1

GENDER, EMOTIONAL QUOTIENT, AND ADJUSTMENT LEVEL OF EMPLOYED

NEWLY GRADUATE OF THE COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES,
CAVITE STATE UNIVERSITY, MAIN CAMPUS

David John A. Callao

An undergraduate thesis proposal presented to the faculty of the Department of Social

Sciences and Humanities, College of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfilment of the requirements
for graduation with the degree of Bachelor of Science in Psychology with Contribution No.
. Prepared under the supervision of Ms. Joy G. Novero.

INTRODUCTION

Katyal and Awasthi (2005) stated that, “Many educators and psychologists believe that

students who receive an exclusively academic environment may be ill equipped for future

challenges, both as individuals as well as members of the society. Certain instances come in our

day to day life wherein the brightest students in a class did not succeed later in their lives as

individuals having well rounded personalities as compared to their less intellectual

counterparts. It was particularly evident in various fields like politics, business and

administration.”

Questions arise what is it that helps a person to succeed in life other than academic

intelligence or IQ? Which human quality is it that helps people to function better in all spheres

from school, career, and to personal life?

As the researchers’ alumna has said, Garcia (2010), in a world of change, the highly

demanded and the most valuable skill is the ability to adjust, adapt, and learn. There is a lot more
 2

learning that what educational institutions have traditionally taught and those who continue to

learn and adapt to these changes have distinct advantages over those who not.

This transition will be more intense after a student graduated and faces the new

environment of work. This is the phase which students come out of their acquired comfort zones

and experiences the world outside of the academe. The world which does not need advance

memorizing skills for recitation, quizzes, seat works, major examination and tests.

Hurlock (1993) suggests that the problem of emotion also needs to be looked from the

aspect of its impact towards the individual, society, as well as the state. Highly emotional

disturbances are not only influencing the behaviour, but also attitude, psychological conditions,

as well as their abilities. The authority should be given to the adolescents as youth age is known

as a phase of “storm and stress”; where emotional disturbances frequently occur, accompanied

by rapid physical growth. The difficulty at adolescent phase may cause them difficulties in

coping with the next stages of growth.

According to Goleman (1995),

“It is that, emotionally literate individuals have mastered the emotional abilities

that inoculate them against the turmoil and pressures they are about to face

during life transitions. It enables an individual to cope and adapt to the emotional

experiences of role strain and their concerns as they transition from elementary

to highschool, highschool to college and eventually to work”

In addition , emotions also allow us for our individual defense, love, protection of values,

mourning of loss, and overcoming difficult obstacles in pursuit of goals. All areas of life (health,

learning, behaviour, and relationships) are influenced by emotions. It can predict our success and
 3

the capacity to solve problems (Jensen, 1998). Emotional intelligence focuses on the individual’s

ability to recognize and use his emotional state to solve problems and may very well be the key

to an individual’s survival. Being emotionally intelligent is also a different way of being smart.

Having strong emotions are the basis for impulses to action. To manage those impulses is

the basis of emotional intelligence. An emotional intelligent individual would tend to seek

mature and rational solutions to problems. Emotional intelligence is a driving factor that can

contribute to student’s success. A lack of emotional intelligence tends to lead to anger and

defiance, loneliness and depression, impulsive aggression, and a worried and nervous outlook.

According to Elias (1993),

“Transitions in life requires an individual to be capable of accepting many social

challenges. He needs to be able to communicate, participate and work

cooperatively, to have self-control, and to be able to resolve conflicts thoughtfully

without resorting to avoidance or aggression. In other words, a individual needs

to be emotionally intelligent.”

As all mentioned above, this study will focus on the gender, emotional quotient, and

work adjustment of employed newly graduate of the College of Arts and Sciences, Cavite State

University – Main Campus. Likewise, determines whether or not there is a relationship between

gender and emotional quotient; gender and adjustment level; emotional quotient and adjustment

level.

Before leaving the educational institution, the researcher feels the urge to answer such

questions involving the said phenomenon and for him to be able to know the future obstacles as

one pursues the journey to life.

 4

Statement of the Problem

This study aim to determine the gender, emotional quotient, and adjustment level of

employed newly graduate of the College of Arts and Sciences, Cavite State University, main

campus.

Specifically, this study seeks to answer the following questions:

1. What is the level of emotional quotient of the respondents when grouped into:

a. Male

b. Female

2. What is the work adjustment level of the respondents when grouped into:

a. Male

b. Female

3. Is there a significant relationship between emotional quotient and work adjustment level

of the respondents when grouped into:

a. Male

b. Female

4. Is there a significant difference in the level of emotional quotient of the respondents?

5. Is there a significant difference in the adjustment level of the respondents?

 5

Objectives of the Study

Generally, this study aim to determine the gender, emotional quotient, and adjustment

level of employed newly graduate of the College of Arts and Sciences, Cavite State University –

Main Campus.

Specifically, this study seeks to:

1. Determine the level of emotional quotient of the respondents in terms of:

a. Male

b. Female

2. Determine the work adjustment level of the respondents in terms of:

a. Male

b. Female

3. Determine whether there is a significant relationship between emotional quotient and

adjustment level of the respondents in terms of:

a. Male

b. Female

4. Determine whether there is a significant difference in the level of emotional quotient of

the respondents.

5. Determine whether there is a significant difference in the work adjustment level of the

respondents.
 6

Hypotheses

Based on the related literature as well as the theoretical framework, the following

hypotheses will be tested:

H1: Emotional quotient has no significant relationship on the work adjustment of the

respondents.

H2: Gender has no significant difference to the level of emotional quotient of the

respondents.

H3: Gender has no significant difference to the work adjustment level of the respondents.

Significance of the Study

This study will attempt to determine the relationship of gender, emotional quotient, and

adjustment level of employed newly graduates of the College of Arts and Sciences, Cavite State

University – Main campus. The result and findings of this study will be useful mainly to the

graduating students.

The following are the people who will benefit from the study.

Faculty Members – the result of the study may help the faculty to better understand the

stages of students under transition trauma, their gender differences, and levels of adjustment. A

great understanding of the said variables will be beneficial to promote involvement and lessen

emotional pressures especially to the incoming college students.

Office of the Student Affairs and related offices – the result of the study may serve as a

proposal for the inclusion of emotional quotient scales to admission exams; to predict
 7

adaptability and adjustment levels of incoming students and avoid high dropout rate; know their

intrapersonal and interpersonal abilities, stress management, and general mood or optimism.

Cavite State University – the study especially with the use of the emotional quotient

scale may serve as a good basis for the university’s mission which to produce professional,

skilled and morally upright individuals for global competitiveness.

Graduating Students – the study and literature may help them by giving them and idea

for common difficulties on adjustment and adaptability, and to decipher future transition

obstacles; to prepare themselves especially to their jobs.

