1

POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

CHAPTER # 4

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE (EI)

 Importance of EI
 Perceiving, understanding and managing emotions
 EI and positive outcomes
 Can EI be taught?

Introduction to Emotional Intelligence

During the second half of the 1990s, emotional intelligence and EQ (we much prefer

the former term to the latter) were featured as the cover story in at least two national

magazines; received extensive coverage in the international press; were named the most

useful new words or phrases for 1995 by the American Dialect Society (1995, 1999; Brodie,

1996); and made appearances in syndicated comic strips as diverse as Zippy the Pinhead and

Dilbert.

Daniel Goleman, once a science writer for numerous periodicals and newspapers,

popularized the concept of emotional intelligence in the 1990s. His 1995 book, Emotional

Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ introduced the general public to the emotional

concepts that had been discussed by psychologists and laypeople for decades.

In 1960, Mowrer addressed the prevailing thoughts about emotions undermining

intelligence by suggesting that emotion was, in fact, "a high order of intelligence" (p. 182).

Peter Salovey of Yale University and John Mayer of the University of New Hampshire

shared Mowrer's sentiment and theorized that adapting to life circumstances required

cognitive abilities and emotional skills that guide our behavior.

 2

In their original 1990 papers, Salovey and Mayer constructed a theoretical framework

for an emotional intelligence. The framework comprised three core components: appraisal

and expression, regulation, and utilization (Snyder &Lopez, 2007).

Emotions are involved in everything people do: every action, decision and judgment.

Emotionally intelligent people recognize this and use their thinking to manage their emotions

rather than being managed by them. In the course of last two decades, Emotional Intelligence

(EI) concept has become a very important indicator of a person’s knowledge, skills and

abilities in workplace, school and personal life. The overall result of researches suggests that

EI plays a significant role in the job performance, motivation, decision making, successful

management and leadership. Thus applying EI methodology in higher education can have lots

of benefits for students. It not only fulfills their desire but also makes them more efficient in

their field.

Everyone experiences and relates their feelings and emotions in day to day life.

Emotions have valuable information about relationships, behavior and every aspect of the

human life around us. The most recent research shows that emotions are constructive and do

contribute to enhance performance and better decision making both at job and in private life.

Defining Emotional Intelligence:

There are lots of arguments about the definition of EI. As the field is growing rapidly

the researchers are constantly amending their own definitions. Some definitions are as below:

Emotional intelligence represents the ability to perceive, appraise, and express

emotion accurately and adaptively; the ability to understand emotion and emotional
knowledge; the ability to access and/or generate feelings when they facilitate cognitive
activities and adaptive action; and the ability to regulate emotions in oneself and others
(Mayer & Salovey, 1997).
 3

In other words, emotional intelligence refers to the ability to process emotion-laden

information competently and to use it to guide cognitive activities like problem solving and to
focus energy on required behaviors.

Emotional Intelligence is the skill of perceiving, understanding, and managing one’s own

emotions and feelings and using that awareness to manage ourselves within various relationships

and settings. We are basically looking at what is known as a four-quadrant model. (Duhan,2019)

According to the APA dictionary of psychology, Emotional Intelligence is “a type of

intelligence that involves the ability to process emotional information and use it in reasoning

and other cognitive activities” (APA, 2018).

The term was coined by two American Psychologists, John Mayer and Peter Salovey in 1997,

and from their definition, we can get a great idea of what Emotional Intelligence skills are all

about:

“The emotionally intelligent person is skilled in four areas: identifying emotions,

using emotions, understanding emotions, and regulating emotions”. (Moore, 2019)

According to Salovey and Mayer (1990) emotional intelligence is:

“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.”

According to Reuven Bar-On (1996) emotional intelligence is:

“An array of non-cognitive (emotional and social) capabilities, competencies and

skills that influence one’s ability to succeed in coping with environmental demands and

pressures is known as emotional intelligence.”

