Evidence for the Existence of Emotion Dispositions and the Effects of Appraisal Bias

The concept of emotion disposition is proposed as an important dimension of individual differences. It refers to a stable tendency to experience certain emotions more or less frequently or intensely for similar classes of situations or events in daily experience than the majority of other people. In contrast to classic "trait affect" traditions, the theoretical framework described here proposes a specific mechanism based on the notion of appraisal bias, that is, the evaluation of events or situations in biased, often unrealistic, fashion. The bias toward internal versus external causal attribution is a classic example. It is suggested that such biases can affect virtually all appraisal criteria (e.g., novelty/expectedness, (un)pleasantness, goal conduciveness/obstruction, causation, control, power, and norm compliance), creating a disposition to experience specific emotions more frequently. In some cases, this process may lead to the development of affective disorders. Two studies are herein reported: (a) administering an emotion disposition assessment instrument to several thousand adults in personnel assessment contexts (N = 3,012), demonstrating the existence and intensity of emotion dispositions and identifying potential individual difference correlates; and (b) using an updated version of the instrument in a representative survey panel study (N = 190), assessing both emotion dispositions and appraisal biases, allowing analysis of their relationships (in addition to examining the effect of correlates). The results confirm the viability of the underlying theoretical assumptions as well as of the scenario method used for the assessment and provide leads for further research, particularly in the areas of emotional competence and affective disorders.