Difficult Life Situation: Cognitive Appraisal Criteria

The article focuses on cognitive factors determining one's choice of coping strategies in difficult life situations. The author proposes a new approach to the empirical study of cognitive appraisal of situations that is based on psychosemantic methodology. The empirical research described in this article was aimed at revealing the criteria of cognitive appraisal of difficult life situations. The author has developed a special technique for studying subjective appraisals of situations. Basing on the results of factor analysis, the author describes the substance of the notion of 'difficult life situation' and systematises the cognitive appraisal criteria. The research has also proved that cognitive appraisal depends largely on the character of a situation.

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