63 pages • 2 hours read
Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ
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Part 2, Chapters 3-5Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 2: “The Nature of Emotional Intelligence”
Part 2, Chapter 3 Summary: “When Smart Is Dumb”
Goleman refers to the disconcerting case of a high school student, Jason H., who, despite his academic brilliance, stabbed his physics teacher, David Pologruto, over a B grade. Goleman uses this incident to underscore a critical point: Academic intelligence does not necessarily correlate with emotional intelligence. He argues that traditional measures like grades, IQ, and SAT scores have limited predictive power for life success. Goleman contends that emotional intelligence, encompassing skills like self-motivation, impulse control, and empathy, plays a crucial role in determining one’s destiny.
Drawing on various studies, including Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray’s The Bell Curve, Goleman challenges the overemphasis on IQ and asserts that it contributes only about 20% to factors determining success, leaving 80% to non-IQ factors. The author contends that emotional intelligence can be as influential, if not more so, than IQ and challenges the conventional view that IQ is a fixed trait. Goleman builds upon the work of theorists like Howard Gardner and psychologist Peter Salovey to present The Components of Emotional Intelligence, as discussed below:
- Knowing one’s emotions (self-awareness): Recognizing and understanding one’s feelings as they occur is fundamental to emotional intelligence. Goleman highlights that those who are more certain about their emotions tend to take life’s decisions more efficiently.
- Managing emotions: Building on self-awareness, it refers to the ability to handle emotions appropriately. Goleman discusses the importance of soothing oneself and managing negative emotions, pointing out that individuals who excel in this skill can recover more quickly from setbacks.
- Motivating oneself: Emotional intelligence is linked to the capacity to use emotions in pursuit of goals. Goleman refers to how emotional self-control, including delaying gratification and stifling impulsiveness, underlies various accomplishments. The ability to enter a “flow” state is also discussed as essential for outstanding performance.
- Recognizing emotions in others (empathy): Empathy, rooted in emotional self-awareness, is considered a fundamental social skill. Individuals with empathy are more attuned to social signals, which makes them effective in professions requiring understanding others’ needs.
- Handling relationships: Goleman discusses the role of emotional intelligence in managing emotions in others, emphasizing that social competence is crucial for success in interpersonal relationships, leadership, and overall effectiveness.
Goleman argues that emotional intelligence and traditional IQ are not opposing competencies but rather separate ones that function individually and together. He acknowledges a slight correlation between IQ and emotional intelligence but stresses their largely independent nature. Goleman contrasts individuals with high IQ and low emotional intelligence (or vice versa), highlighting the rarity of such cases.
Drawing on research by psychologist Jack Block, Goleman presents two theoretical types: those high in IQ and those high in emotional aptitudes. The distinctions reveal that high-IQ individuals may excel intellectually but struggle in their personal life, while emotionally intelligent individuals exhibit social poise, ethical outlook, and rich emotional lives.
Part 2, Chapter 4 Summary: “Know Thyself”
In this chapter, Goleman explores the concept of self-awareness as a cornerstone of emotional intelligence. He begins with a tale of a belligerent samurai challenging a Zen master to illustrate the impact of self-awareness on emotional reactions. Goleman emphasizes the importance of recognizing one’s own emotions as they occur and distinguishes between being caught up in a feeling and being aware of being swept away by it.
The author explores the ideas of metacognition and meta-mood, using the term “self-awareness” to describe an ongoing attention to one’s internal states. He relates this to Freud’s notion of “evenly hovering attention” and introduces the concept of the “observing ego” in psychoanalysis (51), which highlights the impartial yet interested observation of one’s own reactions. This self-reflective awareness, Goleman argues, is crucial for emotional competence.
Self-awareness, according to Goleman, means being aware of both mood and thoughts about that mood. American psychologist Dr. John D. Mayer’s definition emphasizes a nonreactive, nonjudgmental attention to inner states, although it can manifest as less equanimous, such as thinking “I shouldn’t feel this way” or attempting to cheer up with positive thoughts (52).