According to Six Seconds Team (1997) emotional intelligence is:

 4

‘The capacity to create optimal results in your relationships with yourself and others

is emotional intelligence.”

Advantages of Emotional Intelligence:

The advantages emotional intelligence is as below:

 improves relationships with human beings

 improves communication with people

 makes better empathy skills

 acting with integrity

 helps you to get respect from others

 to improve career prospects

 managing change more confidently

 enjoy the work wholeheartedly

 feeling confident and positive in attitude

 to reduce stress levels

 to increase creativity

 to learn from mistakes

The 5 Components/Elements/Domains of the EQ Model

According to Daniel Goleman, there are five components or elements of emotional

intelligence:

1. Self-Awareness;
2. Self-Regulation;
3. Motivation;
4. Empathy;
5. Social Skills.
 5

Self-awareness can be defined as “the ability to recognize and understand your own
emotions” (Cherry, 2018b). It is the foundational building block of emotional intelligence,
since regulating ourselves, having empathy for others, and so on all rely on identifying and
understanding emotion in ourselves.

Self-regulation is one step further—to have high EQ, we must not only be able to recognize
our own emotions, but we must also be able to appropriately express, regulate, and manage
them.

People who have high EQs also generally possess more intrinsic motivation. In other words,
people high in EQ are motivated for internal reasons rather than external rewards like gaining
wealth, respect, or fame. Those with high EQs are motivated for their own personal reasons
and work toward their own goals.

Empathy can be defined as the ability to understand how other people are feeling and
recognize, on an intimate level, how you would feel if you were in their position. It does not
mean you sympathize with, validate, or accept their behavior, just that you can see things
from their perspective and feel what they feel.

Finally, social skills are the last piece of the EQ puzzle; these skills are what allow people to
interact socially with one another and to successfully navigate social situations. Those with
high EQs generally have higher-than-average social skills and are able to effectively pursue
their goals and get the outcomes they want when interacting with others (Cherry, 2018b).

 Self-Awareness:

o Emotional awareness: recognizing one’s emotions and their effects;

o Accurate self-assessment: knowing one’s strengths and limits;

o Self-confidence: sureness about one’s self-worth and capabilities.

 Self-Regulation:

o Self-control: managing disruptive emotions and impulses;

o Trustworthiness: maintaining standards of honesty and integrity;

o Conscientiousness: taking responsibility for personal performance;

 6

o Adaptability: flexibility in handling change;

o Innovativeness: being comfortable with and open to novel ideas and new

information.

 Self-Motivation:

o Achievement drive: striving to improve or meet a standard of excellence;

o Commitment: aligning with the goals of the group or organization;

o Initiative: readiness to act on opportunities;

o Optimism: persistence in pursuing goals despite obstacles and setbacks.

 Empathy/Social Awareness:

o Empathy: sensing others’ feelings and perspective, and taking an active

interest in their concerns;

o Service orientation: anticipating, recognizing, and meeting customers’ needs;

o Developing others: sensing what others need in order to develop, and

bolstering their abilities;

o Leveraging diversity: cultivating opportunities through diverse people;

o Political awareness: reading a group’s emotional currents and power

relationships.

 Social Skills:

o Influence: wielding effective tactics for persuasion.

o Communication: sending clear and convincing messages.

o Leadership: inspiring and guiding groups and people.

o Change catalyst: initiating or managing change.

o Conflict management: negotiating and resolving disagreements.

o Building bonds: nurturing instrumental relationships.

 7

o Collaboration and cooperation: working with others toward shared goals

(see emotional intelligence in the workplace).

o Team capabilities: creating group synergy in pursuing collective goals

(Goleman, 1998).

Importance of Emotional Intelligence

The term ‘Emotional Intelligence’, first coined by psychologists Mayer and Salovey

(1990), refers to one’s capacity to perceive, process and regulate emotional information

accurately and effectively, both within oneself and in others and to use this information to

guide one’s thinking and actions and to influence those of others.

