Aspects of Emotional Intelligence [1 ed.] 1527534618, 9781527534612

Citation preview

Aspects of Emotional Intelligence Jawed Ah1nad

Aspects of Emotional Intelligence

Aspects of Emotional Intelligence By

Jawed Ahmad

Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Aspects of Emotional Intelligence

By Jawed Ahmad

This book first published 2019

Cambridge Scholars Publishing Lady StephensonLibrary, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK BritishLibrary Cataloguing

in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the BritishLibrary Copyright © 2019 by Jawed Ahmad

All rights for this book reserved. No part ofthis book may be reproduced, stored

in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any fonn or by any means,

electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior pennission of the copyright owner.

ISBN (10): 1-5275-3461-8 ISBN (13): 978-1-5275-3461-2

Dedicated to my beloved father, the late Anwar Hussain; and my dear mother, Mokina Khatoon

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Tables ............................................................................................. xi List of Acrollyrn.s ..................................................................................... xiii Foreword

..................................................................................................

xv

Acknowledgements ................................................................................ xvii Chapter One

................................................................................................

Introduction

1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6

Background The Amygdala Emotions i n the Workplace Emotional Intelligence-an Historical Perspective Emotional Intelligence a s a Construct Some Concepts Related t o Emotional Intelligence Competencies

1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1 . 14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23

The Role o f the Self in Developing Emotional Competence The Development o f Emotional Awareness E ! a s a Popular Concept Mixed Models of E! and their Measurement Researchers' Criticisms of Mixed Theories ofE! Ability Models of E! Measurement of Ability Models of E! Level of Aspiration (LOA) Development of the Concept of LOA Factors that Influence the Level of Aspiration Self-Concept Statement of the Problem Operational Definitions of Key Terms Research Hypotheses Objectives of the Study Rationale Significance of the Study

1

viii

Table of Contents

Chapter Two .............................................................................................

33

Literature Review

2.1 2.2

Studies Conducted Outside India Studies Conducted Within India

Chapter Three ...........................................................................................

49

Research Design

3. 1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5

Research Method Sampling Technique Tools for Collecting Data Statistical Techniques Used Field Work

Chapter Four ............................................................................................. Analysis and Interpretation of the Data

4.1

The Emotional Intelligence o f Three Groups o f Student­

4.2

Dimension-wise Description of the El of Three Groups of

4.3

Relationship between the El and the Level of Aspiration of

4.4

Relationship between the El and the Level of Aspiration of

4.5

Relationship between the El and the Level of Aspiration of

4.6

Relationship between the El and the Level of Aspiration of

4.7

Relationship between the El and the Self-Concept of

4.8

Relationship between the El and the Self-Concept of

4.9

Relationship between the El and the Self-Concept of

4.10

Relationship between the El and the Self-Concept of

4.11

Estimating the Significance of the Difference between the

Teachers Student-Teachers (Science, Arts, and Social Science) Three Groups of Student-Teachers Science Student-Teachers Arts Group Student -Teachers Social Science Student-Teachers Three Groups of Student-Teachers Science Student-Teachers Arts Student-Teachers Social Science Student-Teachers Means of Male and Female Students with regard to their El

4.12

Significance of the Difference between the Means of Male

4.13

Significance of the Difference between the Means of Male

and Female Science Student-Teachers with regard to their El and Female Arts Student-Teachers with regard to their El

57

ix

Aspects of Ernotional Intelligence

4.14

Significance of the Difference between the Means of the Male and Female Social Science Student-Teachers with regard to their El

4.15

Relationship between the El and the Level of Aspiration of Male Student-Teachers

4.16

Relationship between the El and the Level of Aspiration of Female Student-Teachers

4.17

Relationship between the El and the Self-Concept of Male

4.18

Relationship between the El and the Self-Concept of Female

Student-Teachers Student-Teachers

4.19 4.20 4.21 4.22 4.23 4.24 4.25

Summary First Hypothesis Second Hypothesis Third Hypothesis Fourth Hypothesis Fifth Hypothesis Sixth Hypothesis

Chapter Five

............................................................................................. 89

Generalizations, Conclusions, and Implications of the Results

5. 1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7

First Hypothesis Second Hypothesis Third Hypothesis Fourth Hypothesis Fifth Hypothesis Sixth Hypothesis Implications of the Findings

Bibliography ............................................................................................. Web URLs ..............................................................................................

97

115

LIST OF TABLES

Table

3-1

Sample Structure of the Study in terms of Gender

50

and Academic Subject Table

4-1

Summary Table of ANOVA (One Way) for the

58

E l o f the Three Groups o f Student-Teachers (Science, Arts, and Social Science) Table

4-2

Group Table

4-3

59

E-and F-Values for the Self-Awareness of the as

a Whole

E-and F -Values for the Empathy of the Group

as

59

a Whole Table 4-4

E-and F-Values for the Self-Motivation of the Group

Table

4-5 4-6

as

4-7

60

a Whole

E-and F -Values for the Relationship Management o f the Group

Table

60

a Whole

E-and F -Values for the Emotional Stability of the Group

Table

as

as

61

a Whole

E-and F -Values for the Integrity of the Group as a

61

Whole Table

4-8

E-and F-Values for the Self-Development of the Group

Table

4-9 4-10 4-1 1 4-12

63

a Whole

E-and F -Values for the Altruistic Behaviour of the Group

Table

63

a Whole

E-and F -Values for the Commitment of the Group as

Table

as

62

a Whole

E-and F -Values for the Value Orientation of the Group

Table

as

as

64

a Whole

Relationship between the El and the Level of

65

Aspiration of the Group as a Whole Table

4-13

Relationship between the El and the Level of

66

Aspiration of the Science Group Students Table

4-14

Relationship between the El and the Level of

67

Aspiration of the Arts Group Students Table

4-15

Relationship between the El and the Level of

68

Aspiration of the Social Science Group Students Table

4-16

Relationship between the El and the Self-Concept of the Group

as

a Whole

69

xii

Table

List of Tables

4-17

Relationship between the El and the Self-Concept

71

o f Science Group Student-Teachers Table

4-18

Relationship between the El and the Self-Concept

72

of Arts Group Student-Teachers Table

4-19

Relationship between the El and the Self-Concept

74

of the Social Science Student Group Table

4-20

Significance of the Difference between Male and

75

Female Students with regard to El Table

4-21

Significance of the Difference between Male and

76

Female Science Group Students with regard to El Table

4-22

Significance of the Difference between Male and

77

Female Arts Group Students with regard to El Table

4-23

Significance of the Difference between Males and

78

Females of the Social Science Student Group with regard to El Table 4-24

Relationship between the El and the Level of

79

Aspiration of the Male Student Group Table

4-25

Relationship between the El and the Level of

80

Aspiration of the Female Student Group Table

4-26

Relationship between the El and the Self-Concept

81

of the Male Student Group Table

4-27

Relationship between the El and the Self-Concept of the Female Student Group

83

LIST OF ACRONYMS

* **

AD

Significant at the Significant at the

.05 Level .01 Level

Attainment Discrepancy

AGR

Assumed Growth Rate

ANOVA

Analysis of Variance

B.ED

Bachelor of Education

CCS

Chaudhary Charan Singh

DF

Degree of Freedom

DPBS

Durga Prashad Baljeet Singh

E

Eta Coefficient

EARS

Emotional Accuracy Research Scale

ECI

Emotional Competence Inventory

El

Emotional Intelligence

ElS

Emotional Intelligence Scale

ElSC

Emotional Intelligence Scale for Children

EQ

Emotional Quotient

EQI

Emotional Quotient Inventory

G

General Ability

GD.

Goal Discrepancy

GA

Ghazala Ansari

IO

Industrial Organization

IP

Ishwar Dayal Parsandi Devi

IQ

Intelligent Quotient

LACT

Level of Aspiration Coding Test

MS

Mean Square

MSCElT

Mayer Salovey Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test

N

Number

NCERT

National Council of Educational Research and

NCF

National Curriculum Framework

Training NCFTE

National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education

NCTE

National Council for Teacher Education

NS

Not Significant

SCRS

Self-Concept Rating Scale

xiv

List of Acronyms

SD

Standard Deviation

SE!

Social Emotional Intelligence

SMCL

Shiv Mandir Chhuttan Lal

SPSS

Statistical Package for Social Science

SS

Sum of Squares

SSRI

Schutte Self-Report Inventory

TMMS

Trait Meta Mood Scale

YV

Youth Version

FOREWORD

Emotional intelligence and education are intricately connected. The concept of emotional intelligence is connected with public affairs and also with teachers and students in the classroom. The ability to be aware of one's O\Vll emotion and emotional status, constitutes a skill flUldamental to the key features of emotional intelligence and is related to impulse control, persistence, self-motivation, empathy, and social deftness. Emotional awareness is conceptualized as being the domain of cognitive development that unfolds in a manner parallel to that of intelligence in the usual cognitive sense. Empathy is seen as being fundamental to emotional intelligence as the ability to perceive emotions; to access and generate emotions and emotional knowledge; and to reflectively regulate emotions so as to promote emotional and intellectual growth. It precedes and enables cognitive processes and skills by providing an accurate understanding of team and team member emotions and needs. The emotional understanding improves cognitive skills, pattern recognition, and perspective taking. If a teacher has the knowledge of empathy, they can understand the emotions of their students. When a teacher understands their student's emotions, they may take appropriate decision sat the right time to solve problems skilfully and deftly. The training of teachers is necessary for contributing towards the establishment of effective teaching learning processes by means of the proper use of pedagogy. Emotional intelligence is an important part of teacher training courses---courses which should enable teachers to understand the emotions of their students. It is a basic and reliable resource for promoting effective teaching and facilitating the proper development of their students' personalities. The four main objectives of this book are (1) to encourage teacher traiinng programs to incorporate El principles and (2) to prioritize helping student-teachers understand the significant importance of providing an EI­ informed pedagogy-with the goal that (3) student-teachers go on to incorporate El-based best practices into their own teaching and (4) that future research assesses the potential benefits of doing so"? I am thankful to Professor K.P. Pandey for his proper guidance and suggestions in completing this work. Dr. Jawed Ahmad

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

r am grateful to Almighty Allah, without whose blessings, the timely completion of this work would not have been possible. I deem it my privilege to express my deepest sense of gratitude and sincere appreciation to Emeritus Professor K.P Pandey for providing exciting and inspiring guidance and also for his constant and painstaking support-for without his constructive criticism, this study would not have been possible without the help of Cambridge Scholar Publishing team, Victoria Carruthers, James Brittain, Commissioning Assistant and Ivan Yeller, proofreader. r am thankful to Prof. K.P. Yadav, Principal, T.P Collgege, Madhepura for his proper guidance and support. r am also thankful to Dr. Mohd. Asjad Ansari, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi and all the teaching and non teaching staff of Department of Education, T.P College, Madhepura, Bihar for their continuous encouragement and motivation. I express my deep sense of respect to my beloved mother, Mokina Khatoon and to my late father Anwar Hussain, both of whom remain a constant source of inspiration in my life. r should fail in my duties if r did not also give thanks to my beloved and caring wife, Shahnaz Begum, and my handsome son Ayan Anwar and my beautiful daughter Ainya Anwar. Finally, r express my gratitude to all those who have helped and encouraged me in so many ways in the completion of this book.