Graduates/Alumni – the results of the study may help them by effectively having an

idea about the status of the results of the tests and questionnaires, for them to reveal and bale to

have a self evaluation after they graduated from the academe.

Future Researchers – the data shall serve as an additional source of information in their

future research especially topics about gender, emotional intelligence and adjustment level.

Future researcher could also create other variables for the enrichment of the study.

Time and Place of the Study

This study will be conducted accordingly to the respondents preferred location from

October 2010 to March 2011. This research will focus on the gender, emotional quotient, and

adjustment level of employed newly graduate of the College of Arts and Sciences, Cavite State

University, main campus.

 8

Scope and Limitations of the Study

This study is primarily concerned with the relationship between gender, emotional

quotient, and adjustment level of employed newly graduates of the College of Arts and Sciences,

Cavite State University – Main Campus. The respondents will be the graduates of Batch of 2010

and is currently employed on or from the date of graduation. In order to obtain reliable data,

respondents who had jobs before, on, and during their academic years will be excluded.

The investigation and data is from a two-part questionnaire which will be given to the

above respondents.

Definition of Terms

The following are the operational meaning of the terms used by the researcher to serve as

a guide to readers.

Gender refers to the respondent’s self-conception as being male or female as

distinguished from actual biological sex; being male or female graduates of the College of Arts

and Sciences, Cavite State University – main campus.

Emotional Intelligence is the respondent’s ability to perceive emotion, integrate emotion

to facilitate thought, understand emotions, and to regulate emotions to promote personal growth.

Emotional Quotient refers to the respondent’s resulting index for expressing

psychological construct called “emotional intelligence”. This covers the following:

 9

a. Intrapersonal is the respondents self awareness and self expression, to be self

regard or to accurately perceive, understand and accept oneself; to be self

aware of and understand his/her emotions; to effectively and constructively

express his/her emotions; to be self reliant and free of emotional dependency

on others.

b. Interpersonal refers to the respondents social awareness and interpersonal

relationship; his/her empathy, to be aware of and understand how others feel;

to be socially responsible or to identify with his/her social group and

cooperate; to establish mutually satisfying relationships and relate well with

others.

c. Stress management is the respondent’s emotional management and

regulation; to effectively and constructively manage emotions; his/her impulse

control, to effectively and constructively control emotions.

d. Adaptability refers to the respondents change management; his/her reality –

testing, to objectively validate his/her feelings and thinking with external

reality; his/her flexibility or to adapt his/her feelings and thinking to new

situations; his/her problem solving ability, to effectively solve problems of a

personal and interpersonal nature.

e. General Mood is the respondents self motivation; his/her optimism, to be

positive and look at the brighter side of life; and his/her happiness to feel

contented with himself/herself, others and life in general.

 10

Adjustment is a term used to describe the respondent’s personal and social adaptation to

a new environment, developed as a result of interaction with the host community, especially to

their work.

Adjustment Level is the resulting index of the respondent’s adjustment to his/her job or

work in terms of personal and social dimensions.

a. Personal Adjustment refers to the respondents feeling of personal security;

his/her need to adjust himself/herself to his/her weaknesses and to be able to

face up reality and achieve harmony with him/her.

b. Social Adjustment is the respondents feeling of being socially “fitting in”;

his/her need of establishing and maintaining social relationships.

c. Work Adjustment refers to the respondents feeling of satisfaction to his/her

skills, abilities, and development and support in the context of his/her work.

Newly Graduate refers to the graduates of the College of Arts and Sciences, Cavite State

University – main campus, Batch 2010.

Employed refers to the newly graduate’s of the College of Arts and Sciences, Cavite

State University – main campus, which are currently working or someone having a job during,

on, or after graduation and has been working for at least 3 months on his/her current

organization.
 11

Theoretical Framework

The theory that will support the study is from Reuven Bar-On concept of emotional and

social functioning. He described this concept as an array of interrelated emotional and social

competencies, skills and facilitators that impact intelligent behaviour.

The emotional and social competencies, skills and facilitators referred in this

conceptualization include the five key components described above. To be emotionally and

socially intelligent is to effectively understand and express oneself, to understand and relate with

others, and to successfully cope with daily demands, challenges and pressures. This is based, first

and foremost, on one’s intrapersonal ability to be aware of oneself, to understand one’s strength

and weaknesses, and to express one’s feelings and thoughts non-destructively. On the

interpersonal level, being emotionally and socially intelligent encompasses the ability to be

aware of others emotions, feelings, and needs, and to establish and maintain cooperative,

constructive and mutually satisfying relationship. Ultimately, being emotionally and socially

intelligent means to effectively manage personal, social and environmental change by

realistically and flexibly adjusting with the immediate situation, solving problems and making

decisions.

According to the same author, emotional intelligence covers the following:

1. Intrapersonal –self awareness and self-expression:

a. Self regard or to accurately perceive, understand and accept oneself.

b. Emotional self-awareness or to be aware of and understand one’s emotions.

c. Assertiveness or to effectively and constructively express one’s emotions and

oneself.
 12

d. Independence or to be self-reliant and free of emotional dependency on others.

2. Interpersonal – social awareness and interpersonal relationship:

a. Empathy or to be aware of and understand how others feel.

b. Social responsibility or to identify with one’s social group and cooperate with

others.

c. Interpersonal relationship or to establish mutually satisfying relationships and

relate well with others.

3. Stress management – emotional management and regulation:

a. Stress tolerance or to effectively and constructively manage emotions.

b. Impulse control or to effectively and constructively control emotions.

4. Adaptability – change management:

a. Reality-testing or to objectively validate one’s feelings and thinking with

external reality.

b. Flexibility or to adapt and adjust one’s feelings and thinking to new situations.

c. Problem-solving or to effectively solve problems of a personal and

interpersonal nature.

5. General mood – self-motivation:

a. Optimism or to be positive and look at the brighter side of life.

b. Happiness or to feel content with oneself, others and life in general.

Accordingly, to do this, we need to manage emotions so that they work for us and not

against us, and we need to be sufficiently optimistic, positive, and self-motivated.

 13

Conceptual Framework

MALE FEMALE

EMOTIONAL EMOTIONAL
QUOTIENT QUOTIENT

ADJUSTMENT ADJUSTMENT
LEVEL LEVEL

Figure 1.The conceptual framework shows the relationship of the respondent’s gender to their

emotional quotient and adjustment level; and the relationship between their emotional

quotient and adjustment level.

 14

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter reviewed literature and studies from books, journals, thesis, and internet

which have bearing on the study.

GENDER

According to the book, Understanding Social Problems of Mooney, Knox, and Schacht,

(2001) gender refers to the social definitions and expectations associated with being female or

male.

