Emotional Intelligence

Zafar A ReshiDepartment of BotanyUniversity of Kashmir

Srinagar

a. Define Emotional Intelligenceb. Discuss the origin of the concept of Emotional Intelligenceb. Models of Emotional Intelligencec. Measures of Emotional Intelligenced. Skills for development of EIe. Trends in EI outcome studies

Structure of the lecture is as follows:

Use of the term ‘emotional intelligence’ has been employed occasionally at least since the mid-twentieth century.

Mentioned in literary accounts of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice …1953

Scientific references date back to 1960s.

Interest in studying EI grew dramatically throughout the late 1990s, propelled by popularization of the topic by Daniel Goleman (1995)

What is Emotional Intelligence?

Emotional intelligence (EI) refers to the ability to perceive, control and evaluate emotions. Some researchers suggest that emotional intelligence can be learned and strengthened, while others claim it is an inborn characteristic.

Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer (1990) defined emotional intelligence as, "the subset of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one's own and others' feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one's thinking and actions”.

Emotional Intelligence…..A brief historical perspective

In Ancient Greece………… the development of logical thought…..was order of the day.

The Stoics of Ancient Greece believed that logic was superior to feelings.

Although Stoic philosophy was influential, the idea that rationality was superior to emotionality was not accepted at all.

For example, the sentimentalists of 18th Century Europe espoused a “follow your heart” credo, arguing that truth might be a property of one’s feelings and intuition, and that such feelings were truer than reason.

The concept of Emotional Intelligence (EI) offers a new way of looking at the debate…..that people can reason about emotions and use emotions to assist reasoning.

"All learning has an emotional base”.

-- Plato

Emotional Intelligence (EQ) vs. Intellectual Intelligence (IQ)

Most of us have learned not to trust our emotions. We've been told emotions distort the more “accurate” information our intellect supplies. Even the term “emotional” has come to mean weak, out of control, and even childish.

"Don't be a baby!" we say to the little boy who is crying on the playground. "Leave him alone! Let him work it out!" we admonish the little girl who runs to help the little boy.

On the other hand, our abilities to memorize and problem-solve, to spell words and do mathematical calculations, are easily measured on written tests and slapped as grades on report cards. Ultimately, these intellectual abilities dictate which college will accept us and which career paths we‘re advised to follow.

Rising trend in the publications on Emotional Intelligence

Currently, there are three main models of EI

•Ability EI model

•Trait EI model

•Mixed models of EI (usually subsumed under trait EI)

Ability modelSalovey and Mayer's put forth this idea and defined EI as "The ability to perceive emotion, integrate emotion to facilitate thought, understand emotions and to regulate emotions to promote personal growth”.

The ability-based model views emotions as useful sources of information that helps one to make sense of and navigate the social environment.

The model proposes that individuals vary in their ability to process information of an emotional nature and in their ability to relate emotional processing to a wider cognition. This ability is seen to manifest itself in certain adaptive behaviors.

The model claims that EI includes four types of abilities:

Perceiving Emotions

The first step in understanding emotions is to accurately perceive them. In many cases, this might involve understanding nonverbal signals such as body language and facial expressions. Using Emotions

The next step involves using emotions to promote thinking and cognitive activity. Emotions help prioritize what we pay attention and react to; we respond emotionally to things that garner our attention. 

Understanding Emotions

The emotions that we perceive can carry a wide variety of meanings. If someone is expressing angry emotions, the observer must interpret the cause of his/her anger and what it might mean. For example, if your boss is acting angry, it might mean that he is dissatisfied with your work; or it could be because he got a speeding ticket on his way to work that morning or that he's been fighting with his/her spouse.  Managing Emotions

The ability to manage emotions effectively is a key part of emotional intelligence. Regulating emotions, responding appropriately and responding to the emotions of others are all important aspects of emotional management.

Trait EI model

Soviet-born British psychologist Konstantin Vasily Petrides ("K. V. Petrides") proposed a conceptual distinction between the ability based model and a trait based model of EI and has been developing the latter over many years in numerous scientific publications.

Trait EI is "a constellation of emotional self-perceptions located at the lower levels of personality”. In lay terms, trait EI refers to an individual's self-perceptions of his emotional abilities. This definition of EI encompasses behavioral dispositions and self-perceived abilities and is measured by self report, as opposed to the ability based model which refers to actual abilities.

Trait EI should be investigated within a personality framework.

Mixed models

The model introduced by Daniel Goleman focuses on EI as a wide array of competencies and skills that drive leadership performance.