Goleman then introduces distinctive styles of attending to emotions, as identified by Mayer. Self-aware individuals understand their moods, displaying sophistication in emotional lives, autonomy, and positive outlooks, which reinforces the theme of The Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Personal and Professional Success. In contrast, engulfed individuals feel swamped by emotions and lack awareness and control, while accepting individuals are clear about their feelings but may not seek to change them.
The author then presents a scenario involving airplane turbulence as a psychological test developed by Suzanne Miller to assess attentional stances toward distress. Those who tune in to distress may unwittingly amplify their emotional reactions, while those who tune out minimize the experience of emotional response. Goleman contends that emotional awareness varies among individuals, with some finding it overwhelming and others barely acknowledging it.
The narrative shifts to the extreme cases of emotional intensity, featuring a college student who walked instead of running during a fire, showing minimal emotional response, and a woman intensely distraught over losing a pen or excited about a shoe sale. Goleman suggests that women, in general, feel emotions more strongly than men and emphasizes the richness of emotional life for those who notice more.
The author additionally introduces the concept of alexithymia, characterized by emotional blankness and a lack of words for feelings. Goleman describes these individuals as lacking self-awareness and being unable to express or identify emotions. He explores a case study of a surgeon named Gary who is emotionally flat and unable to express feelings, contrasting him with individuals at the opposite end of the spectrum who experience emotional storms intensely and regularly.
The author then shares the story of Elliot, whose brain surgery led to emotional unawareness due to severed connections between emotional centers and the prefrontal lobes. Goleman suggests that gut feelings, or somatic markers, play a crucial role in decision-making and that emotional awareness is vital for making life’s decisions.
Part 2, Chapter 5 Summary: “Passion’s Slaves”
Goleman explores the ancient virtue of sophrosyne and its equivalents in different cultures, such as temperance in Roman and early Christian contexts. Goleman emphasizes the importance of achieving a balanced emotional life, where one can withstand the buffeting of fortune without becoming a “passion’s slave” (63). He highlights the significance of appropriate emotions, pointing to Aristotle’s insight that feelings should be proportionate to circumstances.
The chapter underscores the role of emotional regulation in well-being, indicating that keeping distressing emotions in check is crucial. Goleman argues that extremes, whether too intense or persistent, can undermine stability and contribute to mental health conditions. He suggests that the ratio of positive to negative emotions determines overall well-being by drawing on studies where individuals recorded their emotions at random moments.
The chapter also introduces the challenge of dealing with bad moods and the strategies people employ. Goleman cites psychologist Diane Tice’s findings that not all strategies are equally effective, with distractions, such as reading or watching TV, proving more successful than indulging in treats like shopping or eating.
In exploring the anatomy of rage, Goleman explains the sequence of thoughts and physiological responses that contribute to escalating anger. He draws on Dolf Zillmann’s research to elaborate on the intransigence of rage and potential interventions. Zillmann’s insights include challenging triggering thoughts, reframing situations positively, and the importance of distraction in cooling anger. The chapter also dispels the ventilation fallacy and challenges the notion that expressing anger or catharsis necessarily leads to relief. Goleman cites evidence that venting anger often intensifies emotional arousal rather than dissipating it.
Moreover, Goleman explores the phenomenon of chronic worrying and refers to research by psychologists Roemer and Borkovec. Goleman discusses Borkovec’s approach to treating chronic worry, which emphasizes self-awareness, challenging assumptions, and incorporating relaxation methods. Goleman stresses the importance of interrupting the worry cycle through mindfulness and skepticism and proposes a cognitive-behavioral approach to alleviate chronic worry.
Furthermore, Goleman talks about managing melancholy and presents strategies to cope with sadness and prevent it from escalating into full-blown depression. He emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between beneficial melancholy, which facilitates reflection and psychological adjustments after a loss, and harmful depression, characterized by self-hatred, worthlessness, and joylessness, reiterating the theme of The Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Personal and Professional Success.
