Coping with Bullying: A Computational Emotion-Theoretic Account

Coping with Bullying: A Computational Emotion-Theoretic Account Nicholas R. Wilson (nwilson@dcscorp.com) DCS Corporation, 6909 Metro Park Drive, Suite 500 Alexandria, VA 22310 USA Ron Sun (rsun@rpi.edu) Cognitive Science Department, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 110 8 th Street, Troy, NY 12180 USA Abstract The Clarion-E Model This paper describes a computational emotion-theoretic mod- el (i.e., Clarion-E) used to capture the dynamics of appraisal and coping by victims of school bullying. It provides an over- view of recent research concerning bullying appraisals and coping strategies by students who reported themselves as be- ing the victims of school bullying. It also demonstrates how such processes may be expressed computationally. The Clarion-E model posits three basic principles of emo- tion: affect, appraisal, and coping (Wilson, 2012). It was developed within the Clarion Cognitive Architecture. While many emotion models exist (see Wilson, 2012 for an in- depth comparison), Clarion-E represents a novel approach to modeling emotion for two reasons. First, it makes the primary assumption that human cognition can best be cap- tured using a dual-representational design (Sun, 2002; 2003; Sun, Slusarz, & Terry, 2005). Many theorists maintain that key aspects of emotion may be “unconscious” (e.g., the pro- cesses underlying affect as well as certain parts of appraisal; see Wilson, 2012 for details). The second reason that Clari- on is appropriate for capturing the basic principles of emo- tion is that it contains several well-defined constructs that can be utilized to collectively express the mechanisms, pro- cesses, and integrative components of the emotional experi- ence. In particular, the motivational aspects of emotion can be expressed using the motivational subsystem (MS), the evaluative nature of appraisal is similar to the reasoning mechanisms within the non-action centered subsystem (NACS), and the dynamics underlying both reactive affec- tive states and coping (as well as the interactions between affect, appraisal, and coping) can be implemented using the meta-cognitive subsystem (MCS). In terms of the model itself, the first principle follows from a perspective on affect that posits that the process of deriving an affective state (1) is fast, reactive and sub- conscious (i.e., implicit) in nature, (2) originates from in- trinsic physiological processes, and (3) precedes the more conscious (i.e., explicit) aspects of appraisal (see Wilson, 2012 for details). To capture this concept, Clarion-E pro- poses a meta-cognitive mechanism by which positive and negative affective states can be generated based on the com- bination of motivational factors (i.e., drive strengths) and a reactive (i.e., implicit) judgment about the potential to act (termed “action potential”). The motivational subsystem (MS) contains drives (on the bottom level) and goals (on the top level) and collectively captures the processes by which an agent is compelled (Sun, 2009). The representations and mechanisms underlying this subsystem are already justified extensively elsewhere (see Sun, 2003; 2009), and thus is not rehashed here. Suffice it to say, though, that the MS meets the necessary criterion (i.e., sustainability, purposefulness, focus, and adaptivity) for representing motivational dynamics. Action potential is rep- Keywords: Clarion-E; Clarion; bullying; emotion; coping Introduction Perhaps one of the most important variables for under- standing the effects of bullying from the perspective of the victim is the notion of coping (Hunter & Boyle, 2002; 2004). Several studies have aimed at fleshing-out student coping strategies surrounding bullying at school; with par- ticular attention given to the transactional coping theory (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Within this psychological framework, coping strategies are not considered as trait phenomenon, but are instead the result of situation-specific appraisals, with such appraisals themselves being influenced by both situational as well as personal variables (Lazarus & Launier, 1978; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Furthermore, according to Lazarus and Launier (1978), appraisals generally fall under two categories—primary and secondary. Primary appraisal refers to one’s interpretation of an event (i.e., beliefs about how the event affects the in- dividual), while secondary appraisal concerns the evalua- tions of available coping options (e.g., when faced with sit- uations where bullying is present). In this vain, studies sug- gest that coping responses may be influenced by more than just the characteristics of stressful situations. In particular, according to Hunter and Boyle (2002; 2004), the means by which an individual appraises a situation appears to have an especially significant influence on coping behavior. The transactional coping theory accords itself well with computational models of emotion, making it a rich domain from which to asses the link between evaluative appraisal processes and coping behaviors. To that end, this paper de- velops a detailed computational account of the transactional coping theory that exposes the exact mechanisms by which coping-related phenomena may arise. In particular, we will explore Clarion-E (Wilson, 2012) and demonstrate how it may be utilized for capturing the dynamics of appraisal and coping by victims of bullying (Hunter & Boyle, 2004).