Why emotional intelligence matters
Pooja V. Anand
Emotional intelligence refers to understanding and managing one’s own and others’ emotions effectively. Emotional intelligence has found applications in various domains like education, relationships, health, and work performance. Research has shown that EQ plays a far more important role in success in life than IQ.
Training programmes on emotional intelligence are beneficial in enhancing academic achievement, prosocial behaviour, engagement in health- enhancing behaviours, productivity at work and happiness and well-being. There is less involvement in deviant behaviours such as bullying, aggression and violence. Emotional intelligence training also leads to better classroom relationships, more focus and attention, positive relationships between the teacher and the students, enhanced personal and social competencies, less likelihood of substance abuse and better attendance at school. It has also been found that students who are higher in emotional intelligence are less likely to drop out from school.
In two recent studies by the author, emotional intelligence emerged as a significant predictor of life satisfaction and happiness. As the benefits of emotional intelligence are being investigated and understood more and more, many educational institutions in the West have started incorporating emotional intelligence in their curriculum. One such successful initiative is “Self-Science,” an elementary school curriculum focussing on emotional and cognitive learning, developed by Joshua Freedman. Another programme is the “Feeling Words Curriculum,” developed by the Yale Centre for Emotional Intelligence.
A study was conducted by the author in Delhi in which two groups of undergraduate students low on emotional intelligence were taken. One of the groups was given a training program me on emotional intelligence for two weeks, while the other was not given any training. Results showed that the training group showed significant increase in emotional intelligence. Studies involving intervention programmes have shown that emotional intelligence is a learnable skill and can be learnt any age. It just requires practice and patience.
EQ as a concept has become all the more significant today as society is going through massive changes. Everyday news is full of reports of constant increase in aggressive and violent acts in homes, neighbourhoods and at schools. In the past few years there has been a sharp rise in the growing tendency toward violence seen among people, especially youth. There is an increase in crime against women and children, bullying at school and workplace, molestation, rapes, murders, drug addiction and suicide.
A new alarming threat in the form of juvenile violence has now become prominent in schools worldwide and in India in particular. Road rage has become quite common in India today. What is shocking is that a very high percentage of the offenders are below the age of 25.
All this depicts emotional instability in our society. These incidents clearly reveal that somewhere our education ystem and family upbringing have not been able to cultivate empathy and compassion in the young generation. Increase in competition and rapid changes in the society have resulted in stress and depression. Therefore, the most serious question before us is how to tackle the growing menace of aggression and violence, stress, drug abuse and other critical problems. The answer is through emotional intelligence. There is acrucial need for training in emotional intelligence to deal with difficult situations since emotional intelligence includes abilities such as self-control, and the ability to motivate oneself. There is a direct relationship between poor emotional skills and the rising crime rate. In our society there is a lot of emphasis on IQ and academic achievement but research has shown that IQ is not the only factor important for success. Emotional intelligence has a bigger impact on our success in life. Therefore, it is important that we fully develop our emotional skills.
Children should be trained in emotional intelligence right from the beginning. Emotional intelligence training should not be treated as something separate from the curriculum but should be deeply incorporated in the curriculum both at the school and college level. Not only students but parents and teachers should also be provided training in emotional intelligence skills. This will help in creating positive individuals who flourish in their lives, jobs, families and as citizens of the country. Such individuals can contribute to the betterment of the society as a whole.