Goleman’s definition of emotional intelligence proposes four broad domains of EQ which consist of 19 competencies:

Domains and competencies

Self-Awareness • Emotional self-awareness: reading one's own emotions and

recognizing their impact

• Accurate self-assessment: knowing one's strengths and limits• • Self-confidence: a sound sense of one's self-worth and

capabilities

Self-Management  Emotional self-control: Keeping disruptive emotions and impulses under control

Transparency: Displaying honesty and integrity; trustworthiness

Adaptability: Flexibility in adapting to changing situations or overcoming obstacles

Achievement: The drive to improve performance to meet inner standards of excellence

Initiative: Readiness to act and seize opportunities

Optimism: Seeing the upside in events

Social Awareness Empathy: Sensing others' emotions, understanding their perspective, and taking active interest in their concerns. Organizational awareness: Reading the currents, decision networks, and politics at the organizational level. Service: Recognizing and meeting follower, client, or customer needs.

Emotional Intelligence Measures frequently used

Developing Emotional Intelligence through

Five Key Skills

Rapidly reduce stress

When we’re under high levels of stress, rational thinking and decision making go out the window.

Runaway stress overwhelms the mind and body, getting in the way of our ability to accurately “read” a situation, hear what someone else is saying, be aware of our own feelings and needs, and communicate clearly.

The first key skill of emotional intelligence is the ability to quickly calm yourself down when you’re feeling overwhelmed. Being able to manage stress in the moment is the key to resilience. This emotional intelligence skill helps you stay balanced, focused, and in control–no matter what challenges you face. Stress busting: functioning well in the heat of the moment

Develop your stress busting skills by working through the following three steps:

Realize when you’re stressed – The first step to reducing stress is recognizing what stress feels like. Many of us spend so much time in an unbalanced state that we’ve forgotten what it feels like to be calm and relaxed.

Identify your stress response – Everyone reacts differently to stress. Do you tend to space out and get depressed? Become angry and agitated? Freeze with anxiety? The best way to quickly calm yourself depends on your specific stress response.

Discover the stress busting techniques that work for you – The best way to reduce stress quickly is through the senses: through sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. But each person responds differently to sensory input, so you need to find things that are soothing to you.

Connect to your emotions

Emotional awareness is the key to understanding yourself and others.

Many people are disconnected from their emotions–especially strong core emotions such as anger, sadness, fear, and joy. But although we can distort, deny, or numb our feelings, we can’t eliminate them.

They’re still there, whether we’re aware of them or not. Unfortunately, without emotional awareness, we are unable to fully understand our own motivations and needs, or to communicate effectively with others.

What kind of a relationship do you have with your emotions?

• Do you experience feelings that flow, encountering one emotion after another as your experiences change from moment to moment?

• Are your emotions accompanied by physical sensations that you experience in places like your stomach or chest?

• Do you experience discrete feelings, such as anger, sadness, fear, joy, each of which is evident in subtle facial expressions?

Continued……

• Can you experience intense feelings that are strong enough to capture both your attention and that of others?

• Do you pay attention to your emotions? Do they factor into your decision making?

If any of these experiences are unfamiliar, your emotions may be turned down or turned off. In order to be emotionally healthy and emotionally intelligent, you must reconnect to your core emotions, accept them, and becomecomfortable with them.

Non-verbal communication

Non-verbal communication is the third skill of emotional intelligence. This wordless form of communication is emotionally driven.

Being a good communicator requires more than just verbal skills.

Often what we say is less important than how we say it or the other non-verbal signals we send out.

In order to hold the attention of others and build connection and trust, we need to be aware of and in control of our non-verbal cues. We also need to be able to accurately read and respond to the non-verbal cues that other people send us. 

Our non-verbal messages will produce a sense of interest, trust, excitement, and desire for connection–or they will generate fear, confusion, distrust, and disinterest.

Part of improving non-verbal communication involves paying attention to:

Eye contact Posture and gestureFacial expression TouchTone of voice Timing and pace

Use humour and play to deal with challenges

The ability to deal with challenges using humor and play is the fourth skill of emotional intelligence.

Humor, laughter, and play are natural antidotes to life’s difficulties. They lighten our burdens and help us keep things in perspective. A good hearty laugh reduces stress, elevates mood, and brings our nervous system back into balance.

Playful communication broadens our emotional intelligence and helps us:

Take hardships in stride

By allowing us to view our frustrations and disappointments from new perspectives, laughter and play enable us to survive annoyances, hard times, and setbacks.

Smooth over differences

Using gentle humor often helps us say things that might be otherwise difficult to express without creating a flap.

Simultaneously relax and energize ourselves

Playful communication relieves fatigue and relaxes our bodies, which allows us to recharge and accomplish more.

Become more creative

When we loosen up, we free ourselves of rigid ways of thinking and being, allowing us to get creative and see things in new ways.

Resolve conflict positively

The ability to manage conflicts in a positive, trust-building way is the fifth key skill of emotional intelligence.

