Emotions- Their Nature and Definitions

The Latin root word for emotions is emovere which refers to everything that moves us in any way, pleasantly or unpleasantly. Emotions have also been understood as e + motion; wherein ‘e’ stands for energy. Each emotion has some energy stored in it which moves us to act in a particular way. For example; when we are sad we feel a strong urge to cry. Each psychologist has defined emotion in their way. I will highlight the important ones below:

Woodsworth (1945) said that it is a ‘stirred-up state’ as it appears to the individual and a ‘disturbed glandular or muscular activity’ as it appears to an observer. Charles G Morris (1979) defined as an “affective experience” that involves “diffuse physiological changes” and expresses itself in behaviour. McDougall (1949) stated that one feels emotions under the wave of some “instinctual excitement”. McDougall identified 14 basic instincts and concluded that all combinations of emotions are a result of these basic instincts ( for example the instinct of fight gives rise to the feeling of fear, the instinct of mating gives rise to lust, etc). Though varied, the definitions all point to the same thing- that emotions involve an affective experience that accompanies some physiological changes and leads to some overt physical behaviour. Simply put, the three parts of emotional experience are –Cognitive, Physiological and Behavioural. The cognitive element accounts for an emotional stimulus reaching our brain, our perception of it as “good” or “bad” and our decision of action as a result of the emotion. The physiological aspect is to do with the change in heart rate, breathing rate, sweat, etc, and your posture and facial expressions and or verbal behaviour accounts for the Behavioural aspect of this experience.

To further understand emotions, one must seek to understand different parts of the brain- for this allows us to understand the neurological origin of emotions. According to SK Mangal in his book Emotional Intelligence (2015), the first brain to have appeared is the reptile brain which sits at the top of the spinal cord as a bulb-like structure. This part of the brain controls all involuntary, automatic and reflexive actions of our body- for example, our breathing, our heartbeat, etc. It is the oldest structure and is said to have been mainly what the reptiles made us of. The second structure is the Limbic brain- which is also called the emotional brain. It houses the amygdala- a structure that is involved with the production and functioning of emotions (Goleman,1995). This brain is irrational and acts involuntarily. To control it for the betterment of the self and others, we have the last structure- the Rational brain/ the neocortex (which lies in the middle of your temples). Also commonly known as the thinking brain whose main function is regulation and coordination. It is important to note here, that because of the location of such structures – neural pathways bring information to the limbic brain first and then to the rational brain. This often leads to what Goleman (1995) calls ‘emotional hijacking’, wherein the limbic brain overpowers the rational brain- and therefore we act extremely emotionally. For example: if someone hits us and we automatically hit them back. Though important sometimes ( for example during an emergency), it may lead us astray at times as we react before we have time to weigh our options.

All emotions have certain common characteristics (According to SK Mangal 2015):

1. Emotions are related to some form of instinctual drive: this points to how emotions are birthed from some wave of instinctual excitement. For example, we can only feel the feeling of anger after we have the instinct of combat
2. Emotions are a product of our perception: Perception refers to ‘ meaning added to sensation’. For example, when you step on a book- your sensation is limited to you stepping on something solid, but it is through the individualized meaning-making that you term that something- a book. All emotions are a product of perception. Shakespeare in Hamlet once said that “nothing is good or bad, our thinking makes it so”. For example, when we perceive to have lost someone, we feel sad.
3. Emotions reveal the individual’s makeup: Emotions reveal what makes an individual tick, what their likes are, their goals, what issues are important to them. Essentially since emotions are a result of perception- the meaning-making process is extremely telling of the individual. For example, not everyone feels angry when they read LGBTQ+ rights but some do because of their preferences
4. Emotions matter too much to us- Segal (1997) wrote emotions are lifelines to self-preservation and self-awareness. They are so important that they connect us to “ourselves and the cosmos’

Emotional Intelligence: What it is and what it is not?

For a very long time, the only focus of psychologists viz-a-viz intelligence was thinking, problem-solving, reasoning, etc. It was E L Thorndike in 1914 who expanded this narrow understanding of intelligence and came up with the concept of social intelligence which was to do with managing human relations. Then came David Wechsler, the father of IQ who in 1940 stated that intelligence included ‘intellectual capabilities and non-intellectual capabilities. In fact, he wrote in 1940 that to totally understand intelligence one must understand both these capabilities. Then R.W Leeper in 1948, following in Thorndike’s and Wechsler’s footsteps spoke about emotional thought and its contribution to logical thought. However, after that for almost 30 years the importance of EI in literature declines until Gardner (1983) wrote about multiple intelligences. In his theory of multiple intelligences, it was interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligence which was similar to the concept of emotional intelligence. Sternberg’s (1985) idea of ‘street smarts’ as a part of what he called Practical Intelligence was also related to the concept of EI. 

