Research Tidbits
This section provides the reader with research tid-bits and/or observations on emotional intelligence, leadership and students. It is our goal to highlight some interesting findings that have informed our work. Please note that these are direct quotes from academic work – we have provided citations at the end of the document in a references section.
Emotional Intelligence
- “In the 1930s, the study of social intelligence was largely a study of how people make judgments regarding others and the accuracy of such social judgments. By the 1950s, however, this body of work had polarized to form two distinct traditions: (a) an intelligence tradition, which was interested in the abilities of person perception, and (b) a social–psychological tradition, which focused on the social determinants of person perception. In recent times, there has been growing convergence between these distinctive domains. Thus, researchers from the domain of individual differences have become more interested in social facets of ability, and social psychologists have become more interested in cognitive determinants of perception (Mayer & Geher, 1996).” (Roberts, Zeidner, Matthews, 2001, p. 198)
- Today, there are three primary approaches to the construct of Emotional Intelligence which can make it a confusing concept to understand and grasp (Caruso, 2003). However, it is important to understand that all, at their core, believe that EI is about the “abilities to recognize and regulate emotions in ourselves and others” (Goleman, 2001, p. 2). Goleman (2001) explains the three primary approaches to EI and suggests that Salovey & Mayer “framed EI within a model of intelligence” (p. 2), while Bar-On framed his model of EI in personality theory. Goleman (2001) suggests his model as a theory of performance.
- Robert McCrea (2000) writes about the difference between the mental abilities of the Mayer et al model of EI as opposed to personality traits. “The distinction between these abilities and personality traits is sometimes subtle, but it can be drawn. For example, one can be optimistic simply because one has a cheerful disposition (which requires no intelligence of any kind); or one may understand that one can create an optimistic assessment by deliberately calling to mind the chances of success or by summoning social support from others. This process of manipulating one’s own emotional state requires a certain degree of psychological mindedness that Mayer and his colleagues deem a form of intelligence” (p. 276).
- “Just what is this thing called emotional intelligence (EI)? The answer, to a large extent, depends on who you ask. EI has served as a sort of conceptual inkblot, an unstructured notion that is open to a vast number of interpretations” (Caruso, 2003, p. 1).
Research on EI
- Compared to their low trait EI counterparts, pupils with high trait EI scores were more likely to be seen as having leadership qualities and being co-operative and less likely to be seen as disruptive, aggressive and dependent. Furthermore, high trait EI pupils had higher scores than low trait EI pupils on the pro social factor of teacher nominations and lower scores on the antisocial factor. (Petrides, Sangareau, Furnham, Frederickson, 2006, p. 543)
- Numerous studies have been conducted with the short form of the TEIQue showing that it correlates positively with…general wellbeing and job satisfaction (Singh & Woods, 2008), relationship satisfaction (Smith, Heaven, & Ciarrochi, 2008), and adaptive styles of humor (Vernon et al., 2009), and negatively with communicative anxiety (Dewaele, Petrides, & Furnham, 2008), Machiavellianism (Alia, Amorima, & Chamorro-Premuzic, 2009), and maladaptive styles of humor (Vernon et al., 2009). It has also been suggested that the TEIQue-SF has an inverted U relationship with reaction time (Austin, 2009) and that it mediates many of the links between personality and general health (Johnson, Batey, & Holdsworth, 2009). (Petrides, Vernon, Schermer, Ligthart, Boomsma, Veselka, 2009, p. 906)
Developing Relationships
- “Genuine relationships will not tolerate extremes which become abusive. The key to personal balance for leaders is the quality of their relationship with followers. Honest, open relationships will provide a steady stream of uncensored feedback. It is only through this feedback that leaders can accurately perceive and modulate their behaviors, policies and strategies” (Chaleff, 2002, p. 23).
- “Interpersonal competence is fundamental to successful and effective leadership. What may be involved are the ability to communicate, the willingness and ability to promote individual relationships with others, authenticity, caring, the ability to handle conflict, and insight and empathy. (Bass, 1990, p. 122).
Environmental Scanning
- “Leaders and followers are locked into relationships that are closely influenced by particular local, parochial, regional, and cultural forces” (Burns, 1978, p. 429).
- “Groups of clients, unions, professional associations, and regulatory agencies affect how and what will be discussed and decided, both in legislatures and private organizations, especially with regard to visible and emotional questions” (Bass, 1990, p. 568).
Honest Self Understanding
- Bass (1990) suggests that “self-understanding is essential even for the most successful leaders…the interpersonally competent manager is open to receiving feedback, the approach most likely to promote and maintain a manager’s accurate self-understanding” (p. 152).
References
Bass, B. (1990). Bass & Stogdill’s handbook of leadership: Theory, research and managerial applications (3rd ed.). New York: The Free Press.
Burns, J. (1978). Leadership. New York: Harper and Row.
Caruso, D. (2003). Defining the inkblot called Emotional Intelligence. Issues and Recent Developments in Emotional Intelligence,1(2). Retrieved June 1, 2010 from http://www.eiconsortium.org
Chaleff, I. (2003). The courageous follower: Standing up to and for our leaders (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.
Goleman, D. (2001). Emotional intelligence: Issues in paradigm building. In C. Cherniss & D. Goleman (Eds.), The emotionally intelligent workplace (pp. 13-26). Jossey-Bass: San Francisco.
McCrae R. R. (2000). Emotional intelligence from the perspective of the Five-Factor Model. In: R. Bar-On and J.D.A. Parker (Eds.): The handbook of emotional intelligence. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 263-276.
Petrides, K., Vernon, P., Schermer, J., Ligthart, L., Boomsma, D., & Veselka, L. (2010). Relationships between trait emotional intelligence and the Big Five in the Netherlands. Personality and Individual Differences, 48(8), 906-910.
Petrides, K. V., Sangareau, Y., Furnham, A., & Frederickson, N. (2006). Trait emotional intelligence and children’s peer relations at school. Social Development, 15(3), 537-547.
Roberts, R. D., Zeidner, M., Matthews, G. (2001). Does Emotional Intelligence Meet Traditional Standards for an Intelligence? Some New Data and Conclusions. Emotion, 1(3), 196-231.