Emotional intelligence can lead us on the path to a fulfilled and happy life by

providing a framework through which to apply standards of intelligence to emotional

responses and understand that these responses may be logically consistent or inconsistent

with particular beliefs about emotion.

Goleman (1995) recognized five distinct categories of skills which form the key

characteristics of EI and proposed that, unlike one’s intelligence quotient (IQ), these

categorical skills can be learned where absent and improved upon where present.

Thus, EI, unlike its relatively fixed cousin, IQ, is instead a dynamic aspect of one’s psyche

and includes behavioral traits that, when worked upon, can yield significant benefits, from

personal happiness and well-being to elevated success in a professional context.

EQ isn’t the enemy of IQ. It’s possible to have high levels of both. However, life is an

inherently sociable construct. Without the ability to function well within this relational

environment, it’s doubtful how far intelligence alone will get you. As Theodore Roosevelt
 8

said: “No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.” EQ is, in

many ways, the essence of being human.

Emotional Intelligence, and our ability to draw on it as a reserve helps us in so many

ways: from assisting in looking after our physical and mental health and well-being, through

to our ability to inspire and lead. It’s there in our ability to manage effective relationships and

our armour and shield when it comes to conflict resolution. It is, in so many ways, the driver

of success.

In fact, the World Economic Forum has ranked emotional intelligence as one of

the top-10 most important workplace skills workers will need for success in 2020; and in

recent years it has grown to be regarded as a crucial ingredient of great leadership.

Psychologist and author Daniel Goleman – one of the most prolific writers on the

subject of emotional intelligence  – breaks it down into four competencies buckets: self-

awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. Within each

bucket live “learned competencies” that make up those four larger competencies. Drill down

into relationship management, for example, and you find core competencies of teamwork,

conflict management, and influence, among others.

Why is emotional intelligence so important?

Your performance at work

 Emotional intelligence can help you navigate the social complexities of the
workplace, lead and motivate others, and excel in your career.

 In fact many companies now view emotional intelligence as being as important as

technical ability and require EQ testing before hiring.

Your physical health.

 If you’re unable to manage your stress levels, it can lead to serious health problems.
 9

 Uncontrolled stress can raise blood pressure, suppress the immune system, increase
the risk of heart attack and stroke, contribute to infertility, and sped up the aging
process.

 The first step to improving emotional intelligence is to learn how to relieve stress.

Your mental health.

 Uncontrolled stress can also impact your mental health, making you vulnerable to
anxiety and depression.

 If you are unable to understand and manage your emotions, you’ll also be open to
mood swings.

 An inability to form strong relationships can leave you feeling lonely and isolated.

Your relationships.

 By understanding your emotions and how to control them, you’re better able to
express how you feel and understand how other are feeling.

 This allows you to communicate more effectively and forge stronger relationships,
both at work and in your personal life.

Perceiving, Understanding and Managing Emotions

Salovey and Mayer Four-Branch Ability Model of Emotional Intelligence

Mayer and Salovey’s Four Branch Model of Emotional Intelligence is a helpful way

to visualize the different Emotional Intelligence Skills we looked at earlier. The two

psychologists are credited with coming up with the term ‘Emotional Intelligence’ before the

concept was extended by other researchers and later came to mainstream popularity.
 10

The Four Branch Model simply premises that Emotional Intelligence Skills come

under four categories, as shown below. These are Perceiving Emotions, Facilitating Thought

Using Emotions, Understanding Emotions, and Managing Emotions.

Perceiving Emotions

The ability to perceive emotions in oneself and others as well as in objects, art,

stories, music, and other stimuli (Larson, 2018).

Branch 1 of the model involves skills needed to perceive and express feelings.

