In recent years there has been a strong emergence of Emotional Intelligence as a transversal topic in psychology (Educational Psychology, Organizational Psychology, Psychology of Emotion…), although the popularizations that have been made of the topic have prevented the construct from emerging clearly for the moment. The relationship between emotional regulation and emotional intelligence seems to be quite evident.
In this Psychology-Online article, we will talk in depth about two concepts: emotional self-regulation and emotional intelligence. We will start from the exploration of different models of Emotional Intelligence to subsequently focus on one of its central components: emotional self-regulation, and subsequently formulating the development of a model of Emotional Intelligence focused on processes, the Barret and Gross model.
Emotional Intelligence
Conceptual framework
It is a field of study that emerged in the 90s as a reaction to the focus on purely cognitive intelligences, adding criticism to the detractors of traditional intelligence tests.
This approach quickly became popular in the non-scientific press, among other reasons because it sent out a novel and attractive message: you can be successful in life without having great academic skills. Daniel Goleman’s informative book (1995) quickly became a best-seller, although research on the matter was still in its infancy.
Mayer (2001) points out five phases so far in the development of the field of study of Emotional Intelligence that can help us understand where the concepts and skills that are currently presented together under the heading of EI arise:
- Intelligence and Emotions as separate fields of study (1900 – 1969): Research on intelligence developed in this period and the technology of psychological tests emerged. In the field of emotion they focus on the debate between the primacy of the physiological response over emotion or vice versa. Although some authors talk about “social intelligence,” the conceptions of Intelligence remain merely cognitive.
- Precursors of emotional intelligence (1970 – 1989): The field of cognition and affect examines how emotions interact with thought. A revolutionary theory of this period is Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences, which includes an “intrapersonal” intelligence.
- Emergence of Emotional Intelligence (1990 – 1993): Mayer and Salovey publish a series of articles on emotional intelligence, including the first attempt to measure these competencies.
- Popularization and broadening of the concept (1994 – 1997): Goleman publishes his book “Emotional Intelligence” and the term EI jumps into the popular press.
- Institutionalization and research on EI (1998 – present): Refinements occur in the concept of EI and new measures are introduced. The first reviews of research articles appear.
What do we talk about when we talk about Emotional Intelligence?
Emotional Intelligence is understood as a set of skills that involve emotions. Several authors have pointed out different definitions of Emotional Intelligence:
“includes the areas of knowing one’s own emotions, managing emotions, motivating oneself, recognizing emotions in others, and managing relationships” Theory of (1995)
“a set of non-cognitive capabilities, competencies, and skills that influence one’s ability to succeed in coping with the demands and pressures of the environment” Bar – On (cited in Mayer, 2001)
“refers to the ability to recognize the meaning of emotions and their relationships, and to reason and solve problems based on it. It also includes using emotions to enhance cognitive activities” Mayer et al. (2001)
In a series of studies conducted by Schutte et al. (2002) They focused on finding a relationship between levels of emotional intelligence and self-esteem and positive mood, finding a positive relationship between Emotional Intelligence and both variables.
Several authors have theorized that high emotional intelligence can lead to great feelings of emotional well-being and are able to have a better perspective on life. There is also empirical evidence that seems to show that high emotional intelligence is associated with less depression, greater optimism and better satisfaction with life. Therefore, this suggests a link between emotional intelligence and emotional well-being.
Traditional models of Emotional Intelligence
The main models that have addressed Emotional Intelligence in the 90s are those of Mayer et al. (2001) (4-branch model), Goleman’s competency model and Bar On’s Multifactor Model.
Mayer (2001) groups these models distinguishing between mixed approaches and skill approaches:
Skills Approaches
The 4-branch model of Mayer et al. divides Emotional Intelligence into four skill areas:
- Perceive emotions: ability to perceive emotions in faces or images.
- Use emotions to facilitate thinking: ability to use emotions to enhance reasoning.
- Understanding emotions: ability to understand emotional information about relationships, transitions from one emotion to another, and linguistic information about emotions.
- Management of emotions: ability to manage emotions and emotional relationships for personal and interpersonal growth.
