My Oral Presentation of
Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence, Bantam Books, 1995, pp.289-310
by InKyung Yang
Psychologists and philosophers over for more than a century have tried to define what emotion is. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, emotion is defined as "any agitation or disturbance of mind, feeling, passion; any vehement or excited mental state". Definition that the author gives is that it is a "feeling and thoughts, psychological and biological states, and range of propensities to act". It is hard to say precisely what emotion is but there are several characteristics that many people agree with. They are: anger, sadness, fear, enjoyment, love, surprise, disgust, and shame. Then, the author explains several categories that are closely related to emotions. Moods can last far longer than an emotion. For example, it is not unusual to be in a bad mood for all day. Temperaments trigger a given emotion or mood that one is feeling. Lastly, emotions that goes beyond temperaments can be diagnosed as emotional disorders such as depression.
Appendix B: Hallmarks of the Emotional Mind
A Quick but Sloppy Response
Characteristics that distinguish emotional mind from the rational mind are its quickness, simplicity, and intensity. For example, it is common to see a person thinking "what did I do that for?" after the anger settles. Because our emotional mind is far quicker than the rational mind, we are unable to see things in a rational way. Some of benefits of the emotional mind is that we can read an emotional reality quickly. This allows us to avoid possible dangers by detecting who to trust or who to be wary of. However, relying on emotional mind can be a problem as well because such judgements are made by impressions. In this part, the author explains theories of emotional mind by Paul Ekman which I found very interesting. Emotional mind is necessary for survival reasons because it helps us to see the emotional states of the others.
First Feelings, Second Thoughts
The author suggests that there are two pathways of the emotional mind. One is the "first impulse" which is felt in one's heart, but not in the head. The other pathway is slower and more deliberate than the first one. According to the autho, our rational mind can change the courses of the reactions that are preceded by the emotional mind. I agree with the author that we are capable of controlling our actions. We may not be able to decide when to be mad or happy because these emotions naturally come to us before we become aware of them. However, this doesn't mean that we have to act according to what our emotional mind tells us to do. By developing a strong sense of rationality, it is possible for us to control our actions in more positive ways.
A Symbolic, Childlike Reality
Emotional mind is childlike as the author states. Our emotional mind sees things as they apear. That is, the emotional mind ignores the facts that undermine its beliefs while the rational mind tries to make logical connections. Categorial, personalized thinking, and self-confirming are the signs of this childlike emotional mind. This explains why it is so hard to reason with someone who is emotionally upset. In driving situations, a driver who tailgates may say something like "I'm not wrong but the driver infront of me is driving too slow". The driver's emotional mind lets him perceive things as they apear and probibits him to think of other alternatives.
The Past Imposed on the Present
The author states that "the emotional mind reacts to the present as though it were the past". That is, the emotional mind makes an association between the remembered event and the feelings at the time. Such association is still triggered even if things are different now. It is because we often times do not realize our behaviors are the reflectant of the emotional mind. Yelling and gesturing behind the wheel can be explained as an example. Drivers who yell and gesture out of rage may not realize their actions at that time. So, the driver curses at the other drivers before he realizes.
State-specific Reality
The emotional mind is state-specific so that each feeling has its own patterns of thoughts and reactions. For example, a driver may drive aggressively when she/he is angry. In this case, anger is associated with aggressive driving(reaction). Somehow in the past, she/he learned to release the anger by driving aggressively.
Appendix C: The Neural Circuitry of Fear
The author argues that there is a brain circuitry that is responsible for fear. Amygdala appears to be the central key of fear which serves a role as an alarm system.
Appendix D: W.T.Grant Consortium: Active Ingredients of Prevention Programs
In this part, several important skills that are learned in prevention programs are mentioned.
Emotional skills are: identifying, expressing, managing feeling, delaying gratification, controlling impulses, reducing stress, and knowing the difference between feelings and actions.
Cognitive skills are: self-talk, reading and interpreting social cues, using steps for problem-solving and decision-making, understanding the perspectives of others and behavioral norms, a positive attitude toward life, and self-awareness.
Behavioral skills are: nonverbal and verbal communication such as eye contact and listening to others.
Appendix E: The Self Science Curriculum
This part suggests the main components that one should learn to be in control of their own emotions: self-awareness, personal decision-making, managing feelings, handling stress, empathy, communications, self-disclosure, insight, self-acceptance, personal responsibility, assertiveness, group dynamics, and conflict resolution.
Appendix F: Social and Emotional Learning: Results
In this part, results of several projects that used social and emotional learning are talked. Participants of these researches are children who are in elementary or middle schools. Some of the examples of improved behaviors after study are: more pro-social, better self-control, more thinking before acting, less delinquency, and better impulse control. These results show us that learning of social and emotional skills are important in many ways and the results are more promising when they are learned during childhood. I think that the emotional intelligence is largely influenced by her/his surrounding situations and how they are raised. The fact that the emotional intelligence is not inherent is a good news because there is a lot of space for the improvement. It is important to provide more opportunities for the children where they can learn social and emotional skills.