In common usage refers to the differences between men and women. Encyclopaedia

Britannica noted that gender identity is “An individual’s self-conception as being male or female,

as distinguished from actual biological sex, within the social sciences it often refers to

specifically social differences, known as gender roles in the biological sciences. Historically,

feminism has posited that many gender roles are socially constructed, and lack any clear

biological basis. People whose identity feels incongruent with their physical bodies may call

themselves transgender or gender queer.

According to Nobelius (2004), sex is to being male and female while gender is to being

masculine and feminine. Accordingly, sex refers to biological differences; chromosomes,

hormonal profiles, internal and external sex organs. Gender describes the characteristics that a

society or culture delineates as masculine or feminine. So while your sex as male or female is a

biological fact that is the same in any culture, what that sex means in terms of your gender role

as a “man” or a “woman” in society can be different cross culturally.

 15

More so, in sociological terms “gender roles” refers to the characteristics and behaviours

that different cultures attribute to the sexes. What it means to be a “real man” in any culture

requires male sex plus what our various cultures defines as masculine characteristics and

behaviours, likewise a “real woman” needs female sex and feminine characteristics. In

conclusion, a real man had to be a male sex and portrays a masculine social role and a real

woman had to be a female sex and portrays a feminine social role.

Gender differences

Baron-Cohen (2004), in his book, The Essential Difference: Men, Women, and the

Extreme Male Brain, stated that average male and female minds are of a different character. Men

tend to be better at analysing systems (better systemisers), while women tend to be better at

emotions of other people (better empathisers). He also added that this distinction arises from

biology not culture. Men have four percent more brain cells than women, and about 100 grams

more of brain tissues. Even though a man seems to have more brain cells, it is reported that

women have more dendritic connections between brain cells. It was also reported that a woman’s

brain has a larger corpus collusum, which means women can transfer data between the right and

left hemisphere faster than men. Men tend to be more left brained, while women have greater

access to both sides. For men, language is most often just in the dominant hemisphere (usually

the left side), but a larger number of women seem to be able to use both sides for language. This

gives them a distinct advantage. If a woman has a stroke in the left front side of the brain, she

may still retain in some language from the right front side. Men who have the same left sided

damage are less likely to recover as fully.

 16

More so, bonding/nesting instincts demonstrated that females, on average, have a larger

deep limbic system than males. This gives females several advantages and disadvantages. Due to

the larger deep limbic brain women are more in touch with their feelings, they are generally

better able to express their feelings than men. They have an increased ability to bond and be

connected to others (which is why women are the primary caretakers for children – there is no

society on earth where men are primary caretakers for children). Females have a more acute

sense of smell, which is likely to have developed from an evolutionary need for the mother to

recognize her young. Having a larger deep limbic system leaves a female somewhat more

susceptible to depression, especially at times of significant hormonal changes such as the onset

of puberty, before menses, after the birth of a child and at menopause. Women attempt suicide

three times more than men. Yet, men kill themselves three times more than women, in part,

because they use more violent means of killing themselves (women tend to use overdoses with

pills while men tend to either shot of hang themselves) and men are generally less connected to

others than are women, disconnection from others increases the risk of completed suicides.

With regards to the character of males and females, Tuddenham (1994), reports that

males are characterized to be more vigorous, restless and competitive than females. Females, on

the other hand, are more often depicted as being neat, fussy, sensitive and more emotional and

non-competitive. Furthermore, males manifest more often than girls anti-social behaviour.

Tanner (1991) states that females are extremely sensitive and perceptive about their own

physical appearance that the discrepancies between the less-than-perfect self image and ideals

they are supposed to follow can be a source of maladjustment.

Boufford and Bardwick (1998) relate that menstruation has a psychological and

emotional impact on females. Feelings of helplessness, irritability, depression, cramps, skin

 17

eruptions, anxiety and a desire for love have been found associated with low estrogens and

progesterone levels before menstruation. Accordingly, premenstrual depression has been found

to be related to a number of unpleasant symptoms.

Gender to adjustment

Feranil (2006) found out on his study that gender is one of the personal variables that

have been related to difference found in motivational functioning and in self-regulated learning.

Studies on attribution patterns indicated that when females succeed on a task, success is

attributed to external factors such as luck and task ease. In contrast, male’s success is attributed

to ability. Failure is also attributed to external factors for females, but to lack of effort for males.

Moreover, these patterns are the same whether subjects are asked to judge another

person’s performance or their own, females perceived as having little control over their own

performance whereas males are perceived as having a great deal of control.

Jersild, Brook, and Brook (1998) stated that males, on the other hand, experience

psychological relations to genital development. They are sensitive to the size of the genital

organs especially if they think it is small. In fact, a feeling of inferiority may persist in some boys

whose psychosexual development was impaired because of serious strains in the early

relationship with the father.

Nesselroade and Baltes (1994) found female adolescents too be more anxious than their

male counterparts. Likewise, Maccoby and Jacklin (1994) also concluded that girls get higher

scores on the general anxiety scale than boys. They suggest that there is a tendency for boys not

to appear cowardly in the eyes of their age mates for fear of public humiliation or failure. Also,

there are fewer items in the anxiety scale that relate to boy’s special fears. For the girls, however,
 18

some items of the anxiety scales are related to special fears of girls or specific circumstances

they have been told to avoid by their elders.

Nolen-Hoeksema (1994) in her study of an interactive model for emergence of gender

differences in depression in adolescence contends that higher incidence of depression among

adolescent females is due to the interaction of two factors: girls enter early adolescence with a

style of responding to frustration and distress that is less efficacious and action-oriented than that

of boys; girls begin to face certain uncontrollable stressors in early adolescence to a greater

extent than boys.

In the study of Lee, Park, and Kim (2009), found out on their study consisting of 76

Korean females which were enrolled in universities in the United States, Korean female students

showed a higher level of adjustment than males.

In the study of Matud (2003), entitled “Gender differences in stress and coping

strategies”, the researcher stated that gender affects each element in the stress process as much in

the input by determining whether a situation will be perceived as stressful, as in the output,

influencing coping responses and the health implications of stress reactions.

More so, Matud stated that women have more daily stress, with more chronic problems

and conflicts and daily demands and frustrations. Although women and men did not differ in the

number of life events and changes experienced within the past two years, these events seemed to

impact women more since they rated them as less desirable and controllable that men did and

they were more associated with health problems. Women reported more family and health-

related events experienced by other people in their environment; men reported events related to

work and finances and relationships with friends and lovers.

 19

Gender on Independence versus connectedness

Individual men display outlooks and behaviour that vary from fierce competitiveness to

caring nurturance. So do individual women. They have contended that women more than men

give priority to close, intimate relationships. (Chodorow, 1999)

Differences surface in childhood. Boys strive for independence; they define their

identities in separation from the caregiver, usually their mother. Girls welcome interdependence;

they define their identities through their social connections. Boy’s play often involves group

activity. Girl’s play occurs in smaller groups, with less aggression, more sharing, more imitation

of relationships, and more intimate discussion. (Lever, 1998)

More so, Gabriel & Gardner (1999) stated that adult relationships extend this gender

difference. Women describe themselves in more relational terms, experience more relationship-

linked emotions, and are more attuned to others’ relationship.

