appraisal

Meaning: In stress and emotion theory, appraisal is the mental evaluation of an event. Lazarus described two steps.

Primary appraisal asks what the event means for you. It is judged irrelevant, benign-positive, or stressful. A stressful event may be seen as harm or loss, a threat, or a challenge.

Secondary appraisal asks whether you have the resources to cope, such as skills, time, money, or social support. Stress is greatest when demands are judged to exceed resources. Cognitive appraisal theories of emotion extend this idea: the emotion you feel depends on how you interpret the situation. This contrasts with James-Lange (the emotion comes from sensing bodily arousal) and Cannon-Bard (arousal and emotion arise at the same time).

On the MCAT: A passage gives two people the same event, such as an exam or a layoff, and they respond differently. You identify the difference as appraisal. Questions may also ask you to classify a thought as primary or secondary appraisal, or to predict that reappraising a threat as a challenge lowers stress.

Common confusion: Students treat primary and secondary appraisal as "first event, then reaction." Primary appraisal evaluates the event's significance. Secondary appraisal evaluates your ability to cope with it. Appraisal is also a cognitive judgment, not the physiological stress response that may follow.