UNIT-3

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE (EQ)

Emotional Intelligence is the “ability to monitor one’s own and other

people’s emotions, to discriminate between different emotions and label
them appropriately, and to use emotional information to guide thinking
and behavior”
Having a higher level of emotional intelligence allows one to empathize
with others, communicate effectively, and be both self and socially aware.
How people respond to themselves and others impacts all types of
environments.
Living in this world signifies interacting with many diverse kinds of
individuals and constant change with life-changing surprises.
Being emotionally intelligent is key to how one reacts to what life throws.
It is furthermore a fundamental element of compassion and
comprehending the deeper reasons behind other people’s actions.
It is not the most intelligent people who are the most prosperous or the
most fulfilled in life. Many people are academically genius and yet are
socially incompetent and unsuccessful in their careers or their intimate
relationships.
Intellectual ability or intelligence quotient (IQ) is not enough on its own
to achieve success in life. Undoubtedly, IQ can help one get into
university, but your Emotional Intelligence (EI) will help one manage
stress and emotions when facing final exams.

IQ and EI exist in tandem and are most influential when they build off
one another.
Emotional intelligence is also valuable for leaders who set the tone of
their organization. If leaders lack emotional intelligence, it could have
more far-reaching consequences, resulting in lower worker engagement
and a higher turnover rate.

While one might excel at one’s job technically, if one cannot effectively
communicate with one’s team or collaborate with others, those
specialized skills will get neglected.
By mastering emotional intelligence, one can positively impact anywhere
and continue to advance one’s position and career in life. EI is vital when
dealing with stressful situations like confrontation, change, and obstacles.
Emotional intelligence helps one build stronger relationships, succeed at
work or school, and achieve one’s career and personal goals, as well as
reduce group stress, defuse conflict, and enhance job satisfaction.
It can also help connect with one’s inner feelings, turn purpose into action,
and make informed decisions about what matters most to oneself.
During these times, it is essential to remember to practice kindness, and
being in touch with our emotions can help us do just that.

COMPONENTS OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Emotional Awareness and Understanding

Self-awareness, or the ability to recognize and comprehend one’s own

emotions, is a vital emotional intelligence skill. Beyond acknowledging
one’s feelings, however, is being conscious of the effect of one’s actions,
moods, and emotions on other people.
According to research by Tasha Eurich, an organizational psychologist,
95% of individuals believe they are self-aware. Still, only 10 to 15
percent genuinely are, which can cause problems for the people one
interacts with.
Being with people who are not self-aware can be frustrating and lead to
increased stress and decreased encouragement.
To become self-aware, one must be capable of monitoring one’s emotions
while recognizing different emotional reactions and correctly identifying
each distinct emotion.
Self-aware individuals also can recognize the connections between the
things they feel and how they act.
These individuals also acknowledge their strengths and weaknesses, are
open to new data and experiences, and learn from their exchanges with
others.

Furthermore, people who maintain self-awareness have a fine sense of

humor, are confident in themselves and their capabilities, and know how
others perceive them.
Here are some tips on improving one’s self-awareness:

 Ask for constructive feedback from others.

 Keep a journal of one’s thoughts and feelings.
 Practice mindfulness – try meditating.
 Pay careful attention to one’s thoughts and emotions.
 Pursue one’s passions and do what makes one happy.
 Learn new skills and set goals for oneself.

 Reflect on one’s experiences and be grateful.

 Use positive self-talk daily.
 Work on building a growth mindset.

Emotional Self Regulation (Managing Emotions)

In addition to being aware of one’s own emotions and the impact one has
on others, emotional intelligence requires one to regulate and manage
one’s emotions.
This does not mean taking emotions out of sight and essentially “locking”
them away, hence hiding one’s true feelings. It just means waiting for the
right time and place to express them. Self-regulation is all about
communicating one’s emotions appropriately in context. A reaction tends
to be involuntary.
The more in tune one is with one’s emotional intelligence, the easier one
can transition from an instant reaction to a well-thought-out response. It is
crucial to remember to pause, breathe, compose oneself, and do what it
takes to manage one’s emotions.
This could mean anything to oneself, like taking a walk or talking to a
friend, so that one can more appropriately and intentionally respond to
tension and adversity.
Those proficient in self-regulation tend to be flexible and acclimate well
to change. They are also suitable for handling conflict and diffusing
uncomfortable or difficult situations.
People with healthy self-regulation skills also tend to have heightened
conscientiousness. They reflect on how they influence others and take
accountability for their actions.
Here are some tips on improving one’s self-regulation:

 Look at challenges as opportunities.