Dr. Jawed Ahmad

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

The study of emotion has had a long and fragmented history (plutchik, 1994). The scientific study of emotion predates "the formal birth of psychology with the writings of Charles Darwin (1872-1965)" as observed by Weiss and Cropanzano (1996). Emotion was also evident in the early writings of the so-called fathers of psychology Williarn James and Wilhelm Wundt. However, objectivity and reason have been the designated rulers of western philosophy, religion, and science since the days of Socrates, the Greek philosopher, who developed the question-and answer method of teaching (Solomon 1993). Meanwhile, passions and emotions have been viewed with some contempt. Solomon challenges this stance by pleading that our passions are the soul of our existence - the source of our interests; our purpose - enticing us and drawing us forward. In addition, Ellsworth (1994) argued with cogency that the study of emotion has again become a topic to be pursued with vigour. According to LeDoux (1998), emotions happen to us rather than emotions being a result of our willingness for them to occur. Hence, as is commonly perceived, we have little direct control over our emotional reactions. Conscious control over our emotions is weak-and emotion readily floods consciousness states (LeDoux, 1998). This ensures our evolution; the human brain is wired so that the connections from the emotional to the cognitive system are stronger than from the cognitive to the emotional system (Bennet-Goleman, 2002). Emotion significantly assists us in decision-making. It influences learning and memory and motivates critical action when called by appropriate environmental cues. It is, therefore, important to consider the role of emotions in the workplace, especially with respect to organizational behaviour. It may be noted, from the very outset, that the construct of emotions is difficult to define-because an emotional reaction, rather than being a single reaction, constitutes a constellation of reactions to an event. Frijda

Chapter One

2

(1993) mentions the following essential components of what comprises an emotional reaction: •

• • •

•

experiential component, in which feelings have an emotional, non-cognitive element, resulting from the cognitive appraisal of an event; It is characterized as being pleasant/unpleasant; Physiological changes accompany the emotion; So, too, does a tendency towards arousal; an increase in arousal; or an action based on arousal; along with a general readiness to deal with the environment; Emotions, further, have an event/object specificity. As such, an emotion arises in response to "something" or "someone." An

1.2 The Amygdala

Convincing evidence has implicated the amygdala in emotional processing. Information about the external world seemingly reaches the amygdala in two ways. First, a short and direct pathway provides the amygdala with crude information from the sensory thalamus. This information is not filtered via cortical processing but rather is very biased towards evoking a response. This initial, crude response is useful under life-threatening conditions, enabling the organism to respond to a stimulus even before that stimulus has been properly identified (Bennet and Goleman, 2002). However, continuously unchecked amygdala responses (impulsive behaviour) may violate convention and result in social sanction (for example, in the workplace). The second and longer route entails infOlmation travelling from the thalamus to the cortex (where the infOlmation is encoded with more detail) and then back to the amygdala to keep inappropriate responses in check (LeDoux, 1998). 1.3 Emotions in the Workplace

Pirola Merlo, Hartel, Mann, and Hirst (2002) argue that progress in the understanding of organizational behaviour is hampered by a failure to consider the bounded emotionality aspects of human behaviour in addition to bounded rationality aspects. On a theoretical level, Muchinsky (2000) supports the following:

Introduction

3

"the specialized field of industrial organizational (10) psychology has generally followed the path of its parent discipline psychology in its neglect of emotions."

This short overview mirrors business practices, since business schools and organizations emphasize technical rather than social skills. Emotions are at the very core of human experience; and since we spend most of our time engaged in working rather than in other activities, 10 psychology should take the lead in explaining the role of emotions at work (Muchinsky 2000). However, the last years of the past decade reflect widespread interest in the role of emotions at work as reflected in the proceedings of various workshops and conferences on the topic. The organization by which people are employed offer opportunities for experiencing numerous emotions affecting the employees' thoughts, feelings, and actions, both in the workplace and as also in sites when they are away from it (Brief and Weiss 2002). The centrality of these emotions to work life has, however, largely been ignored and not been openly discussed (Weiss and Cropanzano 1996). Burke, Brief, George, Roberson, and Webster (1989) and Fisher (2000) concur that there are relatively few studies on emotions experienced at work and that the influence of the work context on affective domain experience remains largely unexplored. Traditionally, potent dysfunctionalities - rather than standard functionalities - of everyday emotions have tended to receive comparatively more attention from managers and researchers (Ashforth and Humphrey 1995). This pejorative view of emotion has blinded many scholars and practitioners to the value of emotions. 'When research was conducted on emotion, the conclusions drawn from the study that it mostly related to strong work place emotions-focusing on relatively dramatic occupations such as health care, police, and rescue workers (work which, at times, requires emotions to be suppressed) rather than on the applicability of emotions and emotional regulation to the broader organizational setting. 1.4 Emotional Intelligence-an Historical Perspective In addition to the backdrop provided in the previous sections, it may be asserted that although El recently received an increased amount of attention, the relationship between cognition and affect has been discussed for centuries. Dating back as far as ancient Greece and Rome, philosophers have debated the relationship between cognition and emotion. Some critics believe that affect is, and strong emotions are, associated with weaknesses and irrational thoughts (Grewal and Salovey2005). Stoics, for example, believed that one must avoid extreme emotions in order to think

4

Chapter One

reasonably and rationally (Still and Dryden 1999). Conversely, philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle believed that thought plays a significant role in the expression of human emotion. They believed that emotion results from one's thoughts and beliefs about the world (Fortenbaugh 1975). For example, an individual may experience fear only if they appraise the situation as being dangerous. Similar discussions relating to the relationship between cognition and emotion continue in modern thought and psychological research, exploring new perspectives on the interaction between emotion and thought-and seeking rules to describe when and why emotions arise (Mayer, Salovey, and Caruso 2002). The term "intelligence" was first used in the literature during the twentieth century (Spearman 1927). Prior to that period, even books of good standing on psychology did not mention this word. Since then, psychologists have attempted to define intelligence from various perspectives. Sadock and Sadock (2000) define intelligence as being "the capacity for learning and the ability to recall, integrate constructively, and apply what one has learned; the capacity to understand and think rationally."This capacity was traditionally measured and expressed as an "IQ" (an "intelligence quotient"). However, as early as 1920, Thorndike (as quoted by Hedlund and Sternberg, 2000) was already arguing in favour of social ability as being an important component of intelligence. He defmed social intelligence as being the ability to act or behave wisely in relation to others. He distinguished social intelligence from the mechanical and abstract forms of intelligence. The study of emotional intelligence really originated with the writings of WechsIer (1940) who referred to the non-cognitive intellective aspects of general intelligence. He subsequently defmed intelligence as being "the aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with hislher environment" (Wechsler 1958).

This concept clearly involves more than mere cognitive intelligence and embraces those abilities required to adapt to new situations and cope successfully with life. He was of the opinion that these factors undeniably contribute to intelligent behaviour. He argues that "we cannot expect to measure total intelligence lUltil our tests also include some measures of the non-intellective factors" (Wechsler 1943).

These early thoughts were succeeded by the ideas of Gardner (1983, 1993, and 1999) a half-century later. He proposed a theory of multiple intelligences

Introduction

5

that included (in addition to the recognized cognitive intelligences) kinaesthetic, practical, musical, and personal intelligences-thereby expanding on Wechsler's concept of general intelligence. He conceptualized the personal intelligences as being intrapsychic capacities and interpersonal skills. According to Gardner, intrapersonal intelligence constitutes the ability to understand oneself-including knowing how one feels about things, and understanding one's range of emotions; as well as having insight into the way one acts. lntrapersonal intelligence helps people act in ways that are appropriate to their needs, goals and abilities. Interpersonal intelligence, conversely, includes the ability to read the moods, desires, and intentions of others and to act on this knowledge. In this onward progression of the visualization of abilities, the concept of El emerged; thereby adding depth to the concept of human intelligence in an attempt to expand the ability to evaluate overall intelligence (Bar-On 1997). He contended that general intelligence may be conceived as including both cognitive and emotional intelligence; and he viewed personal intelligence as being the precursor of emotional intelligence. El, accordingly, referred to the emotional, social, personal, and survival dimensions of intelligence, rated by some as being more important for daily functioning than the renO\vned aspects of the dimension of cognitive intelligence. Stemming from earlier conceptions, emotional intelligence focused on understanding and relating to the self and others and coping successfully with the immediate context. According to Bar-On, emotional intelligence was viewed as being tactical and had been aimed at immediate functioning; whilst cognitive intelligence was thought to be more strategic, with a long­ term capacity. Emotional intelligence reflects one's ability to manage the immediate situation successfully by applying available knowledge. El was, thus, related to a person's "common sense" and the person's ability to adapt to the demands of the world. 1.5 Emotional Intelligence as a Construct

Emotional lntelligence (El) is generally defined as the ability to use emotions to help solve problems, manage relationships, enhance thoughts, and succeed in transactional tasks. Although some may argue that the concept of emotional intelligence is new, its origin has indeed been firmly embedded in psychological thought over the past century. Within the last two decades, the concept of El has received considerable attention in the social sciences as well as in the popular media. In fact, in a case of life imitating art the American Dialect Society listed El as being one of the most useful effects it was designed to create. Kelly (1955) proposed that a

Chapter One

6

person's anticipation of an event - that is, his or her expectation - is central to detennining their behaviour. This model was essentially cognitive and emphasized expectations, interpretations, and "personal constructs" or schemas that inform people's understanding of how the world works. The tenn "emotional" in emotional intelligence refers to both mood and emotions. Scholars have long recognized the relevance of cognition to problem-solving and leadership; whilst the relevance of emotion has traditionally been discounted (Salovey et al. 2000). Since researchers studying the brain have more recently detennined that emotion precedes or at least accompanies cognition, affect (both mood and emotion) has been recognized as being a unique fmm of information that improves cognition (Dickman and Standford-Blair 2002, Zajonc 1998). Individuals vary in their ability to take in and understand affective information. Strength in this ability has been labelled emotional intelligence (Salovey et al. 2000). The key difference between emotional intelligence and cognitive skills involves the integration of emotion with thoughts, enabling an individual to understand what others are feeling; while cognitive skills involve the integration, organization, and ordering of thoughts (Goleman 2001). Therefore, emotional intelligence essentially describes the ability to effectively join emotions and reasoning; using emotions to facilitate reasoning intelligently about emotions (Mayer and Salovey 1997). Emotional intelligence, therefore, influences the extent to which people's cognitive capabilities are infonned by emotions and the extent to which emotions are cognitively managed. Furthennore, emotions are distinct from predispositions to experience certain kinds of emotions captured by the personality traits of positive and negative affectivity (George and Brief 1996, Tellegon 1985). Empathy is seen as being flUldamental to emotional intelligence and has been defined by Mayer and Salovey (1997) as "the ability to perceive emotions, to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, to lUlderstand emotions and emotional knowledge, and to reflectively regulate emotions so as to promote emotional and intellectual gro-wth."

