Meredith's Appraisals

  In season three of Grey's Anatomy, there is a ferry boat accident in the Puget Sound, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, that causes almost all of the doctors, including Meredith, to report to the scene. One of the victims Meredith helps becomes irritated and stands up, pushing Meredith into the water by accident in the process. In her primary appraisal, she experiences initial fear as she recognizes that her life is being threatened. However, in her secondary appraisal, she comes to the conclusion that coping is impossible and has the thought “why should I fight,” causing her to feel sadness and decide to withdraw. In Chapter 11, Lazarus’s Cognitive - Motivational - Relational Theory of Emotion is discussed. The theory emphasizes that emotions are not automatic but are influenced by how the individual interprets and assigns meaning to the situation they are in. Although Meredith’s primary appraisal is that her life is threatened and she feels fear, her secondary appraisal of questioning fighting is influenced by her depressive state during this season of the show. She almost takes being pushed into the Puget Sound as an opportunity to stop fighting, reducing her motivation to act and try to save her own life. As Lazarus’s theory discusses, this series of appraisals causes a shift in her emotions during this experience. Meredith does not simply engage in a fight-or-flight response; she allows herself to sink. This shows how low perceived coping might lead to withdrawal behaviors. After she is rescued, her appraisal changes again, and she sees a high coping potential, which shifts her to new emotions of relief and hope.