A Framework for Emotions and Dispositions in Man-Companion Interaction - Coverbal Synchrony in Human-Machine Interaction - page 112

central nervous system may only take fractions of seconds and lead
to a first, quick appraisal, whereas more complex, cognitive appraisals
and subsequent behavior like an approach or facial expression may
last several minutes. The stimulation of any given component and its
progression are different and depend on each other. The reciprocal
dependence of the emotional components and their different dynamics
create recursive effects between the consecutive early and late
emotional appraisals, the emotional reaction, and the action tendencies.
The consecutive elements influence, in the form of feedback, the
emotional evolution with regard to the chronological progression and
the emotional quality (Colombetti, 2009).
4.2 Cognitions: Sequential check theory
The currently influential component process models (CPMs) describe
the five emotional components listed in Section 4.1 and their high
interdependency (Scherer, 2001). These models are based on the
assumption that perceived emotional stimuli of the social and physical
environment require cognitive appraisal, and try to further specify the
connection between a specific stimulus and the pattern of the resulting
physiological, expressive and motivational change in order to map an
integration of the entire emotional process. The cognitive component
in which the appraisal or assessment of inner and/or outer stimuli
takes place plays an important role.
According to Leventhal and Scherer (1987), cognitions check
sequentially every inner and outer emotional stimulus. This cognitive
process, described as Sequential Check Theory (SCT), should be
understood as a part of the dynamic CPM, where the cognitive
appraisal takes place. The sequential check theory tries to explain the
different emotional states of an individual as the result of a specific
stimulus evaluation check and makes predictions about subsequent
response patterns in the individual organic sub-systems. The stimulus
evaluation is divided into four main steps that are necessary for an
adaptive response to an emotional stimulus: Relevance, Implication,
Coping Potential, and Normative Significance. The assessment is
subjective and does not have to match the objective characteristics of
a given situation. Furthermore, it should be noted that the assessments
take place both subconsciously and consciously (see Figure 2).
The relevance assessment in the first step determines how
important the event is for the individual. Both the external and the
internal environments are monitored with regard to the occurrence
of potentially emotional stimuli that require allocation of attention,
further information processing, and possibly adaptive reactions. The