Professional Documents
Culture Documents
(EI/EQ)
Section: X
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Date: 20th November 2008
Contents
Introduction...................................................................................................5
Background....................................................................................................6
Conclusion.....................................................................................................14
Further
Research............................................................................................15
References.....................................................................................................15
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Bibliography...................................................................................................15
Acknowledgements
Thanks to my colleagues at FAST University for giving ideas and offering
valuable advice. And thanks to Miss. Sultana, teacher of psychology, for
advice and help in getting started on the report.
M.Saad Siddiqui
S110.06
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Abstract
It is useful and interesting to consider how important it is for effective
performance at work. There is a considerable body of research suggesting
that a person’s ability to perceive, identify and manage emotion provides the
basis for the kinds of social and emotional competencies that are important
for success in almost any job. Furthermore, as the pace of change increases
and the world of work make ever greater demands on a person’s cognitive,
emotional, and physical resources, this particular set of abilities will become
increasingly important.
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Introduction
It turns out that a scientist can see the future by watching four-year-
olds interact with a flower. The researcher invites the children, one by one,
into a plain room and begins the gentle torment. You can have this flower
right now, he says. But if you wait while I run an errand, you can have two
flowers when I get back. And then he leaves.
Some children grab for the treat the minute he's out the door. Some
last a few minutes before they give in. But others are determined to wait.
They cover their eyes, they put their heads down, they sing to themselves,
they try to play games or even fall asleep. When the researcher returns, he
gives these children their hard-earned flowers. And then, science waits for
them to grow up.
By the time the children reach high school, something remarkable has
happened. A survey of the children's parents and teachers found that those
who as four-year-olds had the fortitude to hold out for the second flower
generally grew up to be better adjusted, more popular, adventurous,
confident and dependable teenagers. The children who gave in to temptation
early on were more likely to be lonely, easily frustrated and stubborn. They
buckled under stress and shied away from challenges.
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For most of this century, scientists have worshipped the hardware of
the brain and the software of the mind; the messy powers of the heart were
left to the poets. But cognitive theory could simply not explain the questions
we wonder about most: why some people just seem to have a gift for living
well; why the smartest kid in the class will probably not end up the richest;
why we like some people virtually on sight and distrust others; why some
people remain buoyant in the face of troubles that would sink a less resilient
soul. What qualities of the mind or spirit, in short determine who succeeds?
Background
The most distant roots of Emotional intelligence can be traced back to
Darwin’s early work on the importance of emotional expression for survival
and second adaptation. In the 1900s, even though traditional definitions of
intelligence emphasized cognitive aspects such as memory and problem-
solving, several influential researchers in the intelligence field of study had
begun to recognize the importance of the non-cognitive aspects. For
instance, as early as 1920, E. L. Thorndike used the term social intelligence
to describe the skill of understanding and managing other people.
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The first use of the term "Emotional Intelligence" is usually attributed
to Wayne Payne's doctoral thesis, A study of emotion: Developing emotional
intelligence from 1985. However, prior to this, the term "emotional
intelligence" had appeared in Leuner (1966). Greenspan (1989) also put
forward an EI model, followed by Salovey and Mayer (1990) and Goleman
(1995).
Despite this early definition, there has been confusion regarding the exact
meaning of this construct. The definitions are so varied, and the field is
growing so rapidly, that researchers are constantly amending even their own
definitions of the construct. Up to the present day, there are three main
models of EI:
1.Ability-based EI models
2.Mixed models of EI
3.Trait EI model
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Salovey and Mayer's conception of EI strives to define EI within the
confines of the standard criteria for a new intelligence. Following their
continuing research, their initial definition of EI was revised to: "The ability to
perceive emotion, integrate emotion to facilitate thought, understand
emotions and to regulate emotions to promote personal growth."
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Measurement of the ability-based model
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Although promoted as an ability test, the MSCEIT is most unlike
standard IQ tests in that its items do not have objectively correct responses.
Among other problems, the consensus scoring criterion means that it is
impossible to create items (questions) that only a minority of respondents
can solve, because, by definition, responses are deemed emotionally
'intelligent' only if the majority of the sample has endorsed them. This and
other similar problems have led cognitive ability experts to question the
definition of EI as a genuine intelligence.
2. Mixed models of EI
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Goleman includes a set of emotional competencies within each
construct of EI. Emotional competencies are not innate talents, but rather
learned capabilities that must be worked on and developed to achieve
outstanding performance. Goleman posits that individuals are born with a
general emotional intelligence that determines their potential for learning
emotional competencies. Goleman's model of EI has been criticized in the
research literature as mere pop-psychology (Mayer, Roberts, & Barsade,
2008).
1) The Emotional Competency Inventory (ECI) which was created in 1999 and
the Emotional and Social Competency Inventory (ESCI), which was created in
2007.
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settings it is being replaced by the trait emotional intelligence (trait EI)
model discussed below.
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3. The Trait EI model
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have proven highly resistant to scientific measurement. Trait EI should be
investigated within a personality framework. An alternative label for the
same construct is trait emotional self-efficacy.
The trait EI model is general and subsumes the Goleman and Bar-On
models discussed above. Petrides et al. are major critics of the ability-based
model and the MSCEIT arguing that they are based on "psychometrically
meaningless" scoring procedures (e.g., Petrides, Furnham, & Mavroveli,
2007).
There are many self-report measures of EI, including the EQi, the
Swinburne University Emotional Intelligence Test (SUEIT), the Six Seconds
Emotional Intelligence Assessment (SEI), the Schutte Self-Report Emotional
Intelligence Test (SSEIT), a test by Tett, Fox, and Wang. (2005) From the
perspective of the trait EI model, none of these assess intelligence, abilities,
or skills (as their authors often claim), but rather, they are limited measures
of trait emotional intelligence (Petrides, Furnham, & Mavroveli, 2007). The
Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue) is an open-access
measure that was specifically designed to measure the construct
comprehensively and is currently available in 15 languages.
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were investigated in a recent study on a French-Speaking Population, where
it was reported that TEIQue scores were globally normally distributed and
reliable.
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Conclusion
In some ways, emotional intelligence really is not new. In fact, it is
based on a long history of research and theory in personality and social.
Furthermore, Goleman has never claimed otherwise. In fact, one of his main
points was that the abilities associated with emotional intelligence have been
studied by psychologists for many years, and there is an impressive, and
growing, body of research suggesting that these abilities are important for
success in many areas of life.
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Further Research
•Criticisms on Ability-based model
References
http://www.psychometriclab.com/Default.aspx?Content=Page&id=7
http://www.time.com/time/classroom/psych/unit5_article1.html
http://www.beyondtraining.com.au/Emotional_IQ.html
http://www.baatschools.com/emotional_intelligence.php
http://www.peoplesmithglobal.com/emotion/index.asp
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Bibliography
Bar-On, R. (1997). Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory: User's manual .
Toronto: Multi-Health Systems.
Bar-On, R. (in press). Emotional and social intelligence: Insights from the
Emotional Quotient Inventory. In R. Bar-On & J. Parker (Eds.), Handbook of
emotional intelligence. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Barsade, S., & Gibson, D. E. (1998). Group emotion: A view from the top and
bottom. In D. G. e. al. (Ed.), Research on managing groups and teams.
Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
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