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The role of interpersonal evaluation is clearly demonstrated by an account that
Damasio (1996) gives ofthe life ofone Phineas Gage, before and after an accident that
he was involved in while he was working for the Rutland and Burlington Railroad
Company in New England. According to Damasio, Phineas Gage was a well liked,
punctual and responsible employee prior to an accident with explosives that launched
an iron rod through his left cheek, through his skull, traversing the front ofhis brain and
exiting through the top ofhis head. Surprisingly Gage survived the injury, never losing
consciousness, reporting only loss ofvision in his left eye.
Soon after the accident Gage, however, manifested new personality traits that
contrasted squarely with those that he had before the accident. His disposition, his likes
and dislikes, his dreams and aspirations had all changed. He was now using foul
language, had bad inter-personal relations with his fellow workers, became unpunctual
and eventually had to be discharged from work because of poor discipline. He
eventually died destitute on May 21,1865 after an illness.
Gage's case also illustrates the discrepancy that can exist between the brain
functions. For example, Gage's attention, perception, memory, language and
intelligence were intact and thus they contrasted with his lack of connection with reallife
situations. This is a situation known as dissociation in neuropsychology.
People have tried to explain emotions by incorporating a concept of cognitive
appraisal. Lazarus and Folkman (1994: 31) define cognitive appraisal as: "the process
of categorising an encounter and its various facets, with respect to its significance for
well-being," and thinking of the personal resources to deal with the encounter. They
maintain the process has three stages:
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