Tannen (2000), stated that in conversation, men more often focus on tasks and on

connections with large groups, women on personal relationships.

In groups, men talk more to give information; women talk more to share lives, give help,

or show support. (DIndia & Allen, 1997)

In the study of Sax & others (1999), among first-year college students, 3 in 10 males and

2 in 3 females say it is very important to “help others who are in difficulty”.

Pratto and colleagues (1997), stated that men gravitate disproportionately to jobs that

enhance inequalities (prosecuting attorney, corporate advertising); women gravitate to jobs that

reduce inequalities (public defender, advertising work for a charity).

 20

Konrad (2000) studied 64,000 people job preferences and revealed some tendency for

men more than women to value earnings, promotion, challenge, and power, and for women more

than men value good hours, personal relationships, and opportunities to help others.

Indeed in most of the North American caregiving professions, such as social worker,

teacher, and nurse, women outnumber men. Women also seem more charitable: Among

individuals leaving estates worth more than 5 million dollars, 48 percent of women and 35

percent of men make a charitable bequest, and women’s colleges have unusually supportive

alumni. (National Council for Research on Women, 1994)

Gender stereotyped in emotion

From the 19th century onwards, rationality and emotionality have largely become

associated with the supposedly different natures of men and women, the former fitted for

productive labor and the latter for household and emotional labor. These emotional double

standards holds that women are more emotional than men, but only for a restricted range of

emotions – happiness, sadness, disgust, fear, and surprise. Anger is notably absent from the list

of emotions stereotypically associated with women. Men are also subject to a parallel stereotype

– one of restricted emotionality for most emotions except anger. (Fischer, 1993 and Heesacker,

1999)

On their study, Kelly, Hutson, and Comeaux (1999) stated that the stereotype of gender

and emotion presents women as emotional and men as rational, but studies on the different

components of emotions has revealed that there may be few gender differences in inner

experience of emotion. Gender differences appear in how and when emotion are the

physiological dimension and the cognitive dimension.

 21

Gender differences and Empathy

Hecht & LaFrance (1993) relates women’s greater connectedness in personal

relationships expressed in their smiling. On their study, analyzing 9,000 college year book

photos and 1,100 magazine and newspaper photos and 1,300 people in shopping malls, parks,

and streets, they consistently found that females were more likely to smile.

One explanation for this male-female empathy difference is that women tend to

outperform men at reading other’s emotions. In her analysis of 125 studies of men’s and

women’s sensitivity to nonverbal cues, Hall (1994) discerned that women are generally superior

at decoding other’s emotional messages. Women’s sensitivity to nonverbal cues helps explain

their greater emotional responsiveness in both depressing and joyful situations.

Woman also foresees more complex and nuanced emotions when given possible

scenarios. (Barrett, 2000)

Women also are more skilled at expressing emotions nonverbally, especially for positive

emotions. (Feldman, 1996)

Gender Stereotype and Work discrimination

Chua, Infante, and Lee (2009) stated that gender stereotyping which started as early as

when the individuals were born; these further affect the way women are being treated in their

workplace. Although the term stereotyped was primarily used in the investigation of attitudes

towards religious, racial or ethnic groups, it would also seem to apply to gender as well. Hence, a

gender role stereotype may be defined as an attitudinal or behavioural bias against individuals in

identical situations engaged in identical behaviours because of their membership in some specific
 22

sexual group. In many ways, stereotypes operate more like societal norms than individual

attitudes. The society conceives that man and women have distinctive biological traits that

account for their differences in behaviour and emotion.

According to the same author, women are perceived as coy, graceful, nurturing, patient

and understanding, while men are seen as brave, decisive, strong-willed and responsible. Such

traits are viewed as innate and unchanging; consigning both sexes to the roles they have been

socialized to carry out for the rest of their lives.

More so, they reviewed the effect of stereotypes on evaluation of people and data showed

that even in traditionally feminine fields, women were perceived to be inferior to men.

Davidson and Burke (1994) provided widespread evidence of stereotyped thinking about

women and strongly suggest that sexual discrimination reduces women’s opportunities for

attaining management positions.

According to the same author, the “gentleman’s club” reinforces the notions that

woman’s role as a mother and homemaker and the man’s role as breadwinner are natural and

pre-ordained.

Renzetti and Curran (2005) found out that women workers are concentrated in a small

range of poorly paying occupations – primarily clerical and service jobs. Relatively few women

hold jobs that pay a “family wage”. Hiring decisions of employers are also based on their

stereotypical perceptions of what women want and how they work.

Ridgeway and Correl (2005) explained the meaning of statistical discrimination; it is

when employers make employment decisions about an individual on the basis of characteristics

thought to be typical of a group to which the individual belongs. The biasing impact of gender

beliefs may be small in an instance, but the consequences cumulate over individual’ lives and
 23

result substantially different outcomes for men and women. Thus, in workplace, the stereotypes

about women could possibly lead to different forms of discrimination and work pressures as

well.

EMOTIONAL QUOTIENT

Emotional Quotient is the resulting index for expressing psychological construct called

“emotions”. Emotional quotient or commonly known as emotional intelligence, are abilities such

as able to motivate oneself and persist in the face of frustrations; to control impulse and delay

gratification; to regulate one’s moods and keep distress from swamping the ability to think; to

empathize and o hope. It is the character that covers traits, values, personality and motivation.

According to Salovey and Mayers (1997), Emotional Intelligence is the ability to

perceive emotion, integrate emotion to facilitate thought, understand emotions, and to regulate

emotions to promote personal growth. Emotional intelligence is the capacity to create positive

outcomes in relationships with others and with oneself. It is the ability to monitor one’s own and

others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use thus information to guide

one’s thinking and actions. Thus, emotional intelligence is an umbrella term that captures a broad

collection of interpersonal and intrapersonal skills. Interpersonal skills consist of the ability to

understand the feelings of others, empathise, maintain and develop interpersonal relationships

and above all our sense of social responsibility. On the other hand, intrapersonal skill comprise

of the ability to understand one’s own motivation.

Furthermore, Emotional intelligence plays a key role in determining life success. It

becomes more and more important as people progress up the career ladder of their life. Emotions
 24

are our feelings; hence, emotional intelligence is our life. Accordingly, emotional intelligence

does not only measure emotions or intelligence. What it does is to open up a new way of looking

at how our thinking and behaviour could be seen intelligent.

Furthermore, emotional intelligence provides liberty for individuals to explore self

potentials, as well as providing opportunities for individuals to harmonize themselves with their

emotion. In other words individuals with high levels of emotional intelligence are those that are

able to manage their emotions well.

