Empirical evidence

To date, the hypotheses made by the Component Process Model with respect to the sequence hypothesis, the componential patterning theory, the influence of cognitive biases, and the emotion component synchronization have been tested only to a limited extent.

Empirical evidence for a sequential processing of appraisal checks in

psychophysiological recordings was found in several experiments but it is limited to the earlier part of the sequence, namely, the novelty, the intrinsic pleasantness, the goal relevance, and the goal conduciveness checks. In facial expressions, it was shown that the novelty check effects preceded the intrinsic pleasantness check effects (Delplanque et al., 2009), that the relevance check effects occurred earlier than the goal conduciveness check effects (Aue, Flykt, & Scherer, 2007), and that the intrinsic pleasantness check effects preceded the goal conduciveness check effects (Lanctot & Hess, 2007). Regarding the central processing (investigated in brain activity), it was demonstrated that the novelty check effects preceded the intrinsic pleasantness and the goal relevance check effects, and that the intrinsic

pleasantness check effects were followed by the goal conduciveness check effects (Grandjean

& Scherer, 2008). The sequence hypothesis has not been systematically tested for appraisal checks that are hypothesized to be processed subsequently to the goal conduciveness check.

Therefore, this thesis research pursues testing of the sequence hypothesis to “later” appraisal checks of the sequence. In particular, the prediction that the processing of the control and the power checks reach preliminary closure later than the goal conduciveness was examined. In two extensive experiments, this prediction was tested by recording event-related potentials and facial electromyography.

CHAPTER 1:GENERAL INTRODUCTION AND AIMS OF RESEARCH 10 Empirical evidence for the appraisal-driven response differentiation was obtained in autonomic physiology and facial muscle activity (Aue et al., 2007; Aue & Scherer, 2008, 2011; Delplanque et al., 2009; Kappas & Pecchinenda, 1999; Kreibig, Gendolla, & Scherer, 2012; Lanctot & Hess, 2007; Smith, 1989; van Reekum, 2000; van Reekum et al., 2004), in brain activity (Grandjean & Scherer, 2008) as well as in voice physiology and acoustics (Johnstone et al., 2007). The appraisal-driven response pattering of the novelty, the intrinsic pleasantness, the goal relevance, and the goal conduciveness checks have been investigated in many experiments, but only one experiment was designed to examine the response patterning of the control and the power checks (second experiment van Reekum, 2000). In this

experiment, the control and the power check effects were investigated in peripheral psychophysiological measures such as facial electromyography and heart rate. In order to examine the plausibility of the notion that appraisal check results drive the responses in facial expressions, facial muscle activity (using facial electromyography) and brain activity (using electroencephalography or event-related potentials) should be concurrently recorded. Such simultaneous recordings make it possible to examine whether patterns in brain activity—

associated with the processing of appraisal checks—are similarly found in facial muscle activity patterns. Hence, to replicate and to extend previous findings, this thesis investigates the appraisal-driven response differentiation of the goal conduciveness, the control, and the power checks in facial electromyography. Further, it compares these appraisal check patterns in facial electromyography with the appraisal check patterns in event-related potentials.

Empirical research on the relationship between the appraisal process and personal belief variables is scarce. The relationship is predicted to be important because it can help explain individual differences in the appraisal process. Personal beliefs can bias the

processing of appraisal checks in a systematic way, which can, for example, cause permanent overestimation or underestimation of one’s controllability over the course of events. Those

CHAPTER 1:GENERAL INTRODUCTION AND AIMS OF RESEARCH 11 biased estimations can elicit less adaptive emotional responses and can lead to emotional disturbances in the long run. Previously, control beliefs (i.e., illusion of control, locus of control) were proposed that can influence the processing of the control check as well as self-beliefs (e.g., self-esteem and general self-efficacy) that can bias the processing of the power check (Wranik-Odehnal, 2005). These hypothesized relationships between the coping potential appraisal and the self-belief variables have not been tested so far. Therefore, in this thesis, they are examined for the first time.

Empirical examination of the synchronization hypothesis has started recently. For the appraisal component and the subjective feeling component, information integration and exchange was investigated using electroencephalography. For the appraisal component, one study demonstrated that appraisal checks have specific brain state correlates of a particular oscillatory brain activity (Grandjean & Scherer, 2008). For the subjective feeling component, one study showed that states of subjective feelings had a different oscillatory brain activity pattern than states of no subjective feelings (Dan-Glauser & Scherer, 2008). Despite this empirical evidence, the mechanisms and rules underlying the information integration and exchange within and between emotion components remain unclear. Therefore, in a first step in this thesis, the synchronization patterns between the appraisal and the facial expression components are investigated by examining the coherence between the event-related potential and the facial electromyography data.

To summarize, existing evidence in support of the sequence hypothesis, the

componential patterning theory, the influence of cognitive biases, and emotion component synchronization exists but is rather limited. In this thesis, these identified lacks of empirical knowledge will be addressed. The focus will be on four levels of analysis—the biological, the cognitive, the theoretical, and the behavioral level.

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