Now that we have touched briefly upon the history of this concept we can begin to define it. Like emotions, here too I will delineate some of the important definitions. Firstly we look at Mayor and Salovey (1990) who defined EI as the ability to ‘monitor’ one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, ‘discriminate’ amongst them and use the information to ‘guide one’s thinking and actions’. Mayor, Caruso 

and Salovey (1999) stated that EI was the ability to recognise the ‘meaning of one’s emotions’ and to reason on the basis of them. Stein and Book(2004) stated that emotional intelligence helps us survive in the complete world and hence refers to the personal, social and survival aspects of intelligence. Bechara, Tranel and Damasio (2000) stated that EI is comprised of abilities that are separate from IQ. From these definitions we can determine the characteristics of EI ( according to SK Mangal in Emotional Intelligence, 2015) :

1. Emotional Intelligence differs from cognitive intelligence as it focuses on non-cognitive capacities as well
2. It helps in the recognition and regulation of one own’s emotions and others as well. It is from the social skills that arise out of this intelligence that one adjusts and survives.
3. Emotional Intelligence is similar to ‘street smarts’ utilizing which an individual finds success in his day to day life
4. Emotional Intelligence helps us make our emotional behaviour, which in itself is a joint product of our emotions followed by an attitude associated with that emotion, reasonable
5. EI helps with the proper synthesis of the head and the heart- resulting in us in behaving in contextually appropriate ways.

Here again, I draw your attention to the aforementioned parts of your brain. Whereas General intelligence (measured by IQ) is a product of the rational brain- EI is the product of the joint functioning of the limbic and rational brain. The reason for this coordination is simple- it is done so that one can adjust to one’s reality. For example, a child knows that he/she will get what he/she wants by crying or shouting but a 30-year-old employee knows that similar behaviour in their workplace will be detrimental to their success. Hence the employee needs to behave differently, and it is here that the limbic brain takes the help of the rational brain to execute emotionally intelligent behaviour. As we stated before neural pathways always travel first to the limbic brain and then the rational brain- hence it is EI which ensures that we express and act on our emotions in accordance to reason and reality ( it is why even though we are feeling irritated right now, all of us are avoiding parties and clubs).

 Emotional Intelligence can be conflated with many other similar concepts- however, it isn’t an aptitude, it is not something that can be achieved as it is subject to change and cannot be judged according to one’s performance in things(example: EI cannot be understood from one’s performance in a math test or a dance program). Instead, EI is more to do with the demonstration of certain abilities, which can always be developed in an individual. Emotional Intelligence hence is not a stable prize to be won because of a performance in a certain sphere. To look at it as just related to performance in one sphere is extremely reductionist as EI is made up of many traits and abilities. EI also isn’t a vocational interest which is more to do with one’s inclination towards some work. EI is also not equivalent to your personality because of the changing nature of EI. Most importantly however EI isn’t the same thing as cognitive intelligence. It differs from cognitive intelligence in many ways. Firstly, IQ keeps increasing till the age of 20 after which it remains stable, however, EQ the measure of emotional intelligence does not follow the same pattern. It can increase or decrease given the person’s circumstances. Because of this, EQ is not calculated keeping in mind one’s age whereas IQ is. Cognitive intelligence and EI also differ with regards to the structure of the brain they involve. Cognitive intelligence and the skills associated with it may put hurdles in the path of EI ( where sometimes the head is given to much importance and we act in ways that hamper us) but the opposite is not true as EI doesn’t interfere with the development of Cognitive Intelligence. Whilst high Cognitive intelligence does assure one good marks it doesn’t assure one success in their workplace, however, EI does. Commenting on the role of EI in the workplace, Bar-on (2004) wrote that EI ‘levels the playing field’.

The Models of Emotional Intelligence and its Relevance

It is only by recognizing the models of emotional intelligence that we can begin to understand the complexity of the concept – which invariably increases our understanding of EI as a structure of its own. Moreover, depending on which model you subscribe to, the ways to develop EI will differ. We will hence briefly touch upon the three models of EI: ability model, trait model and mixed model. 