According to Dunn (2003), components of emotional intelligence which can be regarded

as key to success in life are as follows: self awareness and self-honesty, knowledge about causes

of emotions, self-regulation and modulation of one’s emotions, empathy, motivation and good

decision-making, ability to analyze and understand relationships, intuitiveness, creative and

flexible thinking, integrated self, and a balanced life.

In the study of Espinosa (2002) about emotional intelligence, self-actualization and

happiness among young religious in formation, the main components of emotional intelligence

are:

Self-awareness: observing yourself and recognizing a feeling as it happens.

Managing emotions: handling feelings so that they are appropriate; realizing what is

behind a feeling; finding ways to handle fears and anxieties, anger, and sadness.

Motivating oneself: channelling emotions in the service of a goal; emotional self-

control;delaying gratification and stifling impulses.

Empathy: sensitivity to other’s feelings and concerns and taking their perspective;

appreciating the differences in how people feel about things.

 25

Handling relationships: managing emotions in others; social competence and social

skills.

Using Emotions to Facilitate Thought: emotions making thinking more intelligent.

From Tapia’s (2001) point of view, a person with these components integrated in his life

is considered to be well adjusted and emotionally skilled; deficiencies in these areas render a

person socially and emotionally disabled.

In the study of Camposano (2008) about Emotional Quotient and its Relationship to

Teaching Performance, he defined emotional quotient as a measurement for emotional

intelligence. It is the ability to perceive emotions, to assess and generate emotions as to assist

thought, to understand emotions and knowledge, and to reflectively regulate emotions so as to

promote emotional and intellectual growth.

According to Bar-On (2007), emotional intelligence is an array of non-cognitive

capabilities, competencies and skills that influence one’s ability to succeed in coping up with

environmental demands and pressures. Emotional intelligence covers the following: (1)

Intrapersonal EQ (self regard, emotional self awareness, assertiveness, independence, and self-

actualization). (2) Interpersonal EQ (empathy, social responsibility, interpersonal relationship).

(3) Stress Management EQ (stress tolerance and impulse control. (4) Adaptability (reality testing,

flexibility and problem solving). (5) General mood EQ (optimism and happiness).

According to Goleman (1996), emotional intelligence is an ability to understand the self

emotion and applies the talent to make effective decisions in life. With emotional intelligence,

and individual is able to contain disappointments, sadness and other negative feelings in a
 26

positive manner. It is deemed as a group of several factors on one’s social and cognitive aspects

and the connection within the description of emotion.

Emotional Intelligence on IQ

The National Philosophy of Education (1997) emotional intelligence is deemed as

one of the important aspects in educating a person to be balanced as a whole. Through emotional

intelligence, one will become more successful in life as compared to individuals that gain high

levels of intellectual intelligence (IQ).

Furthermore, Rational intelligence or IQ is only 20% of the factors that determine success

in life. Some extraneous factors such as luck and particularly the characteristics of EQ constitute

the 80%. Those vital EQ characteristics are the abilities to motivate oneself and persist despite

frustration, to control impulse, and delay gratification, to regulate one’s mood and keep distress

from overwhelming thought and to empathize and to hope. In his book, “Emotional Intelligence,

hat can matter more the IQ?”, he proved that EQ can be index and predictor of persons success.

It is a part of human existence; it is what separates man from the lower forms of animal.

Mehrabian’s (2001) definition of emotional intelligence integrated and expanded the

definitions Goleman, Mayer, Salovey, Caruso, and Cohen. Mehrabian defines emotional

intelligence as emotional empathy, attention to, and discrimination of one’s emotions, accurate

recognition of one’s own and others’ moods and mood management or control over emotions,

response with appropriate (adaptive) emotions and behaviours in various life situations,

especially to stress and difficult situations, balancing of honest expression of emotions against

courtesy, consideration and respect (i.e. possession of good social skills and communication

skills). Additional, though less mentioned, qualities include selection of work that is emotionally
 27

rewarding to avoid procrastination, self-doubt, and low achievement (i.e. good self motivation

and goal management) and balance between work, home, and recreational life.

According to Chapman(2006), the EQ concept links strongly with concept of love and

spirituality bringing compassion to work and also to multiple intelligence theory which illustrates

and measures the range of capabilities people possess and the fact that everybody has value.

People with strong EQ have less emotional baggage and conversely people with low EQ tend to

have personal unresolved issues which either act as a trigger or constants in personality make-up.

Abeddi (2007) stated that, emotional stability plays a vital role for every human being to

function at their best. The EQ concept believes that having a high EQ means having a healthy

relation with oneself and other people. A person who has a high EQ is expected to be more

positive in life. EQ gives a person the courage to stand again after a fall.

More so, Emotions help people to communicate. The facial expression for example, can

convey a wide range of emotions. If one looked sad or hurt, it is an indication that they need

help. If others are able to listen to emotional troubles of others, it signals concern, understanding

and care.

According to the study of Camposano (2008), emotional intelligence has a higher

predictive validity for performance in the workplace than traditional measures of Intelligence

quotient (IQ). Most probably because a person with high emotional intelligence can

constructively manage and understand oneself even in the most demanding situations while

involving in human relationship. He found out that a person with high IQ but with low EQ tends

to have an objective view which might probably affect the people’s relationship in work and life.
 28

According to article of HRD Press, emotional intelligence draws in two simple concepts.

To be ‘intelligent” or what is termed “applying knowledge appropriately” and to be “emotionally

astute” or “tuned in”, or what is termed “applying feelings appropriately”.

On his study, Emotional Intelligence and Life Adjustment, Sjöberg (2001) found out that

EQ has been suggested to be a factor of paramount importance in adjustment to life in general,

and showed emotional intelligence to be positively related to gender, women being higher in

emotional intelligence than men, where it was psychometrically feasible and gave promising

results with regard to validity beyond what could be obtained with the usual dimension of

Emotional Quotient using Bar-On EQi.

Emotional Intelligence on Gender

In the study of Barrett, Lane, Secherest, and Schwartz (200), it was hypothesized that

Emotional Intelligence would be higher for woman than for men and positively correlated with

educational level. Age was hypothesized to be negatively related to EI, just as it is to other

indices of achievement and performance, even if older people often can compensate well in

certain tasks for a decline in basic neutral efficiency.

In the study of Katyal and Awasthi (2005), Bhosle (1999), King (1999), Sutarso (1999),

Wing and Love (2001) and Singh (2002), obtained results founded that females have higher

emotional intelligence than that of males.

However, in contrary, Chu (2002) revealed that males have higher level of emotional

intelligence than that of females.

 29

According to Barret (2000), Candela and colleagues (2001), Sunew (2004),

Garaigordobil (2006), the relationship between sex and emotional competencies are linked since

childhood due to a socialization that is in closer touch with feelings and their nuances.