 Be mindful of thoughts and feelings.
 Build distress and anxiety tolerance skills.
 Work on accepting reflections and emotions.

 Find ways to manage difficult emotions.

 Practice communication and social skills.
 Recognize that one has a choice in how one responds.
 Use cognitive re-framing to change emotional responses and
thought patterns.

Social Empathy (Perceiving Emotions)

Empathy, or the capability to comprehend how other people are feeling,

is crucial to perfecting emotional intelligence.
However, it involves more than just being able to identify the emotional
states of others. It also affects one’s responses to people based on this
knowledge.
How does one respond when one senses someone is feeling sad or
hopeless? One might treat them with extra care and consideration, or one
might make a push to lift their mood.
Being empathetic also allows one to understand the authority dynamics
that frequently influence social relationships, especially in the workplace.

This is essential for guiding one’s daily interactions with various people.
In fact, it is found that empathy ranks as the number one leadership skill.
Leaders proficient in empathy perform more than 40% higher in coaching,
engaging others, and decision-making. In a different study, researchers
found that leaders who show more empathy toward their co-workers and
constructive criticism are viewed as better performers by their supervisors.
Those competent in this element can recognize who maintains power in
different relationships. They also understand how these forces impact
feelings and behaviors. Because of this, they can accurately analyze
different situations that hinge on such power dynamics.
Here are some tips on improving social empathy:

 Be willing to share emotions.

 Listen to other people.
 Practice meditation.
 Engage in a purpose like a community project.
 Meet and talk to new people.
 Try to imagine yourself in someone else’s place.

Social Skills (Using Emotions)

The ability to interact well with others is another vital aspect of emotional
intelligence. Solid social skills allow people to build meaningful
relationships with others and develop a more robust understanding of
themselves and others.
Proper emotional understanding involves more than just understanding
one’s own emotions and those of others. One also needs to put this
information to work in one’s daily interactions and communications.
In the workplace or professional settings, managers benefit by being able
to build relationships and connections with employees.
Workers benefit from developing a solid rapport with leaders and co-
workers. Some prefer to avoid conflict, but it is crucial to address issues
as they arise correctly.
Research shows that every unaddressed conflict can waste almost eight
hours of company time on unproductive activities, damaging resources
and morale. Essential social skills include active listening, verbal
communication, nonverbal communication, leadership, and
persuasiveness.
Here are some tips on improving social skills:

 Ask open-ended questions.

 Find icebreakers that will help start conversations.
 Practice good eye contact.
 Practice active listening with the entire body.
 Notice other people’s social skills.
 Show interest in others and ask them personal questions.

 Watch one’s body language and that of others.

In Short,

Psychologist Daniel Goleman popularized the term “emotional

intelligence” during the 1990s with his book “Emotional Intelligence:
Why It Can Matter More Than IQ.”

In his book, Goleman outlines five key components of high EQ:

 Self-awareness. Self-awareness relates to having an understanding

of how you behave and react to situations and people and how
those impact others in your life, while also understanding your own
limitations.
  Self-regulation. Managing your emotions and thinking before you
react to situations, especially in difficult circumstances, is known
as self-regulation.
 Motivation. Motivation is the drive for self-growth and
development.
 Empathy. Empathy is the ability to understand others’ feelings
without judgement, even when a person is different from you.
 Social skills. Having awareness of other people and how to
communicate with them by listening, engaging, and making others
feel welcome to talk to you are all social skills.

In short,
EI is composed of five dimensions:
● Self-awareness—being aware of what you’re feeling
● Self-management—the ability to manage your own emotions and
impulses
● Self-motivation—the ability to persist in the face of setbacks and
failures
● Empathy—the ability to sense how others are feeling
● Social skills—the ability to handle the emotions of others

WHY IS EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IMPORTANT?

