Untitled - Springer Publishing

More documents

Recommendations

Info

INTRODUCTION fellow humans, could be hopeful for the success of his antisocial endeavors. Lumping together two quite different qualities under the heading of “emotional intelligence” simply leads to confusion. The second problem is that good character is not the same as intelligence. The “more intelligent” person is required to be objectively superior at some set of activities, compared to individuals of lesser intelligence. Many individuals of modest talents possess a range of desirable personal qualities, such as those listed by Goleman, but we do not need to call them “intelligent” to value their contributions. For example, the fictional Forrest Gump accomplishes financial and social success despite limited cognitive abilities. The capacity to experience positive feelings, such as hope, may support personal accomplishment on some occasions but hopes are not necessarily realistic. It does not seem that a kid who is 5’3, podgy, and uncoordinated is being emotionally intelligent in dreaming of basketball stardom. Typically, psychologists address such definitional quandaries through a focus on measurement. Rather than endlessly debating personal opinions about what is and what is not emotionally intelligent, we can try to develop a valid and reliable test of EI. This “operational” approach proved to be successful in intelligence research. It is unlikely that “IQ” really captures every facet of human intelligence (Sternberg, 2000). However, the success of standard intelligence tests in predicting real-life outcomes (e.g., work success) and measures of cognitive and brain processes shows that what the psychologist understands by “intelligence” is, at least, an important personal characteristic that should be studied. A test that measured at least some part of the individual’s emotional competency with as strong validity as IQ tests would be equally important in psychology. In fact, there are three necessary pillars of a science of EI (Matthews et al., 2002). As we have said, the first pillar is measurement, which means developing and then using standardized tests. Measurement requires at least a crude definition, but we expect that advances in measurement will sharpen definitions. At this point we need to introduce the idea of a construct, which 7 Matthews_PTR_Ch 01_12-10-11_1-42.indd 7 10/12/2011 10:46:53 AM
CHAPTER 1 is a key term from psychological measurement: “A construct is some postulated attribute of people, assumed to be reflected in test performance” (Cronbach & Meehl, 1955, p. 283). The point is that the construct is “postulated” or hypothetical—as opposed to a quality that we can directly observe, such as a person’s height. As we shall see, there are many tests that purport to measure EI, but research is needed to show that whatever quality is measured by a test can be described as “EI.” Indeed, the second pillar is developing a theory of EI that explains the source of variation in test scores, and its consequences for behavior. Theory building and justification is perhaps the most essential characteristic of the scientific enterprise (Kerlinger, 1973). In short, what shapes a person’s EI, and what difference does it make? This process is known as construct validation. It goes beyond simply showing that test scores predict the person’s behavior in building an understanding of the nature of the psychological processes and structures that underpin our measurements of EI. For example, in conventional intelligence research we can investigate genetic and environmental influences on development of the brain areas that support reasoning and abstract thinking. We can also look at how the individual’s level of intelligence influences their educational attainments, career success, and even health (e.g., Deary, 2000). Theory building in psychology is never finished. Successful research programs lead to the progressive theory refinement and modification, which in turn generates new directions for research. With sound tests, and an understanding of what test scores actually mean, we can build a third pillar of our science, the application of research on EI to address real-life issues. It is plausible that wise men and women have been using their EI for good since the origins of the human species. The hope is that a scientific understanding of EI will allow a more systematic use of these competencies. Perhaps mediocre teachers, therapists, and managers may be trained in the skills that their emotionally gifted peers have developed spontaneously. A scientific approach is essential on several grounds—identifying 8 Matthews_PTR_Ch 01_12-10-11_1-42.indd 8 10/12/2011 10:46:53 AM
Page 2 and 3: The Psych 101 series James C. Kaufm
Page 4 and 5: Emotional Intelligence 101 Gerald M
Page 6 and 7: To the new generation of emotional
Page 8 and 9: Contents 2 Chapter 1 Introduction 1
Page 10 and 11: PREFACE Preface Not long ago, psych
Page 12 and 13: PREFACE ramifications. But the stro
Page 14 and 15: PREFACE the extent to which researc
Page 16 and 17: Creativity 101 James C. Kaufman, Ph
Page 18 and 19: Emotional Intelligence 101 Matthews
Page 20 and 21: 1 Introduction Science must begin w
Page 22 and 23: INTRODUCTION FIGURE 1.1 Portrait of
Page 24 and 25: INTRODUCTION play a role in crime,
Page 28 and 29: INTRODUCTION key aptitudes, compete
Page 30 and 31: INTRODUCTION Emotional intelligence
Page 32 and 33: INTRODUCTION TABLE 1.2 THE ADULT SA
Page 34 and 35: INTRODUCTION mind has a tendency to
Page 36 and 37: INTRODUCTION Is EI Really an Intell
Page 38 and 39: INTRODUCTION TABLE 1.3 CAPSULE DESC
Page 40 and 41: INTRODUCTION FIGURE 1.5 Théodore G
Page 42 and 43: INTRODUCTION what is emotionally in
Page 44 and 45: INTRODUCTION individual’s compete
Page 46 and 47: INTRODUCTION Basic Processes in EI.
Page 48 and 49: INTRODUCTION plan for negotiating i
Page 50 and 51: INTRODUCTION Third, as with measure
Page 52 and 53: INTRODUCTION More recently, this me
Page 54 and 55: INTRODUCTION challenges that arise.
Page 56 and 57: INTRODUCTION distressing emotional
Page 58 and 59: INTRODUCTION concerns with the chil
Page 60 and 61: INTRODUCTION emotional functioning.

Untitled - Springer Publishing

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?