Emotional intelligence: The rapprochement of reason and emotion Essay

The past few decades have seen increasing interest in emotion research. Although much remains to be learned, agreement is beginning to emerge regarding the way emotion should be viewed. Emotions provide a unique source of information for individuals about their environment, which informs and shapes their thoughts, actions, and subsequent feelings, and there is a growing view that emotion information can be used more or less intelligently. A notion central to emotional intelligence theory is that individuals differ in their ability to perceive, understand and use emotional information, and this ability significantly contributes to intellectual and emotional well-being and growth. Emotional intelligence as a concept has prospered, in part, because of the increasing personal importance of emotion management for individuals in modern society. Indeed, researchers have commonly claimed that emotional intelligence predicts important educational and occupational criteria beyond that predicted by general intellectual ability (e.g. Elias & Weissberg, 2000; Fisher & Ashkansy, 2000; Fox & Spector, 2000; Goleman, 1995; Mehrabian, 2000; Saarni, 1999, Scherer, 1997). Furthermore, the chief proponents of emotional intelligence appear to have made strides towards understanding its nature, components, determinants, effect, developmental track, and modes of modification (Matthews, Zeidner & Roberts, 2001) Since Goleman’s (1995) best-seller, Emotional Intelligence, popularized the concept, researchers have used an extensive number of attributes or abilities drawn from psychology to define emotional intelligence. Goleman’s book contains definitions and descriptions of what he identifies as the five key components of emotional intelligence: knowing emotions, managing emotions, motivating oneself, recognizing emotions in others, and handling relationships. Goleman attributes varying sets of personality attributes to each component, the final effect being that most of personality is covered by his definitions. Towards the end of his book, he claims â€Å"there is an old-fashioned word for the body of skills that emotional intelligence represents: character† (p. 285). As such, variations in the manner with which people think, feel, and act are ostensibly ascribed to differences in â€Å"disposition† and â€Å"style†. The notions of disposition and style however do not accommoda... ... of the Southeastern Psychological Association, Atlanta, GA. Thorndike, E.L. (1920) Intelligence and its use. Harper Magaazine, 140, 227-235. Thoits, P.A. (1985). Self-labelling process in mental illness: The role of emotional deviance. American Journal of Sociology, 91, 221-249. Vagg, P. R. & Spielberger, C. D. (1998). Occupational stress: Measuring job pressure and organizational support in the workplace. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 3, 294-305. Van Maanen, J. (1973) Observations on the making of a policeman. Human Organization, 32, 407-417. Walt Disney Productions. (1982) Your role in the Walt Disney World Show. Orlando, FL: Author. Watson, D. & Pennebaker, J. W. (1989). Health complaints, stress, and distress: Exploring the central role of negative affectivity. Psychological Review, 96, 234-254. Welbourne, T.M., Johnson, D.E., & Erez, A. (1998). The role-based performance scale: Validity analysis of a theory-based measure. Academy of Management Journal, 41, 540-556. Weisinger, H. (1998). Emotional intelligence at work: The untapped edge for success. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Woodsworth, R.S. (1940). Psychology (4th ed.) New York: Holt.