Which process involves the mental interpretation or evaluation of a situation that influences the emotion a person experiences?

• A. Cognitive Appraisal
• B. Facial-Feedback Hypothesis
• C. Broaden-and-Build Theory of Emotion
• D. Polygraph

Answer: (A)

Cognitive appraisal is the mental act of evaluating how significant a situation is for you and whether you have the resources to cope with it. This assessment shapes the emotion you experience and its intensity. If you judge a situation as threatening and feel unable to cope, you’re likely to feel fear or anxiety; if you see it as manageable or as a challenge, you might feel determined or excited. This idea, associated with Lazarus, explains how our emotions arise from our interpretation of events rather than just the event itself.

The other options don’t fit because: the facial-feedback hypothesis argues that facial expressions can influence emotions, not that interpreting a situation determines the emotion; the broaden-and-build theory explains how positive emotions broaden thinking and build resources, not how emotions are caused by appraisal; a polygraph measures physiological responses to detect deception, not the cognitive interpretation that triggers emotion.