Annotated Bibliography
Huang, J., Shi, H., & Liu, W. (2018). Emotional intelligence and subjective well-being: Altruistic behavior as a mediator. Social Behavior and Personality, 46(5), 749-758.
The authors study the effect that altruistic behavior has on the relationship between emotional intelligence and subjective well-being, which is usually explored in an isolated context. They conduct an experiment using 412 South Chinese undergraduate students from two different universities. The study concludes that both altruistic behavior and emotional intelligence have a positive effect on subjective well-being.
Also, the former of the two independent variables has a partial mediating effect on the relationship, confirming the hypothesis to some degree. However, due to the cross-sectional nature of the study, it may be too early to make causal inferences, and additional longitudinal studies are required.
Kaoun, T. M. (2019). Enhancing leaders’ emotional intelligence: Why mindfulness? Journal of Leadership Education, 18(1); 200-212.
Tarek M. Kaoun is an experienced adult-learning practitioner who believes that mindfulness can help people develop better emotional intelligence skills and, consequently, leadership. To prove the existence of this relationship, he draws on personal experience and conducts a literature review to help support his points and establish a framework of findings. Kaoun concludes that Ehrlich’s Mindful-Leadership Model is accurate in its depiction of the relationship and provides recommendations for adult learners. His indications of further research directions are aimed at expanding the scholarly understanding of mindfulness and the cultivation of emotional intelligence.
Kosonogov, V., Vorobyeva, E., Kovsh, E., & Ermakov, P. (2019). A review of neurophysiological and genetic correlates of emotional intelligence. International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education, 7(1), 137-142.
The authors are interested in two physiological factors that affect one’s emotional intelligence development: brain organization and genetic correlates. They conduct a literature review of papers on these two topics to determine if any overarching themes emerge. The neurophysiological studies highlight a correlation between emotional intelligence and left anterior brain excitation as well as the synchronization of some EEG rhythms while also mapping the brain areas related to EI.
The genetic studies identify several genes that are associated with emotional intelligence. The authors suggest studying the prevalence of these genes in various ethnic groups to help explain their emotional intelligence differences.
Research Rationale
Many people who minister to others have not had the opportunity to develop their emotional intelligence. The concept is still new and developing, and it has not yet had time to become an integral part of social work. With that said, people have been performing this task and often succeeding at it for a long time. As such, an investigation of the motives that drive them to do so may be warranted to help understand their current mode of work and its effectiveness. A comparison of their degree of success to people with developed emotional intelligence may reveal its specific benefits.
While the concept of emotional intelligence and specific training that improves it have only emerged recently, the aspects that constitute it have existed for a long time. As such, the social workers who participate in the study will likely have developed it to some degree on their own. When viewed from this position, their experience can prove valuable in the study of the trait’s cultivation. The understanding of the motivations and current capacities of emotional intelligence learners can enable an educator to help them progress substantially faster.
Analyses of different ethnic groups can also help answer the questions of differences in emotional intelligence between them. Any differences in their general motivations found in the study may be explained through genetic and neurological variation between different groups in addition to factors such as culture.
While testing such hypotheses would be beyond the scope of the study, it can provide useful information to future researchers who would be better equipped to undertake the task. Overall, a detailed analysis of people without specialized emotional intelligence training can help resolve some of the limitations of the three studies presented and advance the topic as a whole.
References
Huang, J., Shi, H., & Liu, W. (2018). Emotional intelligence and subjective well-being: Altruistic behavior as a mediator. Social Behavior and Personality, 46(5), 749-758.
Kaoun, T. M. (2019). Enhancing leaders’ emotional intelligence: Why mindfulness? Journal of Leadership Education, 18(1); 200-212.
Kosonogov, V., Vorobyeva, E., Kovsh, E., & Ermakov, P. (2019). A review of neurophysiological and genetic correlates of emotional intelligence. International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education, 7(1), 137-142.