These authors point out that branches 1, 3 and 4 include reasoning about emotions, while branch 2 only includes the use of emotions to enhance reasoning. Hierarchically these 4 branches would be arranged so that “perceiving emotions” would be at the bottom, while “Managing emotions” would be at the top.
Mixed Approaches
These popular approaches include personal attributes that are most commonly related to personal effectiveness and social functioning (Barret & Gross, 2001; Mayer, 2001).
Goleman’s Emotional Competence Model
It is quite similar to the concept of empathy and includes five competencies:
- Knowledge of one’s own emotions
- The ability to control emotions
- The ability to motivate yourself
- Recognition of other people’s emotions
- Managing relationships
Bar-On Multifactor Model
Bar On carries out a multifactorial conceptualization of emotional intelligence, made up of the following factorial components:
Formal Intrapersonal Competencies
- Selfconcept: This skill refers to respecting and being aware of oneself, just as one is, perceiving and accepting the good and bad. Discover here the.
- Emotional Self-Awareness: know your own feelings to know them and know what caused them.
- Assertiveness: It is the ability to express oneself openly and defend personal rights without being aggressive or passive.
- Independence: It is the ability to control one’s own actions and thinking, while still consulting others to obtain the necessary information.
- Self-update: ability to reach our potential and lead a rich and full life, committing to objectives and goals throughout life.
Interpersonal Competencies
- Empathy: The concept of empathy is the ability to recognize the emotions of others, understand them, and show concern for others.
- Social responsability: It is the ability to appear as a constructive member of the social group, maintain social rules, and be trustworthy.
- Relationships: It is the ability to establish and maintain emotional relationships characterized by giving and receiving affection, establishing friendly relationships, and feeling at ease.
Adaptability CF
- Reality test: This skill refers to the correspondence between what we emotionally experience and what happens objectively, it is looking for objective evidence to confirm our feelings without fantasizing or getting carried away by them.
- Flexibility: It is the ability to adjust to changing environmental conditions, adapting our behaviors and thoughts.
- Troubleshooting: the ability to identify and define problems as well as generate and implement potentially effective solutions.
This skill is made up of 4 parts:
- Be aware of the problem and feel safe and motivated in the face of it
- Define and formulate the problem clearly (collect relevant information)
- Generate as many solutions as possible
- Make a decision on which solution to use, weighing pros and cons of each solution.
Stress Management CF
- Stress tolerance: This ability refers to the ability to endure stressful events and strong emotions without breaking down and cope positively with stress. This skill is based on the ability to choose various courses of action to cope with stress, be optimistic in solving a problem, and feel that one has the ability to control and influence the situation.
- Impulse control: It is the ability to resist or delay an impulse, controlling emotions to achieve a subsequent objective or of greater interest.
CF for Mood and Motivation
- Optimism: It is maintaining a positive attitude in the face of adversity and always looking at the good side of life.
- Happiness: It is the ability to enjoy and feel satisfied with life, enjoy oneself and others, have fun, and express positive feelings.
What is emotional self-regulation in psychology?
In all these models we can see that emotional self-regulation (understood as the ability to regulate emotional states to a reference point) It is a main element of the models. Thus, the 4-branch model of Mayer et al. places “Emotion Management” at the top of its hierarchical scale, Goleman includes it as “ability to control one’s own emotions” and Bar-on includes elements of emotional self-regulation in several of its skills, such as “Impulse Control” and “Flexibility”.
In the next point we will focus on the psychological mechanism of self-regulation, offering two models of emotional self-regulation.
The relationship between emotional intelligence and emotional self-regulation
As we have seen, the main models of Emotional Intelligence give a lot of importance to regulating one’s own emotions. In fact, it is the cornerstone of the concept, since there is no point in recognizing our own emotions if we cannot manage them adaptively.
The emotional self-regulation It would be included within what would be the general process of psychological self-regulation, which is a mechanism of the human being that allows him to maintain constant psychological balance. To do this, it needs a control feedback system that allows it to maintain the status in relation to a control signal.
Bonano (2001) exposes a model of emotional self-regulation that focuses on control, anticipation and exploration of emotional homeostasis. Emotional homeostasis would be conceptualized in terms of reference goals belonging to frequencies,…