Personality and Behavior in Examining Concepts of Emotional Intelligence - Coursework Example

Personality & Behavior in Examining Concepts of Emotional Intelligence 2009 Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand, comprehend, render, use and control emotions, and interact with other people basing on these skills. Throughout the history of psychology, there have been multiple attempts to explain certain phenomena from social and emotional domains which were not directly connected with general intellectual capabilities of a person (thinking, speaking, attention, imagination, memory, etc.) The predecessors of the modern theory of emotional intelligence are the theory of social intelligence and the existential and humanistic trends in psychology. One of the most widespread theories within the scope of humanistic psychology is Abraham Maslow’s theory of self-actualization developed in 1950s. Self-actualization included continuous and comprehensive development of human spiritual and creative potential, adequate self-esteem and perception of reality, high level of psychological health and morality, as well as maximally full realization of all possibilities and opportunities. According to the EI theory, a human being is a self-sufficient being, and the source of his/her development is within him- or herself. Daniel Goleman in his book presented the research data according to which IQ only determines from 4 to 25% of success in life, and the rest is determined by other competencies that cannot be classified as “traditional” IQ. In order to enter the university or get a managerial position one should definitely have certain IQ level, however in order to build career and establish long-lasting and mutually beneficial relationships with people other things are important – those that are connected with understanding and managing emotions. The higher the social position of a person is, the more EI skills he or she needs and uses. There is a popular wisdom - “IQ gets you hired, but EQ gets you promoted!” (Goleman, , Boyatzis & McKee 2001, p. 43-53) In personality and behavior studies, the concept of EI made an important turn by ceasing to divide emotions and intellect and perceive them as “mutual enemies”. Both phenomena – “traditional” intellect and emotions – are interconnected and can enrich each other. Intellect is the ability to act rationally, effectively and with orientation at a particular goal so that to achieve success in the given circumstances – so the “general” and emotional intelligence have the same paramount goal and can be used in synthesis. One of the most significant breakthroughs in examining and researching EI was the work of Reuven Bar-On, who developed the famous EI inventory – the tool for measuring the level of development of different components of emotional intelligence. R. Bar-on differentiated between 15 EI competencies combined into five groups. In order to develop this model of EI and prove its effectiveness, the research had been conducted with more than 42 thousands people in 36 countries of the globe, and that is how the connection between the level of EI and success in life in both personal and professional spheres was proved: Many scholars have theorized that high Emotional Intelligence contributes to success in various aspects of life including work and relationships. Because Emotional Intelligence theoretically includes the ability to understand and regulate others as well as ones own emotions, it may be related to both characteristics that build relationships and the quality of those relationships. Furthermore, scholars have theorized that high Emotional Intelligence would lead to greater feelings of emotional well-being. Some empirical evidence that Emotional Intelligence is associated with emotional well-being comes from research indicating that higher Emotional Intelligence is associated with less depression, greater optimism and greater self-esteem. Moreover, research found that individuals with higher Emotional Intelligence were better able to maintain a positive mood and self-esteem when faced with a negative state induction. Thus, both theory and prior research advance a connection between Emotional Intelligence and well-being. (Lenaghan, Buda & Eisner 2007. p. 76) Since R. Bar-On’s model of EI is, perhaps, the most scientifically grounded of all proposed models and concepts, we will consider it in our report. When it comes to applying this model to personality and behavior, it can be clearly seen how the level of development of each of the EI’s competencies can influence the life of a person. E.g., if a person lacks the ability to conduct emotional self-analysis, he or she is likely to become a marionette in the hands of other people, circumstances and his or her own emotions and feelings. Assertiveness gives an opportunity to communicate with people clearly and precisely, and take into account the interests and reactions of the interlocutor. Independency is the ability of a person to take own decisions and be emotionally independent from others, set goals, find the ways to achieve them and effectively use self-motivational tools and techniques. Self-esteem is the ability to respect and comprehend one’s own strengths and weaknesses. Having this competency, a person is able to feel sure of himself or herself in any situation, and he is allowed to make mistakes and be oneself. Having developed self-actualization competency, a person has the ability to set personal goals and realize his or her potential to the full extent. Normally