Rethinking Emotion as Part of the Arousal Appraisal Model

The Arousal Appraisal Model (AAM) is proposed as a theoretical framework in which emotion is understood as one phase in a broader process of arousal regulation. In this account, low-load contemplation, matched-load action, excess-load emotion, and overload collapse/freeze all arise from the dynamic regulation of physiological arousal within the human nervous system. Drawing on affective neuroscience, cognitive appraisal theory, and contemplative research, the model reframes emotion as part of a regulatory process that emerges when amygdala-driven activation overshoots behavioral capacity, leaving surplus energy to be carried as tension and affect. Extending Schachter and Singer’s (1962) two-factor theory, the AAM situates arousal, appraisal, and integrative awareness along a single regulatory axis: when mobilization remains below the level needed to organize action, it is registered as low-load contemplation or passing wishes; when mobilization and capacity are well matched in a given task, matched-load action arises, with flow-like states as vivid exemplars; when activation exceeds available capacity, emotion is experienced as differentiated feeling; and when activation surpasses even this range, overload can result in collapse, freezing, or functional shutdown. Synthesizing empirical findings from misattribution studies, neuroimaging of arousal–appraisal coupling, and flow-state research, the Arousal Appraisal Model offers a testable account of how shifts in physiological activation are organized, through appraisal, into cognition, behavior, and subjective experience across the full range from contemplative low load to survival-driven shutdown. Unlike Yerkes–Dodson, circumplex, or “window of tolerance” frameworks, which remain largely descriptive, the Arousal Appraisal Model offers a mechanistic account of how changing mobilization–capacity ratios organize arousal into contemplation, action, emotion, and collapse along a single regulatory axis.