3 - Emotions as Episodes of Subsystem Synchronization Driven by Nonlinear Appraisal Processes

Summary

Introduction

This chapter argues for a radical departure from the classic paradigms of emotion psychology. It emphasizes the emotion process, that is, the dynamic time course of constantly changing affective tuning of organisms as based on continuous evaluative monitoring of their environment. Whereas many emotion psychologists have theoretically endorsed the notion of emotion as a process, most research has been firmly wedded to the notion of emotional state and its assessment via verbal labels. This situation has led to a theoretical and empirical impasse that only a paradigm shift can remedy. The component process model of emotion (Scherer, 1981, 1984, 1986, 1987) is used to illustrate the type of theoretical approach that, by providing an open architecture for process modeling, might be more germane to the dynamic nature of emotion processes. Most importantly, it is suggested that researchers go beyond classic linear process models and evaluate the potential of recently developed nonlinear dynamic modeling notions vis-à-vis the emotion phenomenon. Particular emphasis is given to the notions of coupled oscillators, as used in dynamic systems theory, and of hysteresis, a central concept in catastrophe theory.

The Need for a Paradigm Shift

According to Kuhn (1981) one of the telltale signs of an imminent paradigm shift in a discipline is the existence of incommensurable approaches. In such cases, the dissension among researchers seems to concern concepts, definitions, or research procedures, but in reality it masks fundamental differences in viewing the nature of the phenomenon.