In the 1980s, Richard Lazarus formed the "Theory of Cognitive Appraisal" in efforts to explain the mental process that is brought on by stressors. Cognitive appraisal occurs when a person evaluates how an emotional situation effects them, and then comes to a conclusion based on their interpretation of the situation. Cognitive appraisal is used in instances where it isn't obvious as to how the situation would be interpreted initially. In an event that it isn’t clear how you should respond, your brain begins to evaluate the situation using a two-step process to determine how you should ultimately react. First comes primary appraisal, which is assessing how an event personally affects you. For example, say there was a very bad snow storm the night