EQ stands for emotional quotient, which is also known as emotional
intelligence. It measures your ability to identify, manage, and express
your emotions.People can use emotional intelligence to improve mental
health, reach goals, and develop fulfilling relationships. According to a
2018 report of North Americans, people with a high EQ are 8 times as
likely to have a high quality of life as those with lower scores. A
higher EQ can improve lifelong physical and mental health even more
than academic ability.
Research also suggests EQ is more important than IQ for succeeding in
the workplace. Employees with high EQ are more likely to display
leadership skills and high business performance. Managers with a high
EQ are more likely to retain employees long-term.
Meanwhile, if someone has a low EQ, they may have difficulty:
 Forming healthy friendships or relationships.
 Working as a team in school or on a job.
  Communicating their needs and desires in a productive manner.
 Recognizing and regulating their own emotions.
 Avoiding regretful actions or words spoken in anger.
These difficulties can cause a person to become isolated. Isolation, in
turn, can prevent a person from developing social skills on their own.
Some people may need to take classes or training sessions to build up
their emotional intelligence. Like any other skill, emotional
intelligence can be improved through effort and practice.

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EMOTIONS

Emotions are complex psychological states that involve subjective
feelings, physiological changes, and behavioral expressions. There are
different ways to classify emotions, but one common distinction is
between positive and negative emotions.

Positive emotions are those that make us feel good, such as happiness, joy,
love, and gratitude.
Negative emotions are those that make us feel bad, such as anger, sadness,
fear, and envy.
However, both types of emotions are important for our well-being and
can help us cope with different situations. Some emotions can also be
neutral, such as curiosity, surprise, and boredom
Examples of positive and negative emotions will vary based on who you
ask; even the definition of an emotion can vary based on who answers the
question. However you define emotion, discerning between the two is an
intuitive process—we seem to “just know” which emotions are positive
and which are negative.

Some common positive emotions include:

 Joy – a sense of elation, happiness, and perhaps even exhilaration,

often experienced as a sudden spike due to something good
happening.
 Gratitude – a feeling of thankfulness, for something specific or
simply all-encompassing, often accompanied by humility and even
reverence.
 Serenity – a calm and peaceful feeling of acceptance of oneself.
 Interest – a feeling of curiosity or fascination that demands and
captures your attention.
 Hope – a feeling of optimism and anticipation about a positive
future.
 Pride – a sense of approval of oneself and pleasure in an
achievement, skill, or personal attribute.
 Amusement – a feeling of lighthearted pleasure and enjoyment,
often accompanied by smiles and easy laughter.
 Inspiration – feeling engaged, uplifted, and motivated by
something you witnessed.
 Awe – an emotion that is evoked when you witness something
grand, spectacular, or breathtaking, sparking a sense of
overwhelming appreciation.
 Elevation – the feeling you get when you see someone engaging in
an act of kindness, generosity, or inner goodness, spurring you to
aspire to similar action.
 Altruism – usually referred to as an act of selflessness and
generosity towards others, but can also describe the feeling you get
from helping others.
 Satisfaction – a sense of pleasure and contentment you get from
accomplishing something or fulfilling a need.
 Relief – the feeling of happiness you experience when an uncertain
situation turns out for the best, or a negative outcome is avoided.
 Affection – an emotional attachment to someone or something,
accompanied by a liking for them and a sense of pleasure in their
company.
 Cheerfulness – a feeling of brightness, being upbeat and noticeably
happy or chipper; feeling like everything is going your way.
 Surprise (the good kind!) – a sense of delight when someone brings
you unexpected happiness or a situation goes even better than you
had hoped.
 Confidence – emotion involving a strong sense of self-esteem and
belief in yourself; can be specific to a situation or activity, or more
universal.
 Admiration – a feeling of warm approval, respect, and appreciation
for someone or something.
 Enthusiasm – a sense of excitement, accompanied
by motivation and engagement.
 Eagerness – like a less intense form of enthusiasm; a feeling of
readiness and excitement for something.
 Euphoria – intense and the all-encompassing sense of joy or
happiness, often experienced when something extremely positive
and exciting happens.
 Contentment – peaceful, comforting, and low-key sense
of happiness and well-being.
 Enjoyment – a feeling of taking pleasure in what is going on
around you, especially in situations like a leisure activity or social
gathering.
 Optimism – positive and hopeful emotion that encourages you to
look forward to a bright future, one in which you believe that
things will mostly work out.
  Happiness – a feeling of pleasure and contentment in the way
things are going; a general sense of enjoyment of and enthusiasm
for life.
 Love – perhaps the strongest of all positive emotions, love is a
feeling of deep and enduring affection for someone, along with a
willingness to put their needs ahead of your own; it can be directed
towards an individual, a group of people, or even all humanity.