Wolff, Pescosolido, and Druskat (2002) viewed empathy as being a seminal emotional intelligence ability and proposed that it improves the leadership's ability to perceive and understand both member and team emotions. It precedes and enables cognitive processes and skills by providing an accurate understanding of team and team members' emotions and needs. They further proposed that this emotional understanding

Introduction

7

improves cognitive skills, pattern recognition, and perspective taking. Perspective taking is defined as analysing, discerning, and considering the merits of another's point of view (Boland and Tenkasi 1995) and metacognitively considering the merits from one's own point of view. Emergent leaders were, for example, noted to be socially perceptive and skilled at recognizing and understanding the feelings and emotions of the members of their teams. The understanding supposedly augments a leader's cognitive analysis and prioritization of issues encountered by the team. The high-quality cognitive analysis leads to skilled behaviour (Wolff, Pescosolido, and Druscat, 2002). The research done by these leaders supported the basic premise, namely, that empathy serves as a foundation for cognitions and behaviours that support the emergence of leaders. Empathy also formed the foundation for the analytic skills of pattern recognition and perspective taking. Muchinsky (2000) believed that emotional intelligence may provide the long-sought-after missing link that will unite the ability and motivational or dispositional detelTIlinants of job perfolTIlance. Accordingly, it was sunnnarized that emotional intelligence assessment "could become a staple of a personnel selection battery." After a decade of recognizing the complexity of cognitive processes, the next decade witnessed the recognition of emotional processes in personnel selection and job perfolTIlance. 1.6 Some Concepts Related to Emotional Intelligence Competencies In the present section, a few concepts related to El have been summarily described. Social Competence: According to Topping, Brenmer and Holmes (2000), social competence is "the possession and use of the ability to integrate thinking, feeling, and behavioill to achieve social tasks and outcomes valued in the host of context and culture."

Socially competent people select and control behaviours to apply in pursuit of any given objective either set by them, or prescribed by others, within a given context. Thus, within the work context, such an individual may be self-assertive without being aggressive, thereby regulating the environment to hisJher advantage. Social competence is important since it is a factor in resilience and the socially competent and since an integrated

8

Chapter One

individual seems more likely to withstand life stressors, and to withstand temptations such as involvement in self-damaging behaviour including drug taking. Emotional Competence: According to Saami (2000), "emotional competence is the demonstration of the self-efficacy in emotion-eliciting at social transactions" and "mature emotional competence, as defined here, assumes that moral character and ethical values have an influence on one 's emotional responses in ways that promote personal integrity."

However, all individuals will, at some stage, experience some emotional incompetence when unprepared for an unexpected event within a particular social context. 1. 7 The Role of the Self in Developing Emotional Competence

According to Saami (2000), the most important contributor to the development of emotional competence is the self (or ego identity). The self always becomes automated by adulthood. Neisser developed a taxonomy of the self that fits well with the construct of emotional competence (Neisser 1998, 1992, Neisser and Fivush 1994). The taxonomy consists of the ecological self (that allows for a bi-directional engagement with the physical and social enviromnent). Behaviour largely depends on what the environment allows and how the individual shapes/responds to hislher environment. The second component of the taxonomy is the extended self that taps into previous experience (by means of schemas), helping the individual to adapt in a novel context. The third component is related to the evaluated self, feelings, and values, and is important in relation to goal-directed behaviour. Individuals interactively manoeuver through their world in ways designed to seek out advantages for themselves (whilst attempting to avoid disadvantages to themselves). The ecological, extended and evaluative self-taxonomy promotes our understanding of functional interactions between individuals and their social and physical environments. This complex set of interactions to some extent explains the situation in which two people living in the same environment tend to interpret events differently and distinctly. Another powerful motivator of behaviour is the feedback received from others. Such feedback is internalized and contributes to self-beliefs and assists in the development of the capacity for self-evaluation. This helps regulate or monitor behaviour according to

Introduction

9

the other's expectations of what constitutes appropriate behaviour (Harter 1998, Kopp 1992). Developmentally delayed children typically demonstrate a deficit in such self-regulatory capacity (Kopp and Wyer 1994). Therefore, an individual may feel emotionally competent in many situations but incompetent in other areas-since he/she is ill-prepared for that particular situation and has not yet developed the skills to cope within the particular context. FurthelTIlore, individuals tend to deceive themselves rather than to deal directly with their emotional incompetence. Self­ deception seems to be an important mediator between affective dispositions or mood and an individual's well-being (Erez, Johnson, and Judge 1995). 1.8 The Development of Emotional Awareness

The ability to be aware of one's 0\Vll emotional states constitutes a skill fundamental to the key features of emotional intelligence and relates to impulse control, persistence, self-motivation, empathy, and social deftness. "Emotional awareness is conceptualized as being a domain of cognitive development that unfolds in a manner parallel to that of intelligence in the usual cognitive sense" (Lane 2000).

Lane and Schwartz (1987) proposed that this development process is similar to that which Piaget described for cognition in general. A fundamental principle of this approach is that variations in the degree of differentiation and integration of schema (applied to the processing of emotional infolTIlation) will be variations reflected ill individual differences between levels of emotional awareness. These authors proposed that there are five levels of emotional awareness and they share the structural characteristics of Piaget's stages of cognitive development. In ascending order, these represent physical sensations; action tendencies, single emotions; blends of emotions, and blends of emotional experience. These levels influence the ability to recognize complexity in the experiences both of the self and of others­ and to use this infolTIlation as a guide in order to act adaptively. Another influential aspect in the normal development of El is language. 1.9 El as a Popular Concept

Goleman (1995) created a model of El characterized by five broad areas: knowing one's emotions (recognizing and monitoring feelings), managing emotions (emotional regulation), motivating oneself (goal

10

Chapter One

oriented), recognizing emotions in others (empathic awareness), and handling relationships (managing the emotions of others). It will be pertinent to note that Goleman considered El as encompassing "a set of abilities which include self-control, zeal and persistence, and the ability to motivate oneself."

He further specified that El consists of the ability to "motivate oneself and persist in the face of frustrations; to control impulse and delay gratification, to regulate one's mood, and to empathize and to hope."

Goleman (1998) later broadened this concept and described El as including up to 25 skills and characteristics that promote success, such as initiative, team work, and self-awareness; and likened El to individual character. Goleman (1995) made strong claims about the ability to predict important real-life outcomes. In his book, Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ, he contended that El accounts for up to 80% of the variance in academic and occupational success. Goleman asserted that El provides an advantage in any domain in life, whether in romance and intimate relationships or in picking up the lUlspoken rules that govern success in organizational politics. The influence of Goleman's book on popularizing El became immediately apparent. It stimulated a great deal of research with regard to El, as evidenced by the competing theories of El that emerged shortly after its publication. In addition, intervention and training programs were developed to provide parents with strategies to improve their children's El; and some business concerns hired El coaches to enhance worker productivity (Grewal and Salovey, 2005). By 2000, over 20 formal programs of social­ emotional learning were incorporated into school curricula (Elias et al. 2000). Goleman was criticized by many researchers for his having not provided empirical support for his assertion that El is a more important predictor of success than is IQ (Landy 2005, Mayer and Cobb 2000, Mayer, Salovey, and Caruso 2004). For example, Goleman (1998) claimed that El has greater predictive validity for occupational perfOlmance than does IQ. However, Matthews et al. (2002) argued that no published studies actually confirm this relationship and that the unpublished investigation that Goleman cites does not actually include any measure of El. Critics of Goleman also contend that his definition of El is over-inclusive and

Introduction

11

unclear-incorporating aspects of cognition, personality, motivation, emotions, neurobiology, and intelligence (Locke 2005, Matthews et al. 2002). In response to Goleman's claims, Mayer, Salovey, and Caruso (2000) stated that "the unexplained 80% of the component of success appears to be in large part the consequence of complex, possibly chaotic interactions among hlUlCrreds of variables playing out over time"

At present, the theoretical framework of El is a topic of debate among researchers (Van Rooy and Viswesvaran 2004). Mayer and colleagues made a distinction between the main competing group of mixed theories of El (which are sometimes referred to as "trait El") and ability models (Mayer, Salovey, and Caruso 2000). 1.10 Mixed Models of El and their Measurement

In mixed models, El does not exclusively consist of emotion or intelligence (Neubaur and Fredenthaler 2005). Instead, El is seen as being a mixture of cognitive abilities and personality traits that may predict success in various domains (Mayer et al. 2000). Although most mixed models El theories make reference to cognitive abilities utilized in the processing of emotional information, these theories focus more on personality traits and personal attributes such as optimism and motivation (Goldenberg, Matheson, and Mantler 2006, Livingstone and Day 2005). Mixed models are generally measured by self-report questionnaires, which assess an individual's belief about his or her competencies in areas of EL Typically, respondents are given a series of statements regarding their emotional understanding, awareness, and control. They are then asked to indicate on a Likert scale the extent to which the statements describe how they feel, think, or behave in most situations. Authors of mixed-model El measures claim that they predict success and other important outcomes fairly well (Bar-On 1997, Goleman 1998, Schutte et al. 1998). One of the most popular and widely cited mixed models of El theories is Bar-On's model of Social-Emotional Intelligence (S-El). In this theory, several interrelated emotional and social components that impact intelligent behaviour and the ability to cope with the demands and pressures of daily life are combined. Bar-On noted the influence of related constructs in the development of his theory, including social intelligence and Gardner's (1985) intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligence. S-El consists of 15 competencies that measure five higher-order factors. The

