Contributions of Motivational Orientation to Appraisal and Emotion

Abstract

This study examined the role of affiliative orientation as a dispositional antecedent of appraisals of motivational relevance and related emotions. Individuals high and low on affiliative orientation attempted to complete a teaching task that proved to be interpersonally challenging, and their appraisals and emotions were assessed both while anticipating the task and after its completion. Results indicated that before the task occurred, high levels of affiliative orientation were related to emphasizing the affiliative relevance of the situation, appraising the interpersonal aspects of the situation as being especially important, and experiencing higher levels of interest and lower levels of boredom. Path analyses indicated that the interrelations among these variables were consistent with an a priori causal model of appraisal-emotion relations. Posttask, very few effects of affiliative orientation on appraisal, emotion, or the participants' behaviors during the task were observed.