarus and Smith's Cognitive-Relational Theory ................................... 22 The Theoretical Distinction Between Knowledge