Emotional perception involves registering, attending to, and deciphering emotional messages

as they are expressed in facial expressions, voice tone, or cultural artifacts. A person who

sees the fleeting expression of fear in the face of another understands much more about that

person’s emotions and thoughts than someone who misses such a signal. More specifically,

perception of emotions requires picking up on subtle emotional cues that might be expressed
 11

in a person's face or voice. For example, when chatting with a friend about an emotionally

charged political topic, a person skilled in perceiving emotions can determine what aspects of

the discussion are safe or unsafe territory based on the friend's nonverbal behavior. These

skills in perceiving can be considered a threshold competency that needs to be acquired so

that the other three emotional intelligence competencies can be developed.

Perceiving emotions is about being aware of and sensitive to others’ emotions. In

other words, it’s about the ability to accurately identify emotions (yours and others) by

detecting and decoding emotional signals. This can be in others’ faces, voices, or even in

pictures (Moore, 2019).

Facilitating Thought

The ability to generate, use, and feel emotion as necessary to communicate feelings or

employ them in other cognitive processes (Larson, 2018)

Branch 2 of this ability model concerns using emotions and emotional understanding

to facilitate thinking. Simply stated, people who are emotionally intelligent harness emotions

and work with them to improve problem solving and to boost creativity. Emotions are

complex organizations of the various psychological subsystems—physiological, experiential,

cognitive, and motivational. Emotions enter the cognitive system both as cognized feelings,

as is the case when someone thinks, “I am a little sad now,” and as altered cognitions, as

when a sad person thinks, “I am no good.” The emotional facilitation of thought focuses on

how emotion affects the cognitive system and, as such, can be harnessed for more effective

problem solving, reasoning, decision making, and creative endeavors. Physiological feedback

from emotional experience is used to prioritize the demands on our cognitive systems and to

direct attention to what is most important. In this regard, imagine that a person has to make

an important decision about a relationship. Should she invest more energy in a friendship that
 12

has been on the rocks, or should she cut her losses and end the friendship in a civil manner?

How she feels physically and emotionally when she thinks about continuing or ending the

friendship can provide some clues about how to proceed. This emotional information thus

turns attention to alternatives about how to handle the friendship. Also, the more the emotions

are used in efforts to make good decisions, the greater the increase in emotional intelligence.

Facilitating thought using emotions takes place once we detect and identify

emotions. Facilitating thought using emotions relates to analyzing and registering this

‘emotional information’. Then, incorporating it into our higher-level cognitive functions for

enhanced decision-making, rationalizing, problem-solving, and consideration of others’

perspectives (Moore, 2019).

Understanding Emotions

The ability to understand emotional information, to understand how emotions

combine and progress through relationship transitions, and to appreciate such emotional

meanings (Larson, 2018).

Branch 3 of emotional intelligence highlights the skills needed to foster an

understanding of complex emotions, relationships among emotions, and relationships

between emotions and behavioral consequences. Someone displaying a heightened level of

emotional understanding would know that hope is an antidote to fear and that sadness or

apathy are more appropriate responses to lost love than hating is. People with these skills

understand that emotions such as jealousy and envy are destructive in their own right (due to

their physiological and psychological repercussions) and that they fuel maladaptive

interpersonal behavior that probably results in a proliferation of negative emotions.

Appreciating the dynamic relationships among emotions and behaviors gives an emotionally

intelligent person the sense that they can better "read" a person or a situation and act
 13

appropriately, given environmental demands. For example, imagine the emotional struggle of

a person who is placed in the awkward situation of being asked by a close friend to betray the

confidence of a classmate or work colleague. He might feel disappointment or disgust that the

friend asked him to behave in an inappropriate manner. If he were tempted to break the trust,

he might experience a wave of shame. Understanding these complex emotions then might

help him choose the right course of action at that time.