Goleman underscores the detrimental effects of rumination in depression, wherein individuals excessively dwell on their negative feelings without taking concrete actions to address them. He discusses the role of cognitive therapy in challenging negative thought patterns and advocates for purposefully scheduling pleasant, distracting events to break the cycle of rumination: “Distractions break the chain of sadness-maintaining thinking” (82).
In addition, Goleman introduces the concept of “repressors” (84) or “unflappables” (85)—individuals who habitually suppress emotional disturbances, often without being consciously aware of their physiological reactions. He discusses research indicating that repressors, while appearing outwardly calm, may experience physiological distress internally, suggesting a potential lack of self-awareness regarding their emotional states.
Part 2, Chapters 3-5 Analysis
In this part, Goleman highlights the disconnection between traditional measures of academic intelligence, such as grades and IQ, and the concept of emotional intelligence, utilizing different anecdotes and case studies. For example, in Chapter 3, he refers to the case of Jason H., the high school student who stabbed his teacher over a B grade. This real-life incident illustrates the disjunction between academic achievement and emotional intelligence, despite the fact that traditional measures of intelligence like academic achievement were formally the only metrics. In Chapter 4, he refers to the case study of Gary, who despite being described as intelligent and successful, is depicted as emotionally flat, which creates a stark dichotomy that emphasizes the disconnect between intellectual prowess and emotional depth, affecting his quality of life and effect on others around him.
Goleman extensively references works by other psychologists to support his arguments, bolstering his own credibility and persuading the reader to trust and move forward with him in his views throughout the book. Goleman uses references like The Bell Curve to draw a contrast between traditional measures of intelligence (IQ, academic grades) and the broader concept of emotional intelligence (36). The Bell Curve is known for its focus on cognitive abilities, and by citing it, Goleman underscores the need to move beyond IQ-centric perspectives when considering factors that contribute to success in life. Goleman incorporates statistical insights from The Bell Curve to support his claims. For instance, he mentions that IQ contributes only about 20% to factors determining success, leaving 80% to non-IQ factors. This statistical data provides a quantitative foundation for his argument and makes it more persuasive and evidence based.
Additionally, Goleman incorporates research studies to support his arguments. For example, in Chapter 3, Goleman draws upon the research of Jack Block, a psychologist at the University of California at Berkeley, to provide empirical support for his argument about the distinct qualities associated with high IQ and emotional intelligence. By referencing Block’s work on “ego resilience,” which closely aligns with emotional intelligence, Goleman reinforces his narrative. In Chapter 4, Goleman introduces the scenario of airplane turbulence as an item from a psychological test developed by Suzanne Miller, a psychologist at Temple University. By incorporating a real-world scenario from a psychological assessment, Goleman strengthens the credibility of his discussion on emotional intelligence. The airplane turbulence test becomes a tangible representation of how people cope with stress and provides a practical and relatable context for readers to assess their own tendencies. In Chapter 5, he refers to Zillmann’s experiments to discuss anger and its physiological aspects. Goleman outlines Zillmann’s insight that anger builds on provocations in a sequence, as each anger-provoking thought or perception becomes a mini-trigger for physiological responses and leads to an escalating intensity of anger. Similarly, in the same chapter, he refers to Borkovec’s study while exploring worrying and its impact on emotional well-being.
Goleman also employs a narrative technique by using a traditional Japanese tale about a samurai and a Zen master in Chapter 4. This story adds a vivid and relatable dimension to the abstract concept of self-awareness and makes it more accessible to readers. The story contrasts the samurai’s initial state of rage with his subsequent calmness and gratitude. This stark juxtaposition highlights the role of self-awareness in managing and understanding one’s emotions. Goleman links the story to the broader theme of emotional intelligence by emphasizing the difference between being “caught up in a feeling” and becoming “aware that you are being swept away by it” (50).
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