Aquino (2003), Lafferty (2004), Tapia and Marsh (2006), affirmed that women tend to be

more emotionally expressive than men, that they understand emotions better and that they have a

greater ability as regards to certain interpersonal skills. Accordingly, women for instance,

recognize other people’s emotions better, are more perceptive and have greater empathy.

Jordan, McRorie, and Ewing (2010) on the relationship between components of

emotional intelligence (interpersonal ability, intrapersonal ability, adaptability and stress

management) and academic performance was examined in a sample of 86 children (49 males and

37 females) aged 11-12 years during the primary-secondary school transition period, results

indicated that for both males and females, intrapersonal ability had little relationship with

academic achievement, while adaptability had the strongest relationship with achievement in all

subjects. Gender differences were particularly pronounced for science, for which stronger

relationship were observed with all EI components for males. In addition, apparent only for

males was a negative relationship between stress management and science. These findings offer

support for the current inclusion of personal and emotional element in the primary curriculum,

and indicate that such training is likely to help males more than females to make a successful

transition from primary to secondary school.

 30

Emotional Intelligence on Transition

In the study of Nuñez, found out that females have a higher Emotional Quotient but

despite the evidence indicating that women generally have higher Emotional Intelligence index

than men, their self-perception tends to be lower than that of men.

In contrary to this study, Richardson (2000), in a dissertation study of students

transitioning from fifth to sixth grade, emotional intelligence was negatively correlated to the

variables of transition trauma (student concerns and role strain). Analysis indicated that at least

to some degree, emotional intelligence played a part in easing transition trauma more for girls

than boys. The patterns of emotional intelligence levels did not vary much over the transition

period, and girl seemed to indicate higher levels of emotional intelligence than boys. Emotional

intelligence made a contribution to academic performance for girls even when prior achievement

and socioeconomic status were taken into account.

According to the Middle School Journal, January 2002 issue, Vol. 3 number 3, pages 55-

58, middle school educators would b reasonable to assume that students with higher emotional

intelligence would have greater capacity to cope and adapt to transition trauma. Goleman (1996)

and Elias, Ubriaco, Reese, Gara, Rothbaum, and Haviland (1992) asserted that emotions would

affect learning. Students who have the skills to use their emotional abilities appropriately would

be capable to address the emotional challenges of entering a new environment and successfully

adjust to the basic differences between elementary and middle school. Student who are

emotionally competent will manage their own feelings well, recognize and respond effectively to

the feelings of others, tolerate frustration better, and be less impulsive and more focused.

Adeyemo (2005) investigated the relationship between emotional intelligence and

adjustment of students transitioning from primary school to secondary school. Results showed
 31

that there was a significant relationship between emotional intelligence and adjustment. It was

also found that the strengths of emotional intelligence, defined in terms of high, moderate and

low, significantly impacted the adjustment of students in transition. The outcome of the study has

strengthened the need to mount an emotional-intelligence based counselling intervention

programme to mitigate the transition trauma of pupils moving from primary to secondary school.

Such intervention should be targeted at problematic areas of transition such as academic and

social adjustment, organisational issues, pupil perception, school phobias and other transition

traumas.

ADJUSTMENT

Encyclopaedia Britannica defined adjustment as the behavioural process by which

humans and other animals maintain equilibrium among their various needs or between their

needs and the obstacles of environments. A sequence of adjustment begins when a need is felt

and ends when it is satisfied.

Adjustment is a term used to describe personal and social adaptation to a new

environment, developed as a result of interaction with the host community (Sadrossat, 1995).

The quality of adjustment depends on the number of factors including academic, economic,

psychological satisfaction, social activities and social contact/participation.

According to Atwater (1997), the meaning of adjustment was borrowed from the concept

of adaptation in biology. At the biological level, adaptation refers to changes in an organism’s

structure or function that facilitates the survival of species. Adaptation is considered successful

as long as the species is able to survive, regardless whether the individual organism fails to adapt
 32

to it. At the psychological level, however, adjustment refers to the individual’s struggle to

survive in his or her surroundings. Here, the emphasis is on the learned functional changes –

rather than the biological ones – that one must make in order to cope successfully with the

environment.

Bier (2008) stated that, adjustment can be defined as a process of altering one’s

behaviour to reach a harmonious relationship with their environment. This is typically a response

brought about by some type of change that has taken place. The stress of this change causes one

to try to reach a new type of balance or homeostasis between the individual (both inwardly and

outwardly), and with their environment.

According to the same author, adjustment occurs over time – in common speech; this is

often referred as an “adjustment period”. The length and depth of the adjustment required is

dependent upon the complexity of the change that catalyzed it, and the underlying resilience of

both the person and their environment.

Adams (1996), on his article about psychology of adjustment, he defined the term as the

efficiency with which the individual generates positive rewards and avoids negative

consequences and punishments. The emphasis in this definition is on the person’s efficiency in

dealing with his environment. Psychologically adjusted people generally perceive themselves

and their environment as other people do.

Essentially, adjustment refers to the changes one makes on himself and in the

environment in order to achieve satisfying relationship with others and his surroundings.

Adjustment entails modifying one’s attitudes or behaviour in order to cope with inevitable

changes of getting older, of getting adjusted to a new job and work environment, of changes in

living arrangements and the changing nature of work. These are the different changes that people
 33

have to reckon with. More often than not, successful adjustment requires a combination of these

changes, such as adapting a positive attitude towards work while getting used to a new job.

According to Aberlon (2000) adjustment is a social phenomenon which requires dealing

successfully with an environment that involves other people.

Perspectives on Adjustment

Adjustment can also be seen as an “end state”, or a set of desirable qualities achieved by

a well adjusted personality. In earlier decades, when society was somewhat more static,

adjustment implied a greater degree of social conformity. A well-adjusted person is perceived to

be one who is emotionally stable and matured, free from anxiety and problems and one who gets

along harmoniously with others at work and in the community. But at present, the concept has

changed. On the study of Atwater (1997), revealed that there are several perspectives formulated

to explain behaviours regarding adjustment.

One such perspective is the biological perspective. Evidences have suggested that coping

with change has to do with the body and mind’s tolerance for stress. Stressful situations that

cannot be handled by the body and mind often leave the person getting frustrated and sick. Those

who cannot easily adjust to stressful situations have developed ulcers, hyperacidity and

hypertension.

Another perspective as adapted from Freud is the psychodynamic aspect which assesses

adjustment as a result of the person’s management of conflicting forces in life because the

structure of personality takes form of conflicting processes. The id, ego, and superego

maladjustment have been viewed as a result of a threatening force on the ego, or the ego fails to

perform its roles as the “manager” of personality, and therefore, both the ego and coping
 34

defenses of the person are weakened. Successful adjustment, for the most part, involves the

announcement of the role of the ego.

