We've got a situation here! – How situation-perception dimensions and appraisal dimensions of emotion overlap

Recently, situation researchers have developed taxonomies of situation-perception dimensions, also called situation characteristics. Situation-perception dimensions reflect how individuals psychologically interpret situations and predict subsequent behaviour. Similarly, in appraisal theories of emotion, appraisal dimensions have helped to understand how individuals evaluate situations according to their goals, and how these evaluations lead to emotions and subsequent behaviours. Surprisingly, thus far these two lines of research have hardly been linked. To reduce potential jangle fallacies, we examine the conceptual and empirical correspondence between situation perception and appraisal in daily-life situations (Study 1) and in emotional situations (Study 2). In each study, 550 UK participants recalled a recently experienced situation and rated the situation on ten situation-perception dimensions and on ten appraisal dimensions. The findings reveal overlap between situation perception and appraisal in five higher-order dimensions: Valence, Task-related effort, Familiarity, Negative interaction, and Positive interaction. Additionally, situation perception and appraisal overlap in predicting experienced emotions. Together, these findings suggest that there is considerable overlap between situation perception and appraisal, and that it may be worthwhile to link these two research fields.