A few of the most commonly felt negative emotions are:

 Fear:Fear encompasses apprehension, concern, anxiety, worry,

fright, and terror. The purpose of fear is to urge you to prepare
to deal with a situation or prepare to change a situation. Don’t
allow yourself to amplify fear by imaging the worst-case-scenarios,
or to pretend the fear doesn’t exist.
 Anger: You can feel anger through irritation, resentment, fury, or
rage. Feelings of anger let you know that you or someone else has
violated a rule or standard that is important to you.
 Disgust: Disgust can be triggered by a physical experience, such
as seeing or smelling rotting food, blood, or poor hygiene. Moral
disgust may occur when someone sees another person
doing something they find immoral or distasteful
 Sadness: All of us experience sadness now and then. Someone
might express this emotion by crying, being quiet and withdrawing
from others. Types of sadness include grief,hopeless and
disappointment
 Rage : Intense anger
 Loneliness : Feeling isolated or disconnected
 Melancholy: Deep sadness or gloom
 Annoyance : Irritation or bother

HEALTHY AND UNHEALTHY NEGATIVE EMOTIONS:

Healthy Negative Emotions:

1. These emotions are considered rational and productive

responses to actual adverse events.
2. They help individuals strive for positive change in realistic
situations and accept constructively what cannot be changed.
3. Examples of healthy negative emotions include:
1. Concern: A rational response when adversities
threaten our personal domain.
2. Sadness: Experienced during undeserved plights or
events.
 3. Healthy Anger or Annoyance: These emotions can
motivate constructive actions.
4. Healthy negative emotions propel individuals toward their
happiness-producing goals and desires.

Unhealthy Negative Emotions:

1. These emotions are irrational and often interfere with an

individual’s belief system.
2. Instead of helping, they hinder progress and sabotage
movement toward happiness-producing goals.
3. Examples of unhealthy negative emotions include:
1. Anxiety: An irrational response that can lead to
destructive behavior or inaction.
2. Depression: A distressing emotion that interferes with
daily functioning.
3. Guilt: When it becomes irrational, it hinders growth
and positive change.
4. Unhealthy negative emotions can keep us from reaching our
goals.

Remember, negative emotions are part of being human, but

understanding their impact and managing them effectively is essential for
overall well-being.

ICEDIP

Learning and Thinking Skills looks at a range of different ways of

assessing students’ creative development, and engaging students in that
process, including Geoff Petty’s model of creativity

In this issue, we will look again at Geoff Petty’s model of creativity and
explore how it might be used to help students reflect on and evaluate their
strengths and weaknesses as creative thinkers. The term ‘creative’ is used
here in the widest possible sense, to include the creative arts, but also
invention, design, problem solving, writing, entrepreneurial initiatives
and so on.

The ICEDIP model

Geoff Petty’s ICEDIP model of the creative process outlines six key
working phases: inspiration, clarification, distillation, perspiration,
evaluation and incubation. During a particular piece of creative work,
each phase should be experienced many times. They will not be visited in
any particular order, and you may visit a stage for hours or for just a few
seconds. Petty refers to each stage as having its own ‘mindset’ and
believes that creativity can be increased by making sure that you use the
most appropriate mindset at a given time. The model recognises,
therefore, the importance of thinking dispositions in the creative process.