According to Atwater (1997), another perspective is the social learning perspective. This

perspective emphasizes one’s observation, past experiences and learned behaviours enables the

person to cope and adjust well in different situations. He further said that maladjustment may

have been the result of some gaps in the person’s learning process and that those same gaps

maybe used to improve maladjusted behaviour.

On the other hand, the humanistic perspective sees the importance of the person as a

human being capable of actually having an inherent tendency to grow. His inherited and acquired

power to make whatever changes within himself serves as the basis of his constructive thinking,

feeling, and doing. This perspective further points out that maladjustment usually occurs when

the person is not motivated to grow. Different humanistic perspectives such as Roger’s

phenomenal self, May’s human freedom and Maslow’s concept of self-actualization have

interpreted maladjustment in various ways. For Roger’s it is the person’s acceptance of his

limited state of self-existence while May contends that maladjustment is a result of those who

may have made decisions in their lives that includes self-denial, including coping with the

change. Maslow, however, sees maladjusted persons, as those satisfied with the conventional

way of life and those who do not dare to face challenges that will lead to actualizing oneself.

Based on the humanistic perspective, optimum adjustment requires continuously seek growth

and face challenges towards actualizing oneself.

 35

Personal Adjustment

When one talks of personal adjustment, it is assumed to be based on feeling of personal

security. It is the need of a person to adjust to oneself and one’s weaknesses, to be able to face up

to reality and to achieve harmony within oneself.

According to the study of Liao (1998), findings showed that both males and females

young workers have poor adjustment levels. The study revealed that majority of the immigrant

young workers who came from the provinces experience adjustment difficulties in the city.

Findings also showed that the longer the number of years of attendance in school, the better was

their personal adjustment and, the longer they stay in the friendship house, the poorer their

personal adjustment becomes.

In the study of Luo (1996), individuals encounter difficulties in adapting to a new

cultural environment and many suffer more or less, uncertainty, depression, anxiety, isolation or

self-estrangement. He found out that people who had higher inter-group identity tended to have a

more positive attitude towards the out-group and had better psychological adjustment status.

Williams (1997) also added that students who viewed themselves positively were found

out to be emotionally well-adjusted.

Bass (1993) placed emphasis on the achievement of accepting oneself or self-realization,

freedom from internal conflicts, being able to develop a coherent set of values which gives life

meaning and purpose.

Social Adjustment

The establishment of meaningful social adjustment has been rendered difficult in the

movement of people due to the nature of their occupations and changes in the place of residence.
 36

Dyness and colleagues cited that residential and vocational changes produce changes in interests,

goals and styles of living. These changes sometimes lead to breaking of family and

neighbourhood tied making emotional and social adjustment difficult to achieve.

Lester (2005), stated that a student who has achieved good home adjustment, who has

pleasant relationship with his teachers and schoolmates, who is an active and cooperative

member of his social group has little to fear in adjusting to his job. His own training received at

home and in school, has developed him the ability to adjust successfully in new situations, new

responsibilities and in new people.

More so, he explained that the extent to which the individual is able to achieve successful

life adjustment depends on the environmental stimuli to which he is exposed during his life span

especially during childhood and adolescent years. He further added that poor environmental

conditions are more than likely to result to maladjustment.

Sala (1991), states that individuals experience anxiety almost everyday of their lives;

therefore they must be prepared to cope with it when it arises. Anxiety is a reaction which no

person can tolerate for long. It is therefore natural for individuals experiencing threats, tension

and irritation or other forms of psychological anxiety to take a defense reaction.

According to Kaplan (1995), individuals are provided with psychological behaviour and

behavioural devices which help them to lessen the intensity of anxiety or avoid it all together.

These devices are commonly known as defense mechanism. Defences are psychological

manoeuvres in which individuals deceive themselves about actual conditions of threat. This

protects the individual from harm either from internal or external sources. These mechanisms of

adjustment help persons regulate their feeling, thoughts, perceptions, and actions so that the

anxiety they experiences is at a level they can handle. People differ in their ability to retain
 37

normal reactions when stressed. They may either approach such rationalization, projection,

repression, suppression, fantasy, identification, over-compensating, sublimation all evolved

through a process of learning. He also found out that social support gathered from members of

family, relatives, peers, and friends plays a significant role in the adjustment level of individuals

undergoing severe emotional stress.

In the study of Wang (1996), he found out that an increase in social support was related

to increase in the sense of well-being, regardless of previous stress levels. Social support, when

increased during the first part of transition, or change in environment, was seen to be beneficial

to those who perceived themselves as socially competent and with a poor self-concept.

Kaplan and colleagues (1997) requires the individual to reach a reasonable compromise

between one’s drive for self-realization and the demands of the society. They develop some

general criteria for personal and social adjustment, as follows:

1. Well adjusted individuals must have a unifying outlook in life. This means that they

must possess a set of values which gives them a focus for their behaviour, attitudes,

and other motivating forces that give meaning to lofe and offer direction and order to

their behaviour.

2. Well adjusted individuals know what they want out of life and more importantly are

able to make intelligent plans to reach their goal. Their view of themselves is realistic,

and they are capable of appraising their abilities and strengths, enabling them to set a

level of aspiration within reasonable limits. Without knowledge of oneself,

individuals will encounter a series of frustrations because they do not possess a

realistic perception of themselves.

 38

3. The adjusted persons are capable of monitoring their emotional behaviour so that they

are not so overwhelmed or empty of them; their emotional expression meets the

requirement of the situation while maintaining the basic core of their personality.

4. Adjusted individuals are capable of having satisfying contacts with other people.

They feel comfortable in the presence of others and do not manipulate people for their

own need. Thus, their focus in life is socially oriented, as opposed to being self-

seeking. The goal of their satisfying relationship does not require them to be

extroverts, but warrants sensitivity to the welfare of another or others, so that through

others’ responses their own sense of well-being is enhanced and developed.

5. The adjusted individuals have become so resourceful that they are capable of being

able to achieve harmony with their environment. This simply means that give and

take characteristic of a dynamic equilibrium that allows them to adjust to their

changing environment while retaining their stability and integration.

According to Munn (1996) these needs, when fulfilled, become sources of satisfaction

and, when unsatisfied, become sources of tension, conflict, and frustration.

Crow (1997) stated that many of the maladjustment designated as behaviour problems are

due to failure to satisfy these psychological needs.

Employing the term “adjustment”, Bell (1962) conceived the developing self as a kind of

central exchange station between the demands of the organism on one hand and the influence of

the physical and social environment on the other.

According to Bell (1962), the self begins to develop at high and as it becomes more

adequate to deal with the demands made upon it by the organic structure and the world beyond
 39

its physiological boundaries, it gradually comes, through the process of learning, to exert a

greater control over both the organic and the environmental determinants.