12

Chapter One

first, intrapersonal skill (comprised of self-regard, emotional self­ awareness, assertiveness, independence, and self-actualization), refers to ability to recognize, understand, and express emotions. The second, interpersonal skill (comprised of empathy, social responsibility, and interpersonal relationship), refers to the ability to understand the emotions of others. The third factor, adaptability (comprised of reality-testing, flexibility, and problem solving), refers to the ability to handle change and solve problems. The fourth, stress management (comprised of stress tolerance and impulse control), refers to the ability to manage emotions. The fifth factor, general mood (comprised of optimism and happiness), refers to the ability to generate positive affect and to be self-motivated (Bar-On 2006). To measure these constructs, Bar-On constructed the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-I 2004, Bar-On 1997), a 133-item self­ report measure. Of the existing El measures, the EQ-i is among the most widely used (Van-Rooy and Viswesvaran 2004). According to Bar-On (1997), the EQ-i is predictive of success in academics and success among US Air Force recruiters. In addition, the EQ-i was found to be moderately correlated with measures of psychological well-being, physical health, self-actualization, and social interaction (Bar-On 1997, 2001, 2004, 2006, Bar-On and Fund 2004). In an independent study using the Emotional Quotient inventory: Youth version (EQ-i: Yv), overall El correlated significantly with academic success among a large sample of high school students (Parker et al. 2004). One of the most popular and widely cited mixed models of El theory is that of Schutte et al. (1998). It is largely based on Salovey and Mayer's (1990) original model of El, consisting of a general second-order El factors-namely, appraisal and expression of emotion; regulation of emotion; and utilization of emotion. The appraisal and expression of emotion factor is comprised of perception of emotion and empathy. Regulation of emotion includes regulating emotions in the self as well as in others. The third factor - utilization of emotion - includes flexible­ plarming, creativity, attention, and motivation (Schutte et al. 1998). To measure these components, Schutte and his colleagues developed the Schutte Self-Report Inventory (SSRI; Schutte et al. 1998). The SSRI correlated moderately with alexithymia (i.e., difficulty describing and recognizing one's O\Vll emotions), depression, and academic success. Saklofske, Austin, and Minski (2003) also found moderate correlations between the SSRI and alexithymia, self-reported happiness, satisfaction with life, depression-proneness, social loneliness, family loneliness, and romantic loneliness. These findings support the validity of the SSRI. As

Introduction

13

predicted by El tbeory, a lower level of El i s associated with depression and loneliness. The third model -one of tbe most popular and widely cited mixed models of El theories - is tbe trait meta-mood theory. Salovey et al. (1995) developed a theory to explain individual difference in meta-mood, or the process by which one responds to their emotional states (Fitness and Curtis 2005). According to tbis theory, El consists of three factors, including attention to emotion, emotional clarity, and emotional repair. Attention to emotion refers to the awareness of inner feelings and emotions. Emotional clarity refers to the ability to distinguish amongst different feelings and emotional states. Emotional repair refers to the ability to regulate emotions and repair negative emotional experiences. The Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS, Salovey et al. 1995) was developed to measure these three factors. Unlike most El measures, the TMMS does not yield an overall El score. Martinez-Pons (1997) found evidence for tbe three-factor model of the TMMS. However, in a study using exploratory factor analysis (witb oblique rotation), Palmer, Gignac, Bates, and Stough (2005) found that three and four factor solutions to the TMMS were proper models. Palmer et al. (2002) asserted tbat these differences result from cultural differences between samples, as the participants in Martinez-Pons' study were from the USA and theirs were from Australia. Thus, the tbeory is problematic. Salovey et al. (1995) found that the TMMS correlated with criteria such as depression, optimism, locus of control, mood recovery, and goal orientation. Amongst a sample of undergraduate students, Fitness and Curtis (2005) found tbat attention to emotion was moderately correlated with self-reported measures of empathy and the ability to use complex reasoning when thinking about other's behaviours. A self-report measure of self-control correlated positively with emotional clarity and emotional repair. They also found that destructive, maladaptive responses to interpersonal conflict were negatively associated with emotional clarity and emotional repair. However, constructive responses were not significantly associated with the TMMS. The fourtb-most popular and widely cited mixed model of El theories is emotional competence theory. Goleman, Boyatzis, and McKee (2002), extending upon Goleman's (1998) earlier theoretical model of El, presented a model consisting of competencies that comprise four clusters: (1) Self-Awareness; (2) Self-Management; (3) Social Awareness; and (4) Social Skills. According to their theory, El is a set of competencies-the set of competencies which both promotes understanding of emotional information and which leads to improved performance (Boyatzis and Sala 2004).

14

Chapter One

To measure these competencies, Sala (2002) developed the Emotional Competence Inventory-Version 2 (E-CI-2). The ECI-2 is a 72-item self­ report El measure which incorporates self-report, managerial, and peer ratings to measure emotional competencies related to EL A number of studies have found that ECI-2 is predictive of job performance, job success, salary increases, managerial styles, and organizational climate (e.g., Boyatzis and Sala 2004, Cavallo and Brienza 2002, Nel 2001, Sevinc 2001, Williams 2003). However, most of the cited empirical studies that have evaluated the ECI-2 are only available in technical reports, unpublished manuscripts, and working papers (Matthews et al. 2002). Conte (2000) argued that, because most of these studies have not appeared in published scientific journals or have not been subjected to blind peer­ review, the ECI-2 does not yet deserve serious consideration. 1.11 Researchers' Criticisms of Mixed Theories of El

Critics of mixed model of El theories argue that incorporating qualities such as motivation, optimism, empathy, and other traits into a single psychological entity called El is problematic (Mayer et al. 2005). They maintain that, although studying these variables together may provide useful infOlmation, referring to them all as components of El implies that they come together as a unitary concept when they may, in fact, be separate entities (Mayer et al. 2000). In other words, mixed models may simply be using the term "El" to re-label a collection of unique validated personality constructs (Mayer 1999). Another criticism of mixed-model theories focuses on their methods of measurement. Although self-report measures are generally more convenient to administer, several major criticisms have precluded their acceptance. A ubiquitous criticism for most self-report measures concerns the inaccuracy of the estimation of the rate of abilities (Bracket! and Mayer 2003). For example, the correlation between scores on a standardized IQ test and self­ reported intelligence is moderate at best, with its having a mean correlation of 0.34 (Furnhum and Chamorro-Premuzic 2005; Mabe and West 1982, Paulhus, Lysy,and Yik 1998). Thus self-report measures do not accurately provide an unbiased, objective view of actual behaviour. In addition, many have argued that respondents produce biased responses when reporting on their O\Vll experiences (Greenward and Banaji 1995, Stone and Shiffinan 1994). Although the accuracy of self-rating of El is unclear, the responses of individuals asked to assess their O\Vll El may be an indicator of their actual EL

Introduction

15

A final criticism of mixed-model theories of El concerns the fact that scores on most self-report measures of El overlap substantially with measures of personality. Davies, Stankov, and Roberts (1998), for example, conducted a series of studies examining the relationship between self-report El measures and personality variables among undergraduate students. They administrated 13 different self-report El measures along with seven different measures of personality and anxiety/depression. Amongst the self-report El measures administered, all correlated significantly with various personality traits. Therefore, Davies et al. (1998) contended that El, as measured by self-report, may simply be an indicator of personality traits. These results led to questions about the appropriateness of labellnig these tests as being measures of El (Neubauer and Freudenthaler 2005). According to Mayer, Salovey, and Caruso (2004), mixed models often have little or nothnig to do (specifically) with either emotion or intelligence-and, consequently, such models fail to map onto the term "emotional intelligence." Several empirical studies have further investigated the association between several widely used self-report El and personality measures (Dawda and Hart 2000, Hedlund and Sternberg 2000, Newsome et al. 2000, Petrides and Furnham 2000, 2001, Saklofske et al. 2003, Van Rooy and Viswesvaran 2004, Warwick and Nettelbeck 2004). Each of these studies found a substantial overlap between self-report El and personality measures. This is somewhat to be expected, considering the inclusion of such variables as empathy and motivation in several mixed-model theories - variables which coincide with components of the personality domain. As a result, the predominant theories concern the ability modellnig of El. Among them, the Mayer and Salovey (1997) model is generating the most research. 1.12 Ability Models ofEI

Salovey and Mayer (1990) proposed a hierarchical model in which El consists of the appraisal and expression of emotion, the regulation of emotion, and the utilization of emotion. Their conceptualization of El was strongly nifluenced by the movement to broaden the construct of intelligence (Mayer, SaloveY,and Caruso 2004). They did not necessarily assume that El is fimdarnentally independent from "g" (general ability); rather, they described El as being another way to measure intelligent behaviour (Landy 2005). Mayer and Salovey (1997) later revised their model and developed a four-branch hierarchical model to isolate El as a mental ability and separate it from well-known personality traits

16

Chapter One

(Neubauer and Freudenthaler 2005). They asserted that people think intelligently about emotions and that those emotions can facilitate intelligent thought. In particular, their interest lies in understanding individual differences in the processing of affective infonnatioll. They defmed El as being a collection of abilities that combine to form four oblique first-order factors (or branches): (1) Perceiving, Appraising, and Expressing Emotions; (2) Using Emotions to Facilitate Thoughts; (3) Understanding Emotions; and (4) Managing Emotions. The first branch -perceiving, appraising, and expressing emotions refers to how well individuals identify emotions and emotional content. In other words, an emotionally intelligent individual should be able to distinguish among facial and postural expressions of emotion, identify their O\Vll bodily sensations, and monitor internal feelings. Additional emphasis is placed on recognizing emotions and feelings in other people as well as in one's own self. Finally, this branch refers to the ability to express feelings accurately through the face, voice, and related commuincation channels (Mayer et al. 2004). The second branch - using emotions to facilitate thought - refers to the ability to effectively use feelings and emotions to assist in thinking. An emotionally intelligent individual generates specific emotions to support problem solving. This further includes the ability to use emotions to bring attention to important events to harness emotions for more effective and rational decision making (Salovey and Pizarro 2003). The third branch -understanding emotions -involves the ability to understand complex emotions and the similarities and differences between them (e.g. liking vs. loving; annoyance vs. anger, etc.). An emotionally intelligent individual can comprehend emotion within the context of relationship (e.g. sadness accompanies a loss; anger often accompanies an argument) (Caruso, Mayer, and Salovey 2002). In addition, emotionally intelligent individuals can understand complex feelings (such as simultaneous feelings of love and hate), or recognize the combination of emotions (e.g. fear and surprise as awe) (Neubauer and Freudenthaler 2005). The fourtb branch - managing emotions - refers to tbe ability to be aware of one's emotions. Emotionally intelligent individuals can recognize negative emotions without repressing them. Perhaps more adaptive is the ability to regulate emotions (rather than acting hastily on them)-