In the ability model, EI is said to be comprised of a set of mental abilities or skills which help in the processing of emotion relevant information. Ability model proponents state that individuals differ in their ability to process emotional information and the ability to integrate said information into cognition. One very famous ability model is the Mayer Salovey and Caruso (2000) mental- ability model. The first tier is to do with recognizing and expressing one’s emotions. The second tier is to do with prioritizing thinking, i.e. using emotions to facilitate judgment. The third tier is to do with differentiating and labeling of emotions and the fourth tier is to do with using one’s emotions to achieve some social goal ( example; using your strong emotions for some person to become their partner, or using your emotions about the environment to form a movement). 

The trait model assumes that emotional intelligence is a trait-based phenomenon. According to the proponents of this model Emotional intelligence comprises some personality trait which aids an individual to process emotion-related information. This model was initially developed in 2009 by K.V Petrides. According to this model, individuals differ in emotional intelligence because they differ in their possession of the traits associated with the same. Some examples of the traits associated with EI are ( according to the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire) : adaptability, stress management, empathy, happiness, self-esteem, social awareness, etc. The mixed model, as the name suggests proposes that EI is comprised of many relevant personality traits as well as several appropriate skills. A very important model of this type is the Goleman model (2000). Goleman looked at EI as comprised of social competencies, traits and behaviours which help an individual achieve success in one’s social life and workplace.

It is important now at this juncture that we pause and try and understand why emotional intelligence is so relevant. Firstly, during the time of the pandemic, emotional intelligence is vital so as to make sure we behave like rational adults and deal with the stress and anxiety which is as rampant as the pandemic itself. Secondly, EI is related to improvement in the quality of relationships (Kleef and Hideg, 2011). Thirdly, emotional intelligence leads to improvement in teamwork, conflict management, coaching skills and job satisfaction- all of which lead to improved work performance. Fourthly, emotional intelligence is correlated with increased self-esteem and life satisfaction ( Mayer et al 2008). This same study has also shown that those with high EI are perceived positively by people which sheds a light on the importance of the same in leadership. EI is also inversely related to violence, bullying, tobacco use and drug problems (Mayer, Salovey and Caruso, 2004). The concept of emotional intelligence proves that it is not always the rational brain whose independent functioning can lead to success in one’s life. Moreover, EI cuts across gender and race lines, which makes the concept a palatable one to all, unlike cognitive intelligence which has shown slight differences along gender and race lines. It is the so-called equality of this concept which contributes to its popularity in literature

Conclusion; Development of Emotional Intelligence

It is apt to conclude this paper with a brief understanding of how to develop emotional intelligence. According to SK Mangal in his book Emotional intelligence (2015), EI can be developed at two junctures: firstly, at childhood and then at adulthood. Whereas development during childhood is more to do with the acquisition of EI, development in adulthood is to do with improving EI. In childhood, the child must be provided with positive models of emotional intelligence. Goleman (1997) stated that children learn EI from parents and then teachers. They should also be exposed to the skills associated to emotional intelligence through audiovisual mediums ( for example showing them movies and making them hear songs that emphasize stress management, empathy, happiness). Thirdly, children should be taught to properly manage and regulate their emotions. This comes only if the parent accepts and validates the child’s feelings and then adequately deal with them. For adults, however, the task of development of EI falls on the individual himself/herself and not on someone else. As an adult we must do the following to improve our EI; firstly, we must start with an assessment of our current level of emotional intelligence. Then we should identify the main skill that requires the major enhancement and the other smaller skills that require a smaller push towards betterment. Thirdly, we should prioritise the skills that need to be enhanced and practice them one by way. Fourthly, we must seek constant feedback and reinforcement from ourselves whilst practicing these skills. One can seek feedback from one’s family or friends or one can be observant and reflective and assess themselves. It is important to understand that the development of EI takes time and hence patience should be exercised. Moreover, each success, no matter how small should be acknowledged to foster the development of the same in a positive direction. 

In conclusion, emotional intelligence is a very important concept, and extremely relevant in today’s time. Because of its very nature, emotional intelligence is vital for the success of an individual both personally and socially. Hence even though cognitive intelligence is important one can argue of the overpowering significance of emotional intelligence.

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