Understanding emotions is about being able to understand how different emotions

relate to one another, how they can change based on the situations we encounter, and how our

feelings alter over time. Being able to predict how someone’s emotions are changing through

their facial expressions, their tone of voice, and so forth, means you’ve probably got strong

emotional management skills. Which is great—the ability to understand emotions is very

much linked to successful communication.( Moore,2019)

Managing Emotions

The ability to be open to feelings, and to modulate them in oneself and others so as to

promote personal understanding and growth

Managing emotions, Branch 4, involves numerous mood regulation skills. These

skills are difficult to master because regulation is a balancing act. With too much regulation,

a person may become emotionally repressed. With too little, one's emotional life becomes

overwhelming. People who become very good at regulating their moods also are able to share

these skills with others. Often the best parents, teachers, coaches, leaders, bosses, or role

models can manage their emotions and at that same time instill confidence in others to be

open to feelings and manage them appropriately.

 14

Managing emotions is the Emotional Intelligence skill that relates to handling your

own and others’ emotions effectively. Typically, emotional management and understanding

are considered higher-level skills, as they rely on the first two (Perceiving

Emotions and Facilitating Thought) to work effectively. Thinking about the workplace, it’s

easy to see how managing your own (and others) emotions might make life easier when

facing a stressful deadline (Moore, 2019).

Each of the four dimensions of the ability model is assessed with two sets of tasks in a

measure called the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT; Mayer,

Salovey, & Caruso, 2001). The tasks concerned with perceiving emotions ask respondents to

identify the emotions expressed in photographs of faces as well as the feelings suggested by

artistic designs and landscapes. For using emotions to facilitate thought, respondents are

asked to describe feelings using nonfeeling words and to indicate the feelings that might

facilitate or interfere with the successful performance of various tasks. The understanding

emotions dimension is assessed with questions concerning the manner in which emotions

evolve and how some feelings are produced by blends of emotions. To tap the ability of

managing emotions, the MSCEIT presents a series of scenarios eliciting the most adaptive

ways to regulate one's own feelings as well as feelings arising in social situations and in other

people.

EI and Positive Outcomes

Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is the ability to identify, use, understand, and manage
emotions in an effective and positive way. A high EQ helps individuals to communicate
better, reduce their anxiety and stress, defuse conflicts, improve relationships, empathize with
others, and effectively overcome life’s challenges.
Our emotional intelligence affects the quality of our lives because it influences our
behavior and relationships. EQ is synonymous with self-awareness because it enables us to
live our lives with intention, purpose, and autonomy.
 15

Many of us move through life making important decisions based on our current
circumstances. We may perceive them as being beyond our ability to change, thus limiting
our options and solutions. Taking time to reflect and examining why we decide to do what we
do enables us to lead lives determined by our conscious intentions rather than circumstances
alone.

Developing EQ can greatly influence our success. Our personal situations and
intelligence are factors as well; however, EQ can profoundly affect our choices by creating
options we may not have otherwise imagined or considered to be possibilities.

A Description of the High EI Individual

Generally speaking, emotional intelligence improves an individual's social

effectiveness.

The higher the emotional intelligence, the better the social relations. In a recent review, my

colleagues and I described the emotionally intelligent person in these terms:

The high EI individual, most centrally, can better perceive emotions, use them in thought,

understand their meanings, and manage emotions, than others.

Solving emotional problems likely requires less cognitive effort for this individual.

The person also tends to be somewhat higher in verbal, social, and other intelligences,

particularly if the individual scored higher in the understanding emotions portion of EI. The

individual tends to be more open and agreeable than others. The high EI person is drawn to

occupations involving social interactions such as teaching and counseling more so than to

occupations involving clerical or administrative tasks.

The high EI individual, relative to others, is less apt to engage in problem behaviors

and avoids self-destructive, negative behaviors such as smoking, excessive drinking, drug

abuse, or violent episodes with others. The high EI person is more likely to have possessions

of sentimental attachment around the home and to have more positive social interactions,

particularly if the individual scored highly on emotional management. Such individuals may
 16

also be more adept at describing motivational goals, aims, and missions (Mayer, Salovey, &

Caruso, 2004). Synder.R&Lopez.J, positive psychology the scientific and practical

explorations of human Strengths(2003)London,pp157

How Emotional Intelligence Affects Decision-Making

Related to the previous point, high emotional intelligence will also improve decision-

making abilities. Those who have a good understanding of themselves and those around them

are more likely to weigh all the options, keep an open mind, and remove all irrelevant

emotions from the decision-making process (Huffington Post, 2013).

