Eulalee ThompsonSO, HOW'S your emotional quotient or E.Q.? Perhaps, the concept is a new one for you, but in a nutshell it embodies your awareness, management and expression of the range of emotions that we experience as human beings.
Dr. Earl Wright, director of the Health Ministry's Mental Health Services, says that our E.Q. or emotional intelligence works synergistically with our I.Q. or intelligence quotient (which is the ability to perform cognitive tasks adeptly). He said that there is mounting support among behavioural scientists that by systematically teaching E.Q. to small children, the society will be able to put a dent in many of the anti-social behaviours that pressure the health system.
Dr. Wright says that when individuals can identify the emotion which they are feeling, they can better process the feeling and manage it when they allow the rational brain to step in.
"Critical learning of emotional intelligence takes place between age 0 and 10, then fine-tuning occurs during adolescence. These skills used to be taught in the homes but as we become more developed with both parents going to work and with more influence from the television, these skills are not being developed. So we are seeing now an increase in depression at a younger age, an increase in violence, shootings, interpersonal conflicts and so on... and this is partially due to the fact that people have not learnt to manage their anger and other life skills," he said.
There are five main components of emotional intelligence - self-awareness, managing emotions, motivating oneself, recognising emotions in others (or empathy) and handling relationships.
Dr. Wright said that self-awareness is the linchpin of emotional intelligence. Being aware of one's emotions makes one more confident to make important personal decisions such as whom to marry or the career path to follow. This component recognises the value of the "gut feelings" and using it to its fullest.
Managing emotions, the second component of E.Q., builds on self-awareness. Dr. Wright said, for instance, that many people involved in interpersonal relationships don't know when they are angry and will instead say that it is the other person who is angry at them. These angry people will lash out easily at other people (adding to the crime and violence statistics) using their primitive brain instead of rational behaviour to learn why they are angry and then do something about it.
Being able to focus on a goal is essential for a range of accomplishments - this is what the behavioural scientists describe as motivating oneself - the third component of E.Q. Dr. Wright says that this component indicates emotional self-control (such as delaying gratification or controlling impulsivity) as crucial in working towards life goals.
To emphasise the importance of this component, Dr. Wright referred to a study which had been done some time ago on a group of small children. They were given the choice of taking one chocolate bar now or to wait until their parent had run an errand and then given two chocolate bars. Twenty years later, all the children who chose to wait for the two chocolate bars were more successful and had developed better interpersonal relationships than those who chose to take one chocolate bar. The successful group of children who waited for two chocolate bars had learnt the value of delayed gratification instead of the "get-rich-quick" mentality.
Empathy or recognising others emotions is the fourth component and fundamental in creating the environment for happy interpersonal relationships with one's life partner, children and even co-workers. Dr. Wright said that the society in many respects has lost its empathy and respect for the feelings of others. One stark indication of this deficit are groups of people, often videotaped on television news, laughing at the scene of serious road accidents. Some of them may even rob the helpless and dying victims.
The art of handling relationships, the fifth component of E.Q., requires skill in managing the emotions of others.
"Emotions allow you to act but your rational brain works with emotions and vetoes it at times," Dr. Wright said.