Furthermore, the self contains the latent capacity for becoming increasingly conscious of

itself, a fact that makes possible the use of an inventory type of measurement to obtain more

accurate information about an individual.

Bell (1962) stated that, as the self develops, it becomes increasingly aware of the feelings

and emotions which accompany its overt reactions: the cores of every self are the hates, the love,

and the fears on an individual. A persons feeling may be influenced by ignorance, fantasy, or

wishful thinking, but they are still his and he tends to act upon them. Therefore, they should be

known.

Bell (1962), on the Bell Adjustment Inventory, measures of adjustment was the

following:

1. Home Adjustment. Individuals scoring high tend to feel that their home relationships

have been unsatisfactory. Low scores indicates satisfaction with regards to home adjustment.

2. Health Adjustment. High scores indicate unsatisfactory health adjustments; low scores,

satisfactory adjustments.

3. Submissiveness. Individuals scoring high tend to be submissive and retiring in their

social contacts. Individuals with low scores tend to be self confident and assertive.

4. Emotionality. Individuals with high scores tend to be unstable emotionally; with low

scores, to be emotionally secure.

5. Hostility. Individuals with high scores tend to be hostile and critical in social

relationships; with low scores, to be friendly and accepting of people.

 40

6. Masculinity – Femininity. Females who score high tend to have strong masculine

interests. Females who scores low tend to have strong feminine interests. Males, who score high,

tend to be strongly masculine in their interests. Males who score low tend to have the interests of

females.

On the book, The Psychology of Adjustment, Shafflers (1996) emphasized the biological

adaptation of the organism to its environment as the central meaning of the term.

Emotional adjustment and Work

Emotional adjustment is necessary with expatriation as revealed in the study of Black

(1992). His study involved 174 managerial employees who had returned to the United States

within the last eighteen months from a foreign assignment lasting more than nine months in

continuous duration. Individuals whose expectations were met including living and housing

conditions reported highest level of repatriation adjustment and job performance. Managers with

high emotional adjustment reported higher levels of repatriation levels and job performance even

if job demand expectations were greater than expected.

Another study that burrowed on emotional adjustment was that of Remondet (1991). He

investigated aspects of the work experience of 77 middle-aged (40-53 years old) and 78 pre-

retirement (54-72 years old) in which personal control is more likely to be threatened. He

identified related problems in the subject’s work performance, job satisfaction, and adjustment.

The results revealed that four dimensions of work emerged as sources that threaten personal

control and these are workload demand, limited growth opportunity, personal and family crises

and working conditions. Diminished control in these areas was associated with increased job
 41

stress, generalized stress, depression, injuries on the job and absenteeism. This also resulted to

decreased job involvement, lower job satisfaction and disrupted performance.

SYNTHESIS

According to Adeyemo (2005) who investigated the relationship between emotional

intelligence and adjustment of students transitioning from primary school to secondary school,

data and results showed that there was a significant relationship between emotional intelligence

and adjustment. It was also found that the strengths of emotional intelligence, defined in terms of

high, moderate and low, significantly impacted the adjustment of students in transition. The

outcome of the study has strengthened the need to mount an emotional-intelligence based

counselling intervention programme to mitigate the transition trauma of pupils moving from

primary to secondary school. Such intervention should be targeted at problematic areas of

transition such as academic and social adjustment, organisational issues, pupil perception, school

phobias and other transition traumas.

Feranil (2006) found out on his study that gender is one of the personal variables that

have been related to difference found in motivational functioning and in self-regulated learning.

Studies on attribution patterns indicated that when females succeed on a task, success is

attributed to external factors such as luck and task ease. In contrast, male’s success is attributed

to ability. Failure is also attributed to external factors for females, but to lack of effort for males.

Moreover, these patterns are the same whether subjects are asked to judge another

person’s performance or their own, females perceived as having little control over their own

performance whereas males are perceived as having a great deal of control.

 42

As all mentioned above, studies had showed significant relationship for gender,

emotional quotient and adjustment level as basis for the current research.
 43

METHODOLOGY

This chapter discusses the research design, sampling procedure, collection of data and

method of analysis. This can be helpful in understanding how the research was formed and

analyzed.

Research Design

The study will use the Comparative-Correlational Method of Research. This method will

describe and interpret the present situation or condition that exists. This will be done to analyze

the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. By this technique, the gender,

male and female, and their emotional quotient and adjustment level will be correlated. The

emotional quotient and adjustment level of both male and female will then be compared. The

data that will be collected will be the basis in the formation of conclusions and

recommendations.

Sampling Procedures

To be able to have appropriate respondents, a purposive sampling procedure will be used.

The respondents will be the graduates of the College of Arts and Sciences, Cavite State

University – Main Campus, Batch 2010. Graduates with jobs or are currently working will be

involved in the study.

 44

Research Instruments

The research instrument that will be used in this study will be the Bar-On Emotional

Quotient Inventory - Short, Worker Satisfaction Scale, and a modified questionnaire on personal

and social adjustment.

The first instrument will be the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory – Short.

The EQ-i was originally constructed as an experimental instrument designed to examine

the conceptual model of emotional and social functioning which began in 1980. Dr. Reuven Bar-

On hypothesized that effective emotional and social functioning should eventually lead to a

sense of psychological well-being. It was also reasoned that the results gained from applying

such instrument on large and diverse population samples would reveal more information about

emotionally and socially intelligent behaviour as well as the underlying construct refer as

emotional-social intelligence.

The development of the EQ-i proceeded in six phases over a period of seventeen years;

(i) identifying and logically clustering various emotional and social competencies, skills and

facilitators thought to impact human performance and psychological well-being based on Dr.

Reuen Bar-On’s clinical experience and review of the literature; (ii) clearly defining the

individual key clusters of competencies and skills that surfaced; (iii) initially generating

approximately 1,000 items based from his experiences, literatures and inputs from his

clinical/healthcare practitioner; (iv) determining the inclusion of 15 primary scales and 133 items

in the 1997 published version of the instrument based on a combination of theoretical

considerations and statistical findings generated primarily by item analysis and factor analysis;

(v) initially norming the final version of the instrument on 3,831 adults in North America in
 45

1996; and (vi) continuing to collect data, norm and validate te instrument across cultures around

the world which is an ongoing endeavour.

Data Collection

Before the conduct of the study, a letter of permission will be sent via email to the

respondents. In the gathering process, the exact numbers of the graduates of the College of Arts

and Sciences batch of March 2010 will be considered as respondents of the study. The researcher

will explain the nature of the research and importance of the study. A standardized Emotional

Quotient Inventory will be used by the researcher to measure the level of emotional quotient of

the respondents. The validated Work Satisfaction Scale will also be used to measure the

satisfaction of the respondents in relation to their work adjustment. A modified questionnaire on

personal and social adjustment will be used to measure the adjustment level of the respondents.