It’s worth noting that people with high EQs don’t remove all emotions from their

decision-making, just the ones that can interfere (like anxiety). This helps them stay more

objective while also allowing them to rely on their feelings to a healthy extent.

 Understand and regulate their own emotions so they don’t bottle things up or let

negative emotions burst out of them;

 Understand that their thoughts create their emotions and that regulating our thoughts

allows us to indirectly regulate our emotions;

 Connect their own actions to other peoples’ emotional reactions; they know what

kinds of consequences their actions will have on others and how others might feel and

behave in response (Hall, 2018).

Building Resilience with Emotional Intelligence

Finally, another important reason to pay attention to emotional intelligence is how it

affects one’s resilience. People who are high in EI are also generally able to pick themselves

up when they fall.

 17

In fact, emotional intelligence is considered by some to be a direct source of

resilience. Researchers Magnano, Craparo, and Paolillo (2016) found that emotional

intelligence is directly related to resilience and, through that connection, it’s related to

achievement and achievement motivation.

Emotional Intelligence in Nursing and Health Care

Emotional intelligence has become a huge topic in the field of nursing, and for good

reason. Nurses high in emotional intelligence not only outperform their colleagues, but they

are also more likely to stay in their current positions, less likely to experience burnout, and

more likely to maintain good physical and mental health.

Nurses and other professional health care workers thrive in their careers when they

are able to correctly identify the emotions in themselves, their patients, their patients’ family

members, and their coworkers and colleagues. Emotional intelligence enables health care

professionals to reason effectively; those high in EQ are comfortable “trusting their gut” but

are also able to effectively marry objective reasoning with their subjective emotions (Codier,

2012).

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/emotional-intelligence-eq.htm

According to Success.com’s Rhett Power (2017), these are the seven qualities that best

describe employees and leaders with a high EQ:

 They aren’t afraid of change. They understand it’s a fact of life, and they’re quick to

adapt;

 They’re self-aware. They know what they’re good at, what they can work on, and

what kinds of environments suit them best;

 18

 They’re empathetic. They can easily relate to others and understand what they are

going through;

 They’re committed to quality but understand that perfection is an impossible standard;

 They’re balanced and able to have a healthy professional and personal life;

 They’re curious and open-minded, and they love to explore the possibilities;

 They’re gracious, grateful, and happy.

 They have a healthy work/life balance because they know when to work and when to

play;

 They have laserlike focus and don’t get distracted easily;

 They’re easygoing and “go with the flow”;

 They’re open-minded and amenable to new ideas;

 They’re a bit guarded because they know when to open up and when to stick to their

boundaries;

 They embrace their strengths and understand their weaknesses, and leverage the

former to compensate for the latter;

 They have a true sense of empathy that allows them to relate to others and show

compassion;

 They’re inquisitive, curious, and interested in people;

 They’re always looking ahead and focusing on how to move forward;

They forgive others easily and don’t dwell or hold onto grudges (Health Personal Growth,

2017).

Emotional intelligence has a significant impact on happiness

Happiness was considered by Wechsler to be a key “conative” factor that has a positive impact on

“intelligent behavior” (1940). In addition to its motivational value, happiness is also barometric in
 19

nature (Bar-On, 1997b, 2000). It both monitors one’s immediate well-being and interjects positive

mood in the way individuals cope with daily demands, challenges and pressures. Apparently, it is this

positive mood that, metaphorically speaking, fuels the emotional energy required to increase one’s

motivational level to get things done. It helps individuals do what they want to do and then tells

them how well they are doing.

Researchers concluded that emotional intelligence is indeed an integral part of positive psychology.

