EQ
So What's Your EQ?
In Multiple Intelligences and Emotional Intelligence, David Sadker and Myra Sadker point out that Daniel Goleman, in his book Emotional Intelligence, argues that EQ or the emotional intelligence quotient, may be a better predictor of success in life than IQ, the intelligence quotient. The Sadkers quote Goleman's description of the "marshmallow story" which shows how EQ works.
In the "marshmallow story," a four-year old is told to do an errand. In exchange for doing the errand, the child may eat one marshmallow first then do the errand or do the errand and receive two marshmallows. This test measures the child's ability or willingness to defer gratification. Ten years later, when the child is now fourteen years old, her SAT score was compared against other children who participated in the marshmallow test at age four. Goleman found that the children who were able to delay gratification scored 210 points higher than those who did not delay gratification. The latter group, referred to as gobblers, were also more likely to be described as stubborn, easily frustrated, and lonely teenagers.
The Sadkers quote Kelly and Moon's definition of EQ as ". . . a type of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one's own and others; emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use the information to guide one's thinking and actions."
Hmmm . . . social intelligence . . . I like that phrase. EQ adds another dimension, another measure to what it takes to be successful, a new way of measuring intelligence. Peter Salovey, a Yale psychologist, has designed an assessment tool for measuring EQ that has five parts: Knowing Emotions, Managing Emotions, Motivating Oneself, Recognizing the Emotions of Others, and Handling Relationships. For each section there is a four-point scale upon which to assess oneself for that trait.
Looking at Salovey's EQ assessment categories one can easily see the importance of each category of emotional intelligence for success. Knowing your own emotions is an aspect of self-awareness that is critical for one to be able to self-monitor and find ways to better behave and relate to others. Managing one's emotions is a tough one for me. This category to control and manage emotions through good and bad times, to shake off depression and bounce back from life's setbacks is a tall order.
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