Introduction

17

harnessing the emotional experience as motivation for taking action in future. The four branches further combine into pairs to form two oblique second-order factors: experiential El and strategic El. Experiential El represents the ability to accurately perceive, respond to, and manipulate emotional infOlmation without necessarily understanding it (Mayer et al. 2002). This factor is derived from perceiving, appraising, and expressing emotions and using branches of emotion. Strategic El represents the ability to understand emotions and to use them strategically for planning and self­ management purposes (Mayer et al. 2002). It is derived from understanding emotions and managing branches of emotions. These second-order factors combine to yield a unitary third-order factor, the overall El. 1.13 Measurement of Ability Models ofEI

In the light of the psychometric and theoretical issues surrounding the use of self-report measures, many researchers have focused their attention on measures predicated on the ability model of El, or ability measures (e.g. Caruso, Mayer, and Salovey 2002, Mayer, Caruso, and Salovey 1999, 2000, Mayer and Salovey 1997, Mayer, Salovey, and Caruso 2000, Mayer Salovey, Caruso, and Sitarenios 2003). Mayer (2001) contends that, because g (general ability) is typically measured by ability measures, so too should the construct of El for it to fall within the domain of intelligence. Mayer and colleagues assert that ability measures are comparatively better indicators of one's maximum El performance, and that they most directly operationalize El as a cognitive ability. At present, few ability measures exist. Among them, fewer still have evidence substantiating their reliability or validity. For example, the Emotional Intelligence Scale for children (ElSC, Sullivan 1999) is not commercially available, in part due to difficulties in establishing the validity and reliability of the scale. The Emotional Accuracy Research Scale (EARS; Mayer and Geher 1996), which was developed to measure the identification of people's emotions, demonstrated poor reliability as well as a small and unstable relationship with external criteria. The ability measure with the most empirical support is the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCElT: Mayer, Salovey, and Caruso 2002). In the present study, the concept of El - as discussed and described earlier - has been broadly related to the tool used for procuring data with regard to emotional intelligence. Another variable forming part of the

18

Chapter One

study was concerned with the level of aspiration. The conceptual background in this regard is being attempted in the following section. 1.14 Level of Aspiration (LOA)

The educational perfOlmance is very much connected with the motivational aspects. One of the motivational aspects is the level of aspiration which influences a person's striving to a considerable extent. The level of aspiration is the standard by which a person judges his own perfOlmance as being a success or a failure, or as being up to what he expects of himself. 'Whenever an individual aims to attain a specific goal or excellence in any perfOlmance, he faces a situation in which he has to decide what goal he is going to set for himself. In other words, he has to decide whether he is to 'try on' tasks for levels of performance that appear very difficult to achieve or whether he is instead to remain satisfied with success at relatively much easier tasks or at moderate levels of perfonnance. In all such situations, the individual fixes his level of aspiration before starting his work. 1.15 Development of the Concept of LOA

The level of aspiration (LOA) concept was first introduced by Dembo (1931) while referring to the degree of difficulty of the goal towards which a person is striving. He also made some experimental observations to justify his standpoint. Hoppe (1930) performed the fIrst experimental analysis of aspirational phenomena. Experimental results of Dembo and Hoppe prompted other researchers to investigate into the factors that influence goal-setting behaviour. Hoppe (1930) defined the level of aspiration as the degree of diffIculty of the task chosen as a goal for the next action. He found that on a given task, if a person's perfOlmance falls short of his expectations or his level of aspiration, he experiences a feeling of failure. But in case his perfOlmance meets or exceeds his level of aspiration, he experiences a sense of personal success. This may be explained as having a negative feeling and a positive feeling, respectively. According to Hoppe, the level of aspiration is essentially quantitative in nature. An individual's level of aspiration is to be ascertained with the help of certain experimental procedures. He proposed that the level of aspiration is a function of the various factors mentioned below: •

The subjective nature of an individual's goal;

Introduction

•

• •

19

Occurrence of success and failure as experienced after the goal is achieved; The conflicting and decision-making experiences, and The influence of immediate past experience on the subsequent level of goal-setting behaviour.

He investigated these factors and concluded that individual differences are found in the level of aspiration (LOA). Moreover, a realistic person sets his goal on the basis of his past experience and on his capabilities for doing a particular task; whereas an unrealistic person fixes his goal at a point either too high or too low. Frank (1935) developed a new quantitative method to study the level of aspiration behaviour and thereby altered Hoppe' s concept of the level of aspiration. He measured a subject's perfOlmance in telTIlS of the time taken to complete the task given to him. In the experimental procedure developed by Frank, the subject was first acquainted with the task. It could be the perfolTIlance of a motor skill, a game, the drawing of some figures, counting, solving some puzzles, or completing a set of arithmetic problems. Then, the subject was given a number of trials-and after each trial was informed about the time taken to complete the task in question. Then the subject was asked to state how much time they thought it would take them to complete the next trial. This method of measurement enabled the subject to express the goal in the same units in which the perfolTIlance was being measured. In this way, direct comparison of the level of aspiration and the level of perfolTIlance was made possible. Frank conducted various research studies and showed that the level of aspiration is a stable personality characteristic and that it is relatively independent of the specific task. He provided a generally acceptable definition of "level of aspiration." In his considered view, the level of aspiration is: "the level of future performance in a familiar task which an individual, knowing his level of past performance in that task, explicitly lUldertakes to reach."

Gould (1939) found that the level of aspiration of an individual is not independent of a given task. Gardner (1940) emphasized that the level of aspiration is a quantitative concept and that it requires the subject to make at least some public indication of his aims (in quantitative terms). Boyd (1952) defmed the level of aspiration as being an individual's ambition in a dynamic situation, i.e., an individual's goal or expectation with regard to the goodness of his 0\Vll future perfolTIlance for a given

20

Chapter One

task. Becker and Siegel (1957) postulated that the level of aspiration is "an individual's strivings for a particular goal or level of achievement."

Joshi (1963) opined that an individual's level of aspiration is with reference to his positive striving towards a goal that is generally in keeping with his assets; whereas in wish fulfihnent, one is lost in his fantasies. In various studies, the levels of aspiration of boys and girls in urban versus rural areas were found to be different. Bisht (1972) found that the urban boys had a higher educational aspiration than rural boys, while convent school boys had a higher educational aspiration than rural boys had. He also found that in convent school boys had higher levels of aspiration than did non-convent schoolboys. Patric (1973), Desai (1974), Click (1974), and Chadha (1979), in their studies, revealed that urban and rural students differed significantly in respect to their level of aspiration. In this framework, the "level of aspiration" concept essentially refers to an individual's expectation or ambition. It is an individual's estimate of his future perfOlmance in a given task. Persons vary widely in their goal setting behaviour. Even the persons having an equal amount of ability may differ significantly from one another in their goal setting behaviour. Some set their goal very high; and some set it very low; while some others set it close to their performance level. It has also been observed that people differ greatly in their expectations and aspirations and in setting their life goals in today's world of competition. 1.16 Factors that Influence the Level of Aspiration

It may be pointed out that the level of aspiration is influenced by personal as well as by environmental factors. The personal factors that influence one's level of aspiration include one's sex, interest, values, past experiences of success and failure, one's achievement motivation, and one's socio-economic as well as one's racial background. The environment-detelTIlinants of the level of aspiration include parental ambitions, social expectations, peer pressure, competitions, group cohesiveness, cultural traditions, and social rewards. Other cultural forces that affect the level of aspiration include: the level or standards of one's 0\Vll group, the standards of other groups or of rival groups, and one's socio-economic background. It may be mentioned that past experience of success is apt to strengthen an individual's aspirations, whereas experiences of failure tend to weaken them. Competition with others also increases one's level of aspiration. A

Introduction

21

person who is encouraged by others is more likely to have higher aspiration levels than otherwise. Moreover, a person reinforced with social rewards like status, prestige, etc., is also more likely to have a higher level of aspiration in various areas of achievement. 1.17 Self-Concept

Another important variable which constitutes the ambit of this research relates to a person's self-concept. It may be mentioned that the humanistic perspective emphasizes the person's sense of self. From this point of view, behaviour might be seen as being a part of his quest for personal competence, achievement, and self-esteem. Ideally as the person matures he will find ways of enhancing his sense of self that will not harm or deprive others. Accordingly a number of theories have focused their attention upon the entity known as the self. Generally, the term "self' has two distinct sets of meanings. One set has placed emphasis on pupils' attitudes towards themselves- specifically heir picture of the way they look and act; the impact they believe they have on others; and their perceived traits, abilities, foibles, and weaknesses. This collection constitutes a person's self-concept or self image, attitudes, feelings and perceptions and evaluations of "self' as an object (Hall and Lindzey 1970). It will be worthwhile to indicate that the term "self' has attracted the attention of psychologists, of sociologists, and now of educationists. A dictionary of psychology defines "self' as an individual who is regarded as being conscious of his 0\Vll experience. The "self' is the nucleus of a unique personality. Everyone has experiences in which he is aware of himself miming, talking, walking, etc. He experiences himself as happy, hungry, tired, or excited and in which he sees himself doing certain things successfully, and so on. Thus, the awareness of the "self' emerges. The self has many dimensions such as self-concept, self-acceptance, and self-regard, etc. The meaning, aspect and role of conception of oneself and self-acceptance has been defined and studied by many psychologists and sociologists such as a Williarn James (1980), Jersild (1957), Allport (1961), and McCandless (1961). They stress that the concept of "self' is an important phenomenon for the full flowing of an individual to a healthy and sound personality. It serves as the frame of reference for the individual to relate himself. General self-concept can be sub-divided into the actual self-concept and the ideal self-concept - the former dealing with what we are, and the latter with what we would like to be. There is an important difference