Based on the approach applied, the following factors appear to share the widest degree of overlap

between these two fields of psychology:

 self-regard and self-acceptance based on accurate self-awareness

 the ability to understand others’ feelings and the capacity for positive social interaction

 the management and control of emotions

 realistic problem solving and effective decision making

 self-determination

 optimism

To summarize, the above six factors are shared areas of interest between emotional intelligence
and positive psychology; and they are also the strongest predictors of performance, happiness, well-
being, and the quest for a more meaningful life based on the researchers findings.

In addition to exploring how emotional intelligence develops over the life span, it would be of
particular importance to positive psychology to examine the impact of EI on raising and educating
healthy, well adjusted, effective, productive and happy children. In that emotional intelligence can
be enhanced through rather simple didactic methods over a relatively short period of time (Bar-On,
2007a), it would also be valuable to examine how best to increase EI competencies and skills as well
as other closely related factors in positive psychology. There is a need to develop more educational
programmes designed to improve emotionally and socially intelligent behavior that are based on
empiricism rather than supposition and unsubstantiated theory in the fields of both emotional
intelligence and positive psychology. Continued research on how EI affects various aspects of human
performance, self-actualization, happiness and well-being should guide the development of these
programmes.

Can Emotional Intelligence Be Taught?

 20

As mentioned earlier, emotional intelligence is not all the way to the “trait” side of the state-

trait continuum. Although it is relatively stable and does not change much on its own, it

absolutely can be improved with practice.

With concerted effort, it can be taught by parents, teachers, coaches, and other educators or

practitioners, and it can be learned by just about anyone.

Answering the question of whether emotional intelligence can be taught requires

several key issues to be examined.

• First, one must establish a credible rationale for the processes that might occur in the

“learning” of emotional intelligence.

• Secondly, the empirical evidence relating to the efficacy of attempts to teach EI needs

consideration.

• Finally, given that most of the literature in this area is drawn from work in schools, by

their nature complex and idiosyncratic environments, factors relating to successful

implementation of EI programs should also be explored.

Establishing a credible rationale for the process of emotional learning can be achieved

by reference to neuroanatomical function. In this framework, emotional intelligence

represents the ability of the higher brain centers to monitor and direct more primitive

emotional signals from phylogenetically older brain structures, such as the amygdala, in such

a way that they are used constructively by the individual rather than destructively. The

amygdala has been described as being the progenitor of those things that are entirely self-

serving and self-seeking (e.g., obsessive compulsive behaviors, deception, superstitious acts)

(McLean, 1970).
 21

This primitive structure is, however, subject to “top-down” control and alteration

from the higher (and more phylogenetically recent) cortical structures, specifically the

anterior frontal lobes (Hariri, Bookheimer, & Mazziotta, 2000; Rolls, 2004; Rosenkranz,

Moore, & Grace, 2003). It is likely that individuals with high levels of emotional intelligence

are able to perceive their emotional states using higher cortical centers as an “observer” of

internal state (MacLean, 1977), and then direct and control these states to better suit the

external environment. Educating an individual so that they have greater emotional

intelligence therefore becomes the learning by higher brain centers of new or different

patterns of behavior, and the acceptance in a “top-down” way by deeper cerebral structures of

this new direction (Rolls, 2004). As learning is dependent on dopamine, and as dopamine

release is predominantly controlled by the limbic system (see above), the central goal of

social and emotional learning must therefore be to change the individual’s perception of

reward from one of self-serving and self-seeking gratification (i.e., those things that feed our

phylogenetically older cerebral structures) to one where reward is gained through

understanding the emotional needs of other people as well as their own. Although these

purported sets of processes may seem somewhat reductionist in nature, they do succeed in

providing a logical, credible account of emotional learning.

