The Psychological Importance of Emotional Intelligence, Research Paper Example

Whereas the importance of emotion intelligence to any potential theories of psychology appears self-evident, in so far as emotions and how different individuals handle them are fundamental to human behavior itself, it is only in the last two decades that a formal definition of the concept has been advanced in the literature. The groundbreaking work of Mayer and Salovey (1997) sought to provide a robust account of emotional intelligence, so as “to address a growing need in psychology for a framework to organize the study of individuals differences in abilities related to emotion.” (Salovey & Grewal, 2005, p. 281) From this perspective, the psychological importance of emotional intelligence is crucial, to the extent that it fills a necessary gap in the psychological literature concerning how human beings relate to their emotions, simultaneously acknowledging that human beings relate to their emotions in different manners.

In other words, the proposals of authors such as Salovey and Goleman provide a more complex view of human emotion: it is not only the case that when someone is angry, that these emotions operate in a deterministic fashion, such that every angry person acts in the same manner. The research in emotional intelligence attempts to develop precisely a paradigm with which to understand how people relate to their emotions and, furthermore, to distinguish positive and negative ways of relating to emotions, i.e., the concept of emotional intelligence itself. This emotional ntelligence is based on the notion that “some individuals possess the ability to reason about and use emotions to enhance thought more effectively than others.” (Meyer, Salovey & Caruso, 2008, p. 503)

Any intuitive and personal reflection on emotions seems to bear out the relevance of emotional intelligence as a concept. From an autobiographical perspective, I have noticed that my own reactions to emotions such as anger have differed from those around me, such as my family members. My father, for example, had a strong temper, and when angered would often shout or react furiously. In my case, I tended to not vividly express my anger in the company of others, instead remaining stoic amidst others even in a situation when I was angered, only to let my anger out a time when I was alone. These differences in the management of emotion clearly indicate that emotion is rationalized in different ways by different people. In other words, reactions to a given emotion from a behavioral perspective differ, whereas the emotion itself (i.e., anger, sadness, happiness) remains homogeneous.

The intuitive observation that human beings react differently to emotions nevertheless is not equivalent to an index of emotional intelligence. For the question remains: how can we formally evaluate which reaction to a given emotion is superior? The work of Goleman (1995) copes with this problem by employing the following scheme to evaluate emotions: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. The reaction to the particular emotion is thus contextualized according to these categories. For example, does the individual reaction to the emotion harm or support relationship management? Such categories help define how the emotion is regulated by the individual in terms of a clear context. Hence, violent outburst of anger by a husband will clearly not benefit his relationship to his wife. In other words, by not only advancing a concept of emotional intelligence, but further contextualizing emotional intelligence according to very precise situations, an accurate gauge of the emotional intelligence appears plausible.

Furthermore, it can be added that such a gauge of emotional intelligence appears necessary from the perspective of psychology as therapy, in so far as the psychologist’s ability to assess the emotional intelligence of his or her patients will be of clear benefit in the therapeutic relationship, where the psychologist’s objective is to resolve problems faced by the patient. Emotional intelligence and its formalization are valuable theoretical and practical tools for the psychologist, above all when psychology plays a therapeutic role.

References

Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence. New York: Bantam Books.

Mayer, J.D. & Salovey, P. (1997) “What is Emotional Intelligence?” In P. Salovey & D. Sluyter (Eds.) Emotional Development and Emotional Intelligence: Educational Implications (pp. 3-31). New York: Basic Books.

Mayer, J.D., Salovey, P. & Caruso, D.R. (2008). “Emotional Intelligence: New Ability of Eclectic Traits?” American Psychologist. Vol. 63, No. 6. pp. 503-517.

Salovey, P. & Grewal, D. (2005). “The Science of Emotional Intelligence.” Current Directions in Psychological Science. Vol. 14, No. 6. pp. 281-285.