also be related such that arousal (high engagement, neutral pleasantness) dif-
fers from enthusiasm (high engagement, high pleasantness), which differs
from contentment (high pleasantness, neutral engagement). While we ac-
knowledge that these distinctions among valence and arousal are important,
especially in terms of emotions, this distinction is not made by the prominent
social psychological theories we review and attempt to apply in this chapter.
Therefore, we focus primarily on the valence component of affect and refer to
this as positive and negative affect rather than pleasantness/unpleasantness,
as this more closely mirrors the terminology used by social psychological the-
ories examining affect and cognitive processing. However, we do note when
differences in arousal may alter the cognitive processing and consider this to
be an important direction for future research.
In terms of cognitive processing, we adopt a general cognitive perspective
that highlights the importance of prior knowledge and the processing and un-
derstanding of new information and knowledge. This perspective is compati-
ble with social cognitive models of affect and cognition (see Forgas, 2000c) as
well as more general cognitive psychological models of memory, learning,
thinking, and problem solving (Miyake & Shah, 1999; Sternberg, 1985).
These models stress the role of working memory and executive functioning
processes as individuals attend, comprehend, and act upon different informa-
tion and knowledge available to them. In addition, our perspective on cogni-
tion highlights the role of various cognitive or metacognitive strategies that
individuals might use to regulate their comprehension and learning as they
engage in various academic tasks (Pintrich, 2000). This emphasis on cognitive
processes is compatible with our general functional and process view of emo-
tions and moods, which makes integration easier.
PREDICTING COGNITIVE PROCESSING AS A
RESULT OF AFFECT: THEORETICAL APPROACHES
In recent years, research in social and cognitive psychology has focused on
how cognitive processing influences affect as well as how affect influences
cognitive processing (for reviews, see Dalgleish & Power, 1999; Forgas,
2000b). Based on this research, two different types of theories regarding af-
fect and cognitive processing have emerged. First, appraisal theories (e.g.,
Boekaerts, 1993; Scherer, 1999; Smith & Lazarus, 1990) consider how cogni-
tive appraisals of one’s situation influence the emotions experienced. That is,
the focus is on how cognition influences affect. Given our emphasis on the
role of affect as a precursor to cognition, we do not discuss appraisal theories
in this chapter.
A second line of research focuses on how affect influences cognition,
which is more compatible with the focus of our chapter. Within this second
- AFFECT AND COGNITIVE PROCESSING 59