Conflict and disagreements are inevitable in relationships. Two people can’t possibly have the same needs, opinions, and expectations at all times. However, that needn’t be a bad thing! Resolving conflict in healthy, constructive ways can strengthen trust between people. When conflict isn’t perceived as threatening or punishing, it fosters freedom, creativity, and safety in relationships.

Successfully resolving differences is supported by the previous four skills of emotional intelligence. Once you know how to manage stress, stay emotionally present and aware, communicate non-verbally, and use humor and play, you’ll be better equipped to handle emotionally-charged situations and catch and defuse many issues before they escalate.

Tips for resolving conflict in a trust-building way

Stay focused in the present

When we are not holding on to old hurts and resentments, we can recognize the reality of a current situation and view it as a new opportunity for resolving old feelings about conflicts.

Choose your arguments

Arguments take time and energy, especially if you want to resolve them in a positive way. Consider what is worth arguing about and what is not.

Forgive

If you continue to be hurt or mistreated, protect yourself. But if someone else’s hurtful behavior has been in the past, remember that conflict resolution involves giving up the urge to punish.

End conflicts that can't be resolved

It takes two people to keep an argument going. You can choose to disengage from a conflict, even if you still disagree.

Summary of selected trends in emotional intelligence outcome studies

General effect EI measures Representative studies

Better social relations for children. Among children and adolescents, EI positively correlates with good social relations

DANVA, ER Q-SortEKT, ESK, MSCEIT

• Denham et al. (2003)• Eisenberg et al. (2000)• Fine et al. (2003)• Izard et al. (2001)

Better social relations for adults. Among adults, higher EI leads to greater self-perception of social competence and less use of destructive interpersonal strategies.

EARSMEISMSCEIT

• Brackett et al. (2006)• Lopes et al. (2004)

High-EI individuals are perceived more positively by others. Others perceive high-EI individuals as more pleasant to be around, more empathic, and more socially adroit than those low in EI.

MSCEIT • Brackett et al. (2006)• Lopes et al. (2004)• Lopes et al. (2005)

General effect EI measures Representative studies

Better family and intimate relationships. EI is correlated with some aspects of family and intimate relationships

DANVA-2MEISMSCEIT

• Brackett et al. (2005)• Carton et al. (1999)

Better academic achievement. EI is correlated with higher academic achievement as reported by teachers, but generally not with higher grades once IQ is taken into account.

LEASMSCEIT

• Barchard (2003)• Izard et al. (2001)• O’Connor & Little

(2003)

Better psychological well-being.EI is correlated with greater life satisfaction and self-esteem and lower ratings of depression.

MSCEITLEAS

• Bastian et al. (2005)• Gohm et al. (2005)• Matthews et al. (2006)

We all know people who are academically brilliant and yet are socially inept and unsuccessful.

What they are missing is emotional intelligence?

The criteria for success at work are also changing.

• We are being judged by a new yardstick: not just by how smart we are, or by our training and expertise, but also by how well we handle ourselves and each other.

• This yardstick is increasingly applied in choosing who will be hired and who will not, who will be let go and who retained, who will be promoted and who will not be.

Thank You

A Brief History of Emotional Intelligence

1930s – Edward Thorndike describes the concept of "social intelligence" as the ability to get along with other people.

 1940s – David Wechsler suggests that affective components of

intelligence may be essential to success in life. 1950s – Humanistic psychologists such as Abraham Maslow

describe how people can build emotional strength. 

1975 - Howard Gardner publishes The Shattered Mind, which introduces the concept of multiple intelligences.

 1985 - Wayne Payne introduces the term emotional intelligence in

his doctoral dissertation entitled “A study of emotion: developing emotional intelligence; self-integration; relating to fear, pain and desire (theory, structure of reality, problem-solving, contraction/expansion, tuning in/coming out/letting go).”

 1987 – In an article published in Mensa Magazine, Keith Beasley

uses the term “emotional quotient.” It has been suggested that this is the first published use of the term, although Reuven Bar-On claims to have used the term in an unpublished version of his graduate thesis.

 

1990 – Psychologists Peter Salovey and John Mayer publish their landmark article, "Emotional Intelligence," in the journal Imagination, Cognition, and Personality.

 1995 - The concept of emotional intelligence is

popularized after publication of psychologist and New York Times science writer Daniel Goleman’s book Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ.

Measuring Emotional Intelligence"In regard to measuring emotional intelligence – I am a great believer that criterion-report (that is, ability testing) is the only adequate method to employ. Intelligence is an ability, and is directly measured only by having people answer questions and evaluating the correctness of those answers." --John D. Mayer Reuven Bar-On’s EQ-i

A self-report test designed to measure competencies including awareness, stress tolerance, problem solving, and happiness. According to Bar-On, “Emotional intelligence is an array of noncognitive capabilities, competencies, and skills that influence one’s ability to succeed in coping with environmental demands and pressures.”