Turning to empirical evidence relating to the teaching of EI, even a cursory

examination shows that the turmoil and contention observed in other areas of the literature is

also apparent here. A variety of school-based intervention programs (such as the

aforementioned PATHS curriculum) have been developed and subjected to empirical

evaluation (see Zeidner et al., 2002, for a review), most of which have yielded positive

results. However, key limitations of such evaluations seriously limit the extent to which firm

conclusions about the “teach-ability” of EI can be drawn. For example, many of the programs

(and subsequent evaluations) cited by EI lobbyists were not specifically designed to address
 22

EI, and thus their EI “content” is often meager (Zeidner et al., 2002). This begs the question

of what is in fact taught in such programs, and the relationship of this to EI outcome

measures. With regard to the former, this ranges greatly from program to programs, but

typically includes content tangentially related to EI, such as problem-solving skills (Clabby &

Elias, 1999) and general good citizenship (Developmental Studies Centre, 1999). Concerning

the latter, exploring any relationship becomes difficult once it becomes apparent that the

validity of the outcome measures of such studies is often questionable. Very few have

actually used EI measures, with the majority preferring to examine outcomes thought to be

influenced by improved EI (such as reductions in aggressive behavior). Thus, improvements

in EI can only be inferred.

Of those intervention programs that were designed specifically to promote EI and also

to include EI outcome measures in their supporting research base, the most widely known

and rigorously researched is the PATHS curriculum (Greenberg, Kusche, & Riggs, 2004). In

a typical study, which utilized a randomized control design and involved 4 schools and nearly

300 children, Greenberg, Kusche, Cook, and Quamma (1995) found that implementation of

the PATHS curriculum led to significant improvements in vocabulary and fluency in

discussing emotional experiences, management of emotions, and emotional understanding

(assessed using the Kusche Affective Interview). Although this study clearly supports the

notion that EI can be taught, a couple of cautionary notes must be made. First, the

randomization process for this study took place at school level (that is, 2 schools were

randomly assigned to the intervention conditions and 2 to the control condition). Although

the reasons for this are sound (PATHS is built on a whole-school approach to emotional

learning, and treatment diffusion effects would have been a strong possibility if

randomization had occurred within schools), it should be noted that this design carries with it

an implicit assumption that the schools are somehow “matched” or “equivalent”, and
 23

therefore opportune sources for comparison. However, the heterogeneity of ethos and

practices one observes visiting any number of schools renders this assumption simplistic at

best. A second note of caution should be made with regard to the outcome measure (the

Kusche Affective Interview-Revised) used, for which there is little in the way of published

psychometric information to date.

A further note of caution also involves the interplay between the social and emotional

ethos of a school and a specific taught curriculum. Although obviously the diffusion effects

of programs taking place within different schools with different cultures must be considered,

so must the research that points towards the probability that the teaching of social and

emotional education must take place within a warm, positive, and supportive environment for

it to be effective and sustainable. Given the research on the impact of modeling and

attachment issues (Schore, 1999), it is clear that there is a considerable “caught” aspect to

emotional education (Weare & Gray, 2003). A “taught” aspect is now also critical, since

family interaction patterns are so different from in the past that children can no longer rely on

receiving the necessary input through everyday communication. Thus, any program’s

assessment must also consider whether it is being evaluated for its long-term impact and

sustainability, rather than quickly evident changes.

This view is supported by the work of Elias, Zins, Gaczyk, and Weissberg (2003),

who stress the need for whole-school adoption of an EI ethos alongside the implementation of

any intervention program. This notion is highlighted most eloquently in a study by Kelly,

Longbottom, Potts, and Williamson (2004), who report a class teacher as saying, “It should…

fit with the school ethos or it risks not being understood or appreciated” (p. 231).

Furthermore, it would be naïve to conceptualize an EI program as an “add-on” to the existing

curriculum; in order for such ventures to be successful, they should be fully integrated into

the overall school academic program (Zins et al., 2004). As Zeidner et al. (2004) note,
 24

without this overall commitment “emotional education” can often be received skeptically by

educators, who may see it as beyond the primary remit of schools. Without irrefutable

evidence that EI is either intrinsic to academic achievement or an important outcome in itself

(or, indeed, both), this level of skepticism may be difficult to circumvent.