The ICEDIP phases

Inspiration: In which you generate a large number of ideas.
This is the research or idea-generation phase. The process is uninhibited
and characterized by spontaneity, experimentation, intuition and risk-
taking.

Many people wonder where creative people find their good ideas. The
answer is, in amongst a huge pile of bad ones. Creativity is like mining
for diamonds, most of what you dig is thrown away, but that doesn’t
make the digging a waste of time. If you ‘can’t think of anything’ you are
having difficulty with this inspiration phase, perhaps because you are too
self-critical or expect good ideas to come too quickly.

In the field of the creative arts the inspiration phase is often associated
with a search for an individual voice, and with an attempt to conjure up
deep feelings of (for example) empathy, spirituality, or an intense
identification with the subject matter.

This is not a phase in which to be negative or worried about form,

practicality, rhyme or quality. For reasons to be examined later you
should be rejecting at least 90% of your initial ideas. Let yourself off the
leash! If most of the ideas you create are workable, then you didn’t take
enough risks.

Clarification: In which you focus on your goals.

Key questions are:
What am I trying to achieve here? What am I trying to say? What exactly
is the problem I am trying to solve?

What would I like the finished work to be like?

And in more open-ended work:

How could I exploit the ideas I have had?
Where could this idea take me – what could I make of it?
The aim here is to clarify the purpose or objective of the work. It is easy
to lose your sense of direction while dealing with detailed difficulties in
creative work. So you need occasionally to disengage from these
obstacles and ask: ‘What exactly am I trying to do?’ If you ‘get stuck’ in
the middle of a project then, rather than dreaming up a stream of
alternatives, you need to clarify exactly where you want to go. How to get
there is then often straightforward, or even blindingly obvious.

Clarification gets you out of the mire, but it is also required when, say, an
artist or designer agonises between two or more equally attractive
approaches. Such decisions require a clear sense of purpose.

If you feel lost, stuck, bogged down, confused or uncertain about how to
proceed, then clarification is what you need. In this clarification phase
you have your eye on the ball, you are being strategic and logical,
focusing on how the finished work will look.

Distillation: In which you look through the ideas you have generated
and try to determine which ones to work on.
Here ideas from the inspiration phase are sifted through and evaluated
usually in the light of the findings of a clarification phase. The best ideas
are chosen for further development, or are combined into even better
ideas.

This is a self-critical phase. It requires cool analysis and judgment rather

than slap-happy spontaneity. However, it should not be so critical as to
inhibit productivity entirely. Remember, the ideas you have had are only
ideas, not complete solutions – you must not expect too much of them. It
is where the ideas can take you that counts, not the ideas themselves.

Perspiration: In which you work determinedly on your best ideas.

This is where the real work is done. You are involved in determined and
persistent effort towards your goal; this will usually involve
further inspiration, distillation and clarification phases.

Evaluation: This is a review phase in which you look back over your
work in progress.
In the evaluation phase you examine your work for strengths and
weaknesses. Then you need to consider how the work could be improved,
by removing weaknesses but also by capitalising on its strengths. Then
there will probably need to be another perspiration phase to respond
positively to the suggestions for
 improvement. Perspiration and evaluation phases often alternate to form
a cycle. Hardly anyone gets things perfect first time. Creative people
adapt to improve.

Many people dislike the evaluation phase at first. However, highly

creative people are nearly always inveterate revisers. They tinker with
work that would make others gape in delight. Actually this evaluation
phase can be very rewarding, and no work of real merit will be produced
without it.

Incubation: In which you leave the work alone, though you still ponder
about it occasionally, leaving it ‘on the surface of your mind’.
Many brilliant ideas have occurred in the bath or in traffic jams. If you
are able to stop work on a project for a few days, perhaps to work on
other things, this will give your subconscious time to work on any
problems encountered. It will also distance you somewhat from your
ideas so that you are better able to evaluate them.

In short,

The Creative Process has six phases…

 Inspiration: In which you research and generate many ideas

 Clarification: In which you focus on your goals
 Evaluation: In which you review your work and learn from it
 Distillation: In which you decide which of your ideas to work on
 Incubation: In which you leave the work alone
 Perspiration: In which you work determinedly on your best ideas