The topic of my proposed lifespan development research is “Emotional Intelligence Development.” The research is going to explore the ability of subjects to discern and express emotions and effectively communicate with others throughout their lives. This topic has been select since I believe it is underexplored and might yield results explaining the problems of intergenerational communication. The study will provide further information on the connection between the emotional intelligence development and social life. The study will be conducted as a longitudinal correlation research project with randomly selected subject from several population groups. It will combine elements of the survey with the elements of natural observation.
Methodology
The subjects of the study will be selected randomly from several