22

Chapter One

between the way we see ourselves and the way we present ourselves, just as there is difference between the way we see ourselves and the way others see us. The actual self-concept is, therefore, subdivided into the concepts of the "social self' and the "private self' - while the "ideal self' comprises our own ideal self-concept and our concepts of what others think would be ideal for us. There are the logical aspects and broad psychological aspects of the concept of "self." Liberty and Spiegler (1978) observe that self­ concept is the most central concept in all psychology, as it provides the only perspective from which an individual's behaviour can be understood. A generalized outcome of the self-concept is a person's evaluation of his overall ability and the worth of his self-esteem. It implies the extent to which a person holds a generally favourable opinion high self-esteem of themselves. The factors associated with high self-esteem are those that contribute to one's sense of worth and significance as a person. Self-concept is a process of gradual development. It gradually starts developing during infancy and keeps on developing and modifying with the individual's experiences. It partly develops from the child's experience with his own body and what he finds he is able to do; and partly, it is the result of what others think of him. It is largely determined by his interpersonal relationships with others. Probably the first aspect of self-love to evolve is the sense of bodily "me" (Allport 1961). It is composed of streams of sensation that arise within the organism from viscera, nucleus, tendons, joints, vestibular canals, and other regions of the body. The bodily sense remains a lifelong anchor for our self-awareness, though it never alone accounts for the entire sense of self. Psychologists have paid a great deal of attention to this particular component of self-awareness. Organic sensation, localization, and recognition (as they compose the bodily "me") are at the core of the process of becoming. But they do not alone account for the entire sense of self. Psychologists have, therefore, paid a great deal of attention to this particular component of self­ awareness. Despite the fact that in organic sensation, localization, and recognition (as they compose the bodily "me") are a core of becoming, they do not alone account for our sense of what is purely ours. Self-identity, a dimension or aspect of self, grows gradually-partly as a result of being declared and named by what demarcates it from the surrounding environment. Social interaction is an important factor. Beginning at about the age of four or five, it becomes the surest indicator a human being has their own existence.

Introduction

23

Another aspect of self is ego-enhancement. It is said to be the most notorious property of the self. It is attached to the need of survival, for it is easy to see that we are endowed by nature with tbe impulses of self­ assertion and with the emotions of self-satisfaction and pride. It is evidenced in our language-in telTIlinology related to such factors as pride, humiliation, and self-esteem. These three facts mark relatively early development in our personality. Self-concept, based on attitudes and values held about the self, has much in common with general social attitudes and personal beliefs and values. Closely associated with the concept of self is tbe concept of self­ acceptance, which has been defined by Jersild as being "attitudes of truth, confidence and wellness which, enables a learner to be free and to draw upon his potentialities, to realize his possibilities, while yet maintaining freedom to profit from correction and criticism."

Self-rejection, on the other hand, means an attitude towards the self that hinders a person from realizing and enjoying their endowments and attitudes involving irrational tendencies to feel grievance, guilt, inferiority, or other aspects of self-reproach. This prevents them from using their resources and facing their limitations. Brownfair (1960) is of the view tbat a self-accepting person is one who values and accepts themselves and thus feels secure about themselves. They are one who tries to strike a balance between the perceived self and the ideal self. Self-acceptance is the extent to which self-concept is congruent with an individual's description of their ideal self. If there is little discrepancy between tbe perceived self and tbe ideal self, the person may be called a self-accepting person. The self-accepting person sets ideals above their perceived self. They do not aspire to the impossible; and they try to be as "real" as possible. Such a person, according to Jersild, is a mentally healthy person. According to him, "self-acceptance is an essential condition of mental health."

It has been generally argued that the people who are self-accepting are accepting of others. This shows that self-acceptance accompanies the tolerance of, and liking of others. A self-accepting person sees the world as being a friendlier and more benign place than the self-rejecting person sees it as being. Highly self-accepting people have a positive self-concept. Phenomenological concern with self-acceptance starts with Raimy (1948), Homey (1950), and certain practicing clinicians and researchers like Cowen, Heilizer, and Axelord (1955). It is particularly identified with

24

Chapter One

Rogers' personality theory. The Rogers self-concept is the phenomenological concept, which represents the "self' as it is perceived and experienced by the person. According to phenomenologists, reality lies in the perception of human beings. Thus, the concept of "self' is the concept given to man through his perception of himself. Self-concept deals with what one is; and one's "ideal self' deals with what one would like to be. According to Rogers (1951), the ideal self is the selfwhich the individual would most often like to possess and upon which they place the highest value. In a healthy person, self-concept is more congruent with the ideal self than with the perceived self. A conflict between the ideal self and the perceived self is a constant source of conflict for the individual. This happens when there is much discrepancy between the ideal self and the perceived self. From the above discussion, it is quite obvious that self-concept is the nucleus around which the whole personality revolves in its process of maintaining consistency and stability within the individual personality that poor self-concept leads to poor personal and social adjustment. This understanding has been supported also by Garrison and others, who are of the view that people with good self-concepts are less anxious and more honest with themselves and that they are less defensive. It can, thus, be concluded that self-concept is an outgrowth of the developmental process-a process which includes a person's abstraction and evaluations about their physical abilities, appearance, intellectual capacities, social skills, physiological self-image, self-confidence, self­ respect, and self-adequacy. Thus, self-concept deals with the self­ perceptions of the person. However, it can also be considered as being an inferred process that will affect the person's other behaviours. Accordingly, it can be expected that one's self-perception will, in turn, affect that person's social interaction, level of aspiration, psychological health, and achievements - and indirectly their popularity among, and approval by, other people in their environment. 1.18 Statement of the Problem

In light of the broad conceptual issues described at length in the previous sections, the problem of study has been formulated and stated as probing the relationship between the emotional intelligence of student­ teachers on the one hand, and their level of aspiration and self-concept on the other. The specific caption finally decided on was as follows:

Introduction

25

"A Study of Emotional Intelligence in Relation to Level of Aspiration and Self-Concept of B.Ed. Student-Teachers."

In addition to the overall backdrop offered earlier, it is worthwhile to point out the issues identified for the present research; the fOffimlated hypotheses along with their rationale; the operational defmition of terms; the significance of the study in the present scenario; and the objectives set forth under which the research has been carried out in its present fmm. 1.19 Operational Definitions of Key Terms

Emotional Intelligence Following the framework of Goleman (1998), Emotional Intelligence for this study, "refers to the capacity of recognizing om own feelings and those of others for motivating ourselves and for managing emotions well in ourselves and in om relationship."

Level ofAspiration A person's expectation towards his goal attainment is his level of aspiration. For the purposes of this research, a person's level of aspiration has been stipulated as their immediate goal, something almost within their reach, a possible success near at hand.

Self-Concept Adopting Wiley's (1974) formulation, the self-concept in this study has been viewed as the starting point and the foundation of life. In operational terms, the self-concept or self-structure has been, thus, defined as being "an organized configmation ofperceptions of the self which are admissible to awareness"

SelfAwareness 'When we focus our attention on ourselves, we evaluate and compare our current behaviour to our internal standards and values. We become self-conscious as objectives evaluators of ourselves.

26

Chapter One

Empathy The term 'Empathy' is use to describe a wide range of experiences. Emotions researchers generally define empathy as the ability to sense the other people's emotions, coupled with the ability to imagine what else might be thinking or feeling.

SelfMotivation Ability to do what needs to be done, without influence from other people or situations. People with self motivation can find a reason and strength to complete a task, even when challenging, without giving up or needing another to encourage them.

Emotional Stability Someone who has the ability to cope with general changes in the environment, without responding with an intense emotional reaction, is said to be emotionally stable. The ability to stabilise emotions differs from the ability to regulate emotions.

Relationship Management The supervision and maintenance of relationships between a company and its external partners, specially its clients.

Integrity Integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles, or moral uprightness. In this context, integrity is the inner sense of 'wholeness' deriving from qualities such as honesty and consistency of character.

Selfl)eveloplnent The process by which a person's character or abilities are gradually developed. Graduates have stressed the value of their causes of self­ development.

Introduction

27

Value Orientation The principles of right or wrong that are accepted by an individual social group.

or

Commitment Making a commitment involves dedicating yourself to something, like a person or a cause. Before you make a commitment, think carefully. A commitment obligates you to do something. Some commitments are large, like marriage.

Altruistic Behaviour Altruism is the belief that the well-being of others is equally, if not more, important than the well-being or survival of the self. Further, altruism involves selfless act or undertakings that put the welfare of others before one's 0'Wll. 1.20 Research Hypotheses

The following six hypotheses were specifically formulated for the present research: HI H2 H3

H4 H5

H6

The emotional intelligence of various categories of student teachers (such as that of science, arts, and social science) differs. The emotional intelligence of three categories of student teachers is related to their three levels of aspiration as measured. The emotional intelligence of three categories of student teachers is related to their self-concept (in telTIlS of their perceived self, ideal self, and social self). The emotional intelligence of the three categories of student teachers differs in telTIlS of gender. The emotional intelligence of male and female student teachers as a whole is related in telTIlS of three levels of aspiration measured. The emotional intelligence of male and female student teachers is related to their self-concept (in terms of their perceived self, ideal self, and social self).

28

Chapter One

1.21 Objectives of the Study

In the light of the foregoing suppositions, tlie objectives of the study have been formulated as follows: •

•

To study the relationship between the emotional intelligence, the level of aspiration, and the self-concept of B.Ed. student-teachers. To conduct a probe into the relationship between the emotional intelligence, the level of aspiration, and the self-concept of the B.Ed. student-teachers both in terms of tlieir gender and of tlieir disciplines (their subjects of study).

The context of the present study, as set forth in the present chapter, has been the basis for developing a filTIl research design and for the strategies for testing the hypothesis as indicated earlier. The next chapter is devoted to a brief review of the literature so as to impart the necessary precision and articulation in the research design which has evolved and which has been adhered to. This has been the basis for seeking the rationale and justification for the various tools employed for the collection of evidence and tlie sifting of relevant data. 1.22 Rationale

The idea of emotional intelligence has recently inspired research and curriculum development. This understanding has also been supported by Garrison and others who are of the view that persons with good self­ concepts are less anxious and more honest with themselves and less defensive with others. It can be argued that self-concept is an outgrowtli of a developmental process which includes the person's abstraction and evaluations about their physical abilities, appearance, intellectual capacities, social skills, physiological self-image, self-confidence, self-respect, and self-adequacy. Thus, self-concept deals with the person's self-perceptions. However, it can also be considered as being an inferred process that will affect the people's other behaviours. Accordingly, it can be expected that one's self­ perceptions will, in turn, affect their social interaction, level of aspiration, psychological health, and achievements-and indirectly affect their popularity (approval by otlier people in their environment). Researchers have concluded tliat people who manage their own feelings well and who deal effectively with others are more likely to live contented lives.

