Simulation, scenarios, and emotional appraisal: Testing the convergence ofreal and imagined reactions to emotional stimuli

Appraisal research has relied heavily on vignette- and recall-based methodo logies in theory construction; however, the validity of these methodologies in capturing the concomitants Of online experience is unknown. To assess t he convergence of online and simulated accounts of emotion, the authors ass igned undergraduate research participants to either online or simulated con ditions. Those in the online condition reported on their appraisals and emo tions after viewing a series of 10 emotional slides, whereas those in the s imulated condition estimated their likely reactions on the basis of short d escriptions of the same slides. Despite the different information available in the two conditions, there was a surprising degree of correspondence in the reports. This convergence was seen in mean levels of appraisal and emot ion but even more dramatically in the Pattern of appraisal-emotion relation s across slides. It is concluded that vignette methodologies can play a use ful role in theory construction. In addition, the findings raise interestin g questions about the role(s) of implicit theory in emotion.