people having high level of self-actualization love their job, whatever they do in life. One more competency of EI that is important for personal and professional life is empathy – the ability to put oneself into the shoes of another person and to make this other person understand that his opinion and views are accepted and understood. How does this affect personal and professional spheres? In fact such an approach is able to be turned into cooperation. Social responsibility is the ability and willingness of a person to cooperate for the sake of team, organization, community or society. And surely the interpersonal relations skills are very important because they ensure that the person establishes and maintains useful and pleasant communication with the others. Even if one’s job is not connected directly with building effective communication, in fact this looms to be the only thing that will make you stand out of the rest of your colleagues with the same level of professional competence. The ability to solve problems would come of use in both family and work context. As of now, in business environment the ability of people to think positively, within the result-oriented framework, rather than getting stuck in the problems, is highly valued. The ability to see and accept things as they are, the realistic perception of the environment, allows a person to build an objective opinion of the current situation. Flexibility allows to adapt one’s way of thinking and behavior to the new situation, new opinion, new information, new environment, etc. Being flexible, a person is more likely to manage tasks requiring switching between various behavioral patterns, constantly changing priorities and other conditions. Stress tolerance helps overcome negative events and manage them constructively. If a person cannot manage stress effectively, he or she is not very likely to evaluate the reality adequately, take well-grounded and sober decisions, and put them into actions. People who are able to control their impulses or temptations are more able to make conscious choices and take reasonable actions than those who act on impulse and do not care about the consequences and effects. General level of satisfaction with life determines the extent to which a person is able to be in harmony with himself or herself, as well as other people and life in the whole. Happy people normally have more success both at work and outside the business environment – perhaps this is attributed to the fact that they are pleasant in communication and are able to make adequate judgments about the reality? Optimistic people who maintain positive attitude and see the bright sides of life are also more successful. (Stein & Book, 2001) EI is inseparably connected to leadership, and there have been multiple theories and publications concerning this matter in the modern psychology and management studies. Among others the scholars emphasize the connection between the high EI level and the ability to take effective decisions, achieve success in entrepreneurship, effective work in any professional sphere (Goleman, 1998): A workers emotional skills may be far more valuable to a company than his or her technical skills, suggests Daniel Goleman, author of Working with Emotional Intelligence. Those workers with the ability to cope with their own and their co-workers feelings - anger, sadness, miscommunication, and other emotional problems affecting productivity - stand a better chance of succeeding in an organization than brilliant but immature professionals. (Working with Emotional Intelligence 1999, p. 15) In the work of top-management the level of EI development makes a significant difference – more than 4/5 of success is attributed to it. (www.eiconsortium.org) It is also interesting to note that androgynous people (those who combine “the best” characteristics of male and female gender roles in the society and who are considered by many scholars in the field of gender studies “the ideal” people (i.e. Sandra Bem)) normally have higher level of emotional intelligence. (Guastello & Guastello 2003). Androgynous people are more emotionally flexible, are able to be independent, powerful, caring, tender, kind… - in other words, whatever any particular situation requires. Similarly, people who are satisfied with their family lives would normally have a higher EI level than those not happy with their personal relationships. The high level of EI skills development is very important for a person who wants to achieve success in both personal and professional domains. It allows to understand other people much better and to understand and manage one’s emotions more effectively. EI, to the contrast of IQ, can be developed by means of working on comprehending one’s emotions and learning to work with them. References 1. Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R., & McKee, A. (2001, December). “Primal Leadership: The Hidden Driver of Great Performance”, Harvard Business Review, P. 43-53. 2. Guastello, D.D. & Guastello, S.J. (2003). “Androgyny, Gender Role Behavior, and Emotional Intelligence Among College Students and Their Parents”, Sex Roles , 49, P. 663-673. 3. Lenaghan, J. A., Buda, R. & Eisner, A.B. (2007), “An Examination of the Role of Emotional Intelligence in Work and Family Conflict”, Journal of Managerial Issues, 19 (1), P. 76. 4. Stein, S.A & Book, H.E. (2001), The EQ Edge: Emotional Intelligence and Your Success, Multi-Health Systems. 5. “Working with Emotional Intelligence”, (1999, March), The Futurist, 33 (3), P. 14. Read More