EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AT WORK

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EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCEAT WORK

• ANNETTE PRINS Ph.D.

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Introduction

• The organisation by which people are employed
  offers opportunities for experiencing numerous
  emotions affecting employees thoughts, feelings
  and actions
• both in the workplace and when they are away from
  it
• Work related stress causes a huge problem
  against
• - Time pressures and
• - Pressures to be successful

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Emotional intelligence (EI)

• Paradigmatic shift
• Researchers currently look for characteristics
• predictive of successful living
• supportive of successful coping at work
• EI much debated topic

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Evolution of scientific theories

• The maturation of a theory includes
• - a seminal (first) conception
• - hypothesis testing
• - refinement of the theory
• - development of grounded theory
• (First phase of theorising extrapolated from
  findings
• rather than direct hypothesis testing,
• Then conduct research guided by the developing
• body of knowledge in the area)
• According to Goleman (2001) the process for EI
• was remarkably rapid
• EQ first used in 1980s (Bar-On)
• EI coined by Salovey and Mayer 1990
• Followed by Golemans 1995 popularised book
• Stimulated by current ferment of interest in how
• human abilities are conceived

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Historical roots of EI

• Thorndike 1920s argued for importance of social
  intelligence
• Ability to act wisely in relation to others
• Wechsler 1940s non-intellective aspects of
  general intelligence
• The aggregate or global capacity of the
  individual to
• - act purposefully
• - think rationally, and
• - deal effectively with his/her environment

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Multiple intelligences

• Gardner (198319931999)
• Proposed a theory of multiple intelligences
• That includes, in addition to cognitive
  intelligence
• - kinesthetic
• - practical
• - musical, and
• - personal intelligences (intra-psychic
  capacity and interpersonal skill).

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Personal intelligences, precursor to EI

• Intrapersonal intelligence
• ability to understand oneself
• knowing how one feels about things
• understanding ones range of emotions, and
• insight into the way one acts.
• Assists one to act in ways appropriate to ones
  needs, goals and abilities.
• Interpersonal intelligence reflects
• - the ability to read moods, desires and
  intentions of others and to act on this
  knowledge.
• Therefore, theorists began to challenge
  traditional IO based views of intelligence

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EI Definitions

• Bar-On (1997)
• an array of non-cognitive capabilities,
  competencies, skills that influence ones ability
  to succeed in coping with environmental demands
  and pressures
• EI an NB predictor of success in life
• - directly influences general psychological
  well-being and health
• - Other factors include biomedical
  predisposition and conditions, cognitive
  intellectual capacity and the limitations and
  realities of the changing life context

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EI Definitions

• Goleman (2001) learned capability based on EI
  that results in outstanding performance at work
• Mayer, Salovey, Caruso (2000)
• argue EI represents a set of mental abilities,
  including the ability to
• Perceive emotions
• Access and generate emotions to assist thought
• Understand and reason about emotion,
• Reflectively regulate emotions to promote
  emotional and intellectual growth

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EI Models / Definitions

• Ability Mixed Personality

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EI and related concepts

• Social competence ability to integrate thinking,
  feeling and behaviour to achieve social tasks and
  outcomes valued in the host culture.
• Emotional competence reflects moral character
  and ethical values in emotional responses and
  promotes personal integrity
• BUT all will at some stage experience some
  emotional incompetence when unprepared for or
  overextended within a particular context
• Consequences
• - effective management of emotions
• - subjective well-being
• - resilience

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EI in approach and avoidance behaviour

• Impulse control
• - short-term gratification
• -role of working memory
• Persistence
• -managing negative emotional reactions when
  obstacles present in pursuing goals
• - Awareness of negative emotions, refraining
  from acting on them
• Thus, suppression of avoidance behaviour
• Zeal and motivation
• - conscious creation of positive affect to
  motivate one to achieve ones goals
• - recognise the absence of positive affect,
• - initiate positive affect
• - monitor and sustain positive affect

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EI in approach and avoidance behaviour

• Social deftness
• - negotiate successfully in social situations
• - in pursuit of obtaining ones goals
• - in a particular social context
• - Successful negotiation result when one
  carefully monitors self and others interests and
  concerns and integrate them for suitable action
• Accurate empathy
• - NB cornerstone in anticipating if a particular
  response will invoke a negative response in others

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BAR-ON EI MODEL

• Intrigued by why some
• - enjoy better emotional well-being
• - are more successful in life
• - many highly intelligent individuals are not
  successful despite their obvious cognitive
  intelligence
• - whilst others less cognitively intelligent are
  more successful
• - Thus, cognitive intelligence does not
  singularly account for success
• - Looked into emotional and social intelligence
• His model reflects the potential for success

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BAR-ON EI MODEL
The components of emotional intelligence measured
by the Bar-On EQ-i
(Bar-On, 1997 p.6)
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BAR-ON EI MODEL

• Intrapersonal Component
• Reflects an individuals understanding,
  expression and development of the inner self.
• Individuals well developed in this area are
• - in touch with their inner feelings,
• - feel good about themselves, and
• - are positive about their lives
• - are competent at expressing their feelings,
• - independent,
• - strong and confident in expressing their
  ideas and beliefs.

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Bar-On EI MODEL

• The Interpersonal Component
• Reflects interpersonal skills and functioning.
• - Individuals who are well- developed in this
  area are
• - responsible,
• - dependable and
• - have well-developed social skills so that they
  interact and relate well with others.

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Bar-On EI MODEL

• Adaptability Component
• Reflects how competently an individual copes
  with environmental demands by being able to size
  up situations realistically and to deal with
  problematic situations.
• Individuals well-developed in this sphere are on
  average
• - flexible,
• - realistic,
• - effective at understanding problematic
  situations and
• - more competent at creating adequate solutions.

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Bar-On EI MODEL

• The Stress Management Component relates to the
  ability to withstand stressors without losing
  control or falling apart.
• - Individuals with more highly developed skills
  in this sphere tend to be
• - calmer,
• - are rarely impulsive, and
• - tend to work well under pressure.

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Bar-On EI MODEL

• The last component namely, General Mood, reflects
  the individuals ability to enjoy life and
  general level of contentment.
• - Individuals who are well- developed in regard
  to this component tend to be
• - positive,
• - cheerful,
• - hopeful and
• - know how to enjoy life.

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Healthy development of EIAffective
neuroscience

• Affective neuroscience
• Boundary between cognitive and emotional
  intelligence lies in the distinction between
  capacities largely neurocortical and those
  integrating neurocortical with limbic circuitry
  (Goleman 2001)
• Traditional IQ (verbal fluency, spatial logic,
  abstract reasoning) based in specific areas of
  neocortex
• EI has different underlying circuitry
• Damage impinge the respective areas (ADD)

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Neurology of decision making

• Intelligent creative decision making is
  influenced by emotions
• Damage to ventro-medial prefrontal legions
  developed serious impairments in decision making
  despite otherwise largely intact intellectual
  abilities
• - such lesions diminish emotional signs that add
  value to options that help guide decisions
• - via memories of past events that elicited
  positive or negative emotions,
• reward or punishment, pleasure or pain,
  happiness or sadness

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Emotions and decision making

• Emotions provide
• - go
• - stop
• - turn signals
• Necessary for advantageous decision making
  (Bechara et al., 2000)
• Activation of somatic states provide biasing
  signals
• Without the biasing signals decisions become
  equalised and dependent on slow reasoned
  cost-benefit analysis of conflicting options

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Healthy development of EIRole of primary
caregiver

• Infants healthy emotional development dependent
  on emotional state of mother
• Secure attachment depends inter alia on mothers
  self-reflective capacity
• Caregiver exerts a regulatory influence on the
  maturation of parts of the brain involved in
  emotional awareness and regulation (Taylor
  Bagby, 2000)
• Contribute to permanent alterations in the
  morphological development of the orbito-frontal
  cortex influencing i.e.
• - regulation of excitatory processes in the
• Amygdala and related structures

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Healthy development of EIRole of language

• Progressively complex language skills link with
  complex cognitive schemata
• These schemata elevate the conscious experience
  of emotions from
• - awareness of emotional arousal
  (undifferentiated bodily sensations/ action
  tendencies), to
• - awareness of blends of feelings, to ability to
  make subtle distinctions between nuances of
  emotions, and
• - capacity to appreciate the emotional
  experience of others

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Healthy development of EIRole of language
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Healthy development of EIRole of emotional
awareness in social interactions

• Successful social adaptation requires a duel task
  ability, namely to
• - consider own and others needs simultaneously
• - appreciation of the differentiated feelings of
  self and others,
• - to integrate this information into action
  - that allows for attainment of own and others
  goals
• - in harmony with the social context

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Role of emotional awareness in social interactions

• Accessing ones own emotional life
• Monitoring and modulating how it may be outwardly
  expressed
• Considering how the given display may be
  experienced by others
• Helps influence how emotions will be expressed
• Thus higher levels of awareness should co-vary
  with greater appropriateness of emotional
  expression in social interactions

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Abnormal development of EI

• Childhood trauma
• Parts of neocortex may be impeded by emotional
  trauma
• Alexithymia
• Inability to verbalise feelings
• Paucity of inner experience
• Unimaginative
• Concrete
• Use physical action to express emotion
• Absence of symbol system to represent emotions in
  working memory (consciousness)

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Navorsingsresultate 2006
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Conclusion

• Emotions previously seen as illegitimate area of
  research
• - Viewed through cognitive lens
• - According to so-called norms of rationality
• Recent trends in neuroscience provide much
  support for the role of emotion in reasoning.
• EI exciting and developing research area in
  relation to organisational behaviour
• Measure of debate surrounding EI reflects healthy
  process in scientific research
• Neural plasticity allows for lifelong learning
  and adaptation, also in affective realm