Introduction

29

Teaching includes a lot, from the social to the moral development of a child. A teacher is closer to students than anyone else during the student's school days. Students may want to share each and everything related to educational as well as to personal matters. This reflects the strong emotional bond a teacher has with his or her students. It is generally agreed that the standard of an educational programme is to a large extent, dependent on the quality of teachers available to implement it. We all know that emotional intelligence is directly linked with the emotional management of teachers. Teachers' work behaviour is generic and comprises activities related to all potential roles and functions of a teacher in an educational system. Ryan (1996) defined teachers' work behaviour as being the activities of persons as they go about doing whatever is required-particularly those activities that are concerned with the guidance or direction of the learning of others. A teacher's work behaviour, by and large, includes four major dimensions: teaching skills, work initiatives, inter-personal relationships, and work habits. It is an accepted fact that the quality of education is mediated by the teacher and what the teacher does. A teacher has the potential for enhancing the quality of education by bringing life to the curriculum and by inspiring students to curiosity and self-directed learning. They can also degrade the quality of education through error, laziness, cruelty, or incompetence. For better or for worse, teachers detelTIline the quality of education (Day 2004). In this view, one can state that the quality of education depends upon the quality of the teachers. The term quality of teachers includes all the personality dimensions of a teacher-i.e., span of knowledge, teaching skills, and teacher behaviour (Dhull 2005). Teachers with the attribute of conscientiousness with regard to teaching are those who are committed, enthusiastic, and intellectually and emotionally energetic in their work with children, young people, and adults alike. Such teachers are aware of the challenges of the broader social context in which they teach; have a clear sense of identity; and believe that they can make a difference in the learning and achievement of all their pupils. They care deeply about them. They also care about how and what they teach-and are curious to learn more about both, in order to become and remain more than merely competent. They are aware of the role played by emotion in classroom and in teaching. They are committed to working co-operatively and, at times, collaboratively with colleagues (both in their own and in other schools); and they seek and take opportunities to engage in reflection of different kinds in, on, and about

30

Chapter One

their practices. For them, teaching is a creative and adventurous profession; and it is essential to high-quality teaching (Day 2004). Educational perfOlmance is very much related to motivational aspects. One influential motivational aspect is the level of aspiration. The level of aspiration plays an important role in academic achievement. 'When an individual's level of aspiration is more balanced, that individual can judge their perfOlmance as being either a success or a failure. For the proper achievement of one's aspirations, the goal must be decided upon. The positive level of aspiration is particularly helpful in the achievement of tlie goal. The level of aspiration is also influenced by emotional intelligence. If a teacher and students each have a balanced emotional intelligence, the level of aspiration should be higher and more balanced. Thus, it may be safely posited that a person's level of aspiration is associated with his or her emotional intelligence. As pointed out earlier, self-concept is in a process of gradual development. It first starts in infancy and keeps on developing and modifying with tlie individual's experiences. It partly develops from childhood experience with their own body and what they find tliey are able to do; and partly, it is the result of what others tliink of them. It is largely determined by interpersonal relationships witli otliers. It has been held that self-concept is not inborn but rather is a learned phenomenon. It develops through interactions with people and with the enviromnent. As pointed out by Gerger (1955), social interaction facilitates the person's ability both to understand themselves and to guide their 0\Vll conduct. These interactions continue to affect self-concept throughout a person's life-and positive interactions may improve self-concept (whereas negative or hostile surroundings may cause harm). It is now generally believed that emotional intelligence also contributes a lot to tlie development of the self-concept. Thus, emotionally sound persons tend to develop a positive self-concept. 1.23 Significance of the Study

Education is a process of human empowerment. It is the key to national prosperity and welfare. Education plays a vital role in the development of the country and is one of the most important components of human resources. Therefore, every society in the new global world wants to utilize the individual in a specific way. Recently, emphasis on the role and function of El has been considered as being tlie most appropriate change-shift for ensuring the effectiveness and efficiency of organizations, especially schools and colleges.

Introduction

31

It is now increasingly being realized that educational achievement at various levels is a function of a number of variables related to the personality trait of the educand which the self-concept and the level of aspiration are highly significant. As such, endeavours are being made to develop personality trait potentials which are directly related to how a person views themselves and what they aspire to become. The teacher training education sector in India is predominantly knO\vn for generally underplaying these attributes in their training packages and progrannnes­ and in particular the teaching systems traditionally designed to implement the curriculum. Adequate attention is not being paid to assessing and promoting the El component. This lack of attention tends to produce some dissatisfaction and conflict among students and an absence of halTIlonious and balanced personality trait within the students. The training programmes tend to over-emphasize academic content rather than also emphasizing the value of modular courses designed to adopt and ensure the shaping of fuller and richer dimensions of the personalities of student­ teachers. It is hoped that the present study will bring to light a perspective necessary for redesigning teacher education programmes in our country a perspective which fOlTIls the basis for specific personality development programmes including coupled with attitudinal metacognition and skill acquisition training to help attain and ensure a wellness lifestyle. The study will also provide the basic ingredients for the creation of short-telTIl modular courses-courses which can be newly designed teacher education programmes even more effective, as is suggested both in NCF 200S(of NCERT) and in NCFTE 2009 (of NCTE). In this way, through the findings of this study, the exploration of a road map for revamping teacher education course content - and the utilization of effective strategies for the implementation of an experimental training programme- will hopefully be facilitated.

CHAPTER Two LITERATURE REVIEW

In this chapter, an attempt has been made to conduct a survey of relevant studies which are related directly and indirectly to the framework and perspective of the present study. In the first section, studies conducted abroad have been summarized; and in the second chapter, studies completed in India have been described with a focus on their objectives and sample design, together with their outcomes. Human knowledge operates in three phases: 1. Preservation, 2. Transmission, and 3. Advancement. Research studies take advantages of knowledge, which has accumulated in the past as a result of constant human endeavour. Before taking on any specific research project in the development of a discipline, the researcher must be thoroughly familiar with previous theories and research studies in the related field of study. To assure familiarity, every research project in the behavioural sciences, must review the available theoretical and research literature. Literature is the mirror which reflects past views; so review of related literature involves a systematic identification, location, and analysis of documents containing infOlmation related to the research problem. These documents include periodicals, abstracts, review books, journals, and other research reports. Keeping this overall frame work in view, a survey of related literature has been attempted by the researcher. It was felt that the problem of this study has great relevance in the emerging teacher education concerns and issues relating to the variables identified for the study. The following studies have been relied upon for arriving at useful indicators for the design of the present research.

Chapter Two

34

2.1 Studies Conducted Outside India

Thorndike's (1905) law of effect was influential in regard to the social intelligence perspective. For him, the focus fell less on the behaviour itself than on the goals. A number of researchers have demonstrated practical intelligence as being distinct from academic intelligence (Sternberg, Wagner, and Okagaki 1993, Sternberg, Wagner, Williams, and Hurrah 1995, Sternberg et al. 2000). Denney and Palmer (1981) found that performance in traditional academic tasks declined almost linearly from the age of twenty onwards, while performance in practical tasks tends to reach a peak among forty- to fifty-year-old persons. Miller and Winston (1990) explained that students in higher education typically develop the ability to identify and evaluate sources of infOlmation, think critically, solve problems, and effectively communicate their ideas. According to Herman (1992), the humanistic movement in psychology propagated the idea that the basic human need is "to feel good about oneself, to experience one 's emotions directly, and to grow emotionally."

In contrast to the prevailing traditional paradigm where the more emotionally inclined individual was frequently regarded as being mentally ill, the emotional intelligence constructs attempt to investigate emotion and thought. Recent research clearly indicates that the cognitive and emotional systems in the brain are much more interrelated than had previously been believed (Damasio 1994, LeDoux 1994). [sen (1987) pointed out that individuals who have experienced positive affect are more likely to help others. This may contribute to reciprocal positive interchanges that, in the long run, may provide for enhanced support systems. Boulton and Smith (1992) revealed that positive emotions build physical resources. Positive emotions such as eliciting playfulness may, for example, contribute to the building of specific gross motor skills that may be drawn upon in a later (emergency) situation. Brown (1993), along with Mayes and Cohen (1992), found that symbolic imagery representing affective other-self instructions contributes to the development of memories, fantasies, and dreams that help in containing and modulating states of emotional arousal. Damasio (1994, 1999) found that lesions in these areas produce deficits in emotional intelligence abilities. Some of these deficits relate to self-awareness and self-management, similar to deficits induced by lesions in discrete areas of

Literature Review

35

the neocortex which selectively impair aspects of purely cognitive abilities such as verbal fluency or spatial reasoning. Kahn and [sen (1993) found that positive emotions broaden the scope of thinking and they may indirectly point to a broader scope of action. Roberts, Zeidner, and Mathews (2001) revealed that emotional intelligence is expected to increase with experience as well. Basso, Schefft, Ris, and Dember (1996) demonstrated that anxiety and depression (negative emotional traits) predict a bias that is consistent with a narrowed attentional focus. By contrast, Derryberry and Tucker (1994) proposed that positive emotions demonstrated the opposite effect and that such emotions expand that attentional focus to predict a bias consistent with a broader attentional focus. Perry (1981), King and Kitchener (1994), Pascarella (1999), and Berger (2005) established that college students' ability to think critically has been found to change significantly with each year of college. Horn (1994), followed by Horn and Cattle (1996), explained that tacit knowledge also appears to be distinct from personality variables. Further research on age-related patterns of intellectual development suggests a distinction between practical and academic abilities. Age-related changes in intellectual performance are typically distinguished via fluid and crystallized abilities. Shore (1994, 1996) found that the failure to regulate excessively high or low emotional arousal may contribute to pemmnent alterations in the morphological development of the orbitofrontal cortex. Salovey et al. (1995) revealed that the Trait Meta Mood Scale (TMMS) correlated with criteria such as depression, optimism, locus of control, mood recovery, and goal orientation. Goldberg, Mackay-Soroka, and Rochester (1994) found that an infant's healthy emotional development is strongly dependent on the emotional state of their mother and caregiver. Of equal importance is the ability of the caregiver for reflective self-awareness and the ability to transmit this capacity to the infant. Quaglia, R.I. and Cobb, C.D. (1996) conducted a study on the influence of school climates on students' aspiration and they found that aschool's climate majorly influenced future aspiration goal setting. Got1rnan, Katz and Hooven (1997); Saarni (1999) have demonstrated that a link exists between self-control and basic skills related to emotional competence. These include an awareness and understanding of one's own emotions; understanding and empathizing with other's emotions; access to, and skill at, using emotion words and emotion scripts; and the ability to cope with negative circumstances and emotions.

36

Chapter

Two

Mumme and Campos (1998) revealed that coping strategies are critical managing emotions effectively. Children acquire socially desirable emotion script at the age of six to seven years. They learn knowledge for managing emotional expressive behaviour when faced with challenging situations. Tschannen-Moran, Hoy, and Hoy (1998) defined self-efficacy as being the ability to execute a course of action in order to complete a specific task in a specific context; they make detelTIlinations of their O\Vll abilities, given current situation at hand. For example, a teacher may have a strong belief in his or her ability to teach math; but given his or her student's backgrounds or school-level constraints, the teacher may not be able to achieve optimal results. Harter (1999) revealed that self-worth mediates both emotional and motivational systems, so that positive self-beliefs are associated with positive affect and the pursuit of goals important to the self. Dinner et al. (1999) contends that wellbeing includes a positive temperament, the ability to embrace optimism and to likewise minimize negativity and enjoy mutually supportive relationships. Saarni (2000) found that the consequences of emotional competence include development of these kill to effectively manage one's emotions with specific reference to negotiating, one's way within interpersonal exchanges, and one's sense of subjective well being together with adaptive resilience when faced with stressful circumstances. 'When individuals acquire the skill of emotional competence, their behaviour will mirror it. Lane (2000) observed that healthy individuals spontaneously model and respond to the mental states of other people (their knowledge, intentions, beliefs, and desires) to guide their O\vn interpersonal behaviour. Taylor and Bagby (2000) found that both fathers and mothers exhibiting a self-reflective capacity had a three to four times greater likely hood of having securely attached children. Whilst the caregiver's emotional interactions influence the development of certain mental capacities in an infant, evidence is mounting that the caregiver also exerts a regulatory influence on parts of the brain that are involved in emotional awareness and emotion regulation as they mature. Taylor and Bagby (2000), Paige (1981), Krystal (1974), and Lane and Schwartz (1987) - in attempting to conceptualize stages in a normal development of representations of emotions -proposed that the acquiring of progressively complex language skills links with the development of increasingly complex cognitive schema. These schema gradually elevate the conscious experience of emotions from an awareness of peripheral manifestations of emotional arousal only namely, (undifferentiated bodily III

Literature Review

37

sensations and/or a tendency to action) to an awareness of blends of feelings and an ability to make subtle distinctions between nuances of emotions, and a capacity to appropriate and anticipate the emotional experiences of others. Fredrickson, Mancuso, Branigan, and Tugade (2000) explain that positive emotions appear to share the feature of incrementally building a variety of enduring personal resources. Fredrickson et al. (2000) proposed that the adaptive value of positive emotions is distinct from those of negative emotions. According to them, positive emotions may promote survival over the long run by incrementing the resources that could be drawn on when facing inevitable threats later on. [sen (2000) observed that relatives to neutral states, and positive emotions contribute to expand the scope of a person's visual attention together with their momentary thought action repertoires. This holds true for both high and low activation states. Also, positive emotions broaden the scope of cognition. Fredrickson (2001) proposed that two distinct types of positive emotions may be discerned-namely, those that provide for a high activation state (joy) and those that cause a low activation state (contentment); both of which provide for a broader thought-action repertoire than does a neutral state. Also, two distinct negative emotions namely, fear and anger - were found to produce a narrower thought-action repertoire than does a neutral state. Day and Leitch (2001); Hargreaves, Beatty, Lasky, Schmidt, and Wilson (2006); Jeffrey and Woods (1996); and Little (1996) found emerging evidence that teachers' emotional responses to their work vary by career stage, teaching context, and other key factors. Based on interviews with elementary and secondary school teachers in Canada, Hargreaves (2001) used the concept of "emotional geographies of teaching" to understand how teachers respond emotionally to the conditions and interactions of their work. He defined these emotional geographies as being "the spatial and experimental patterns of the closeness and/or distance in hlUllan interactions and relationships that help create, configme, and colom the feelings and emotions we experience about omselves, the world, and each other."

Thus, emotional geographies shape the kinds of interactions teachers have with other individuals at school and have important consequences for the nature of their work. Hargreaves found that whether teachers and their students' parents were from similar cultural, linguistic, and/or socio-

Chapter Two

38

economic backgrounds had important consequences for how teachers responded emotionally to interactions with parents - which, in turn, shaped the nature and frequency of future interactions. Mayer et al. (2002), found that individuals ranging in age from 1 8 to 24 years scored significantly lower, on average, than did older groups (>25 years) on overall emotional intelligence and on three of the four first-order factors on the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCElT). Fredrickson and Joiner (2002) found positive evidence for an upward spiral in that individuals experiencing more positive emotions become more resilient to adversity over time and more able to make use of more broad-minded coping mechanisms. This, in turn, predicted increments in positive emotions with the passage of time. Additionally, it seems as if "positive emotions and broad-minded approach coping mutually build on one another"

And that these

two factors also are apt to build their coping arsenal for handling

future adversities.

Day and Carroll (2004) found that years in college correlated significantly and positively with managing emotions, using emotions, and perceiving emotion on the MSCElT. Law, Wong, and Song (2004) suggested that El consists of a set of abilities that a person uses to understand, regulate and make use of his or her emotions. Emotional understanding, regulation and utilization reflect the capability of a person to manage hisJher emotions. Some people have higher competence than others to do so. Parta (2004) noted that the success of any organization, in the long run, depends very much on the quality of its human resources. The significance of human resources lies in its dynamic nature. The key objectives in the management of any organization should be the goal of providing various kinds of learning experiences to its people with the objective of developing human beings for their advantage and the objective of harnessing their physical, mental, emotional, and intellectual endowments and abilities for the growth of the organization. For this reason, emphasis should also be placed on the emotional aspect of human resources (besides the cognitive aspect). In this regard, emotional intelligence has emerged as being the crucial factor in the successful management of organizations. Thus, it has come to light that emotional intelligence can help in creating an enthusiastic work environment; employee satisfaction; an efficient

Literature Review

39

administration, a useful vision for the future; and the achievement of organizational development. Asbkanasy and Daus (2005) found that emotional intelligence is indeed essentially about emotions; and the concept of emotional intelligence finds its foundations in the modem understanding of the role of emotional circuits in the brain. Fitness and Curtis (2005) discovered that attention to emotion was moderately correlated with self-report admeasures of empathy and the ability to use complex reasoning when thinking about others' behaviours. A self-report measure of self-control correlated positively with emotional clarity and emotional repair. They also found that destructive, maladaptive responses to interpersonal conflicts were negatively associated with emotional clarity and emotional repair. However, constructive responses were not significantly associated with the TMMS. Lasky (2005) worked on secondary school teachers' responses to comprehensive school refOlTIlS and found that these refOlTIlS frequently constrained teachers' sense of agency. These studies advance research on teachers' emotions by acknowledging that teachers' affective responses are likely to vary depending on their (a) schooling level; (b) work context (e.g., interaction with students versus interaction with parents); (c) role (e.g., teacher, department, chair, etc.); and (d) reform context. Pascarella and Terenzini (2005) noticed that the college experience itself is largely responsible for these changes in cognitive, moral, and psychological development. Goldenberg et al. (2006) indicated a positive and siginficant relationship between age and overall emotional intelligence, managing emotions, and understanding emotions as measured by the MSCElT. Matheson and Mantler (2006) observed that years of education correlated significantly and positively with overall emotional intelligence, managing emotions, and understanding emotions. Qualter and Gardner's (2007) article provides a critical review of the research field of emotional intelligence (El) and examines the usefulness of the construct in the debate on educational policy and practice. The authors examine two approaches to the theory and measurement of El and summarize the evidence linking El to life success and academic achievement. Also considered is whether or not El can be changed or developed and how it might be facilitated in educational practice. In conclusion, whilst a distinct construct of El remains debatable, many of the attributes encompassed by this term do predict that life success and programmes of socio-emotional learning in schools may usefully contribute to the development of these attributes.

40

Chapter

Two

Eniola, M.S. (2007) examined emotional intelligence and goal setting in enhancing motivation to work amongst visually impaired students. The results obtained indicate that there was significant difference in the level of motivation of those who had experienced emotional intelligence and goal-setting interventions. Palmer, C. (2007) investigated the self-esteem of a small group with albinism. The findings indicated that tbe self-esteem of the participants was generally high. It also traced tbe fact that albinism had the potential to affect young people both emotionally and psychologically. Salami and Ogundokun (2009) studied emotional intelligence and academic self-efficacy as predictors of academic perfOlmance among senior secondary students in Oyo state, Nigeria. They found that emotional intelligence and academic self-efficacy were potent predictors of the academic perfOlmance of students. Adenike Emeke and Hammed Adeoye (2009) studied the relative effect of emotional intelligence and self-efficacy training on the scholastic achievement of Nigerian secondary school students. The findings of the study have revealed that participants exposed to emotional intelligence and self-efficacy training perfonned better in their achievement in the English language tban did those in tbe control group. Also, emotional intelligence and self-efficacy have proven to boost and enhance the performance of the students. It is therefore recommended that emotional intelligence and self­ efficacy traiinng should be incorporated into tbe curriculum of botb the students and tbe teachers. The fmdings indicated that emotional intelligence and academic self-efficacy were potent predictors of the academic performance of students. Finegan (1998) and Abi Samara (2000) revealed tbat emotional intelligence and the academic achievement of students are interlinked, with there being a positive relationship between the two. Brackett et al.'s, (201 1) article presents an overview of the ability model of emotional intelligence and includes a discussion about how and why the concept becomes useful in both educational and workplace settings. We review the four underlying emotional abilities comprising emotional intelligence, along with the assessment tools that have been developed to measure the construct. A primary goal is to provide a review of the research describing the correlates of emotional intelligence. We describe what is known about how emotionally intelligent people function, both intra- and interpersonally and in both the academic and tbe workplace setting. Abbas. I (2011) conducted a study at the University of Pakistan on the relationship between emotional intelligence and self-esteem and found that

Literature Review

41

emotional intelligence and self-esteem were positively correlated and significant. Females were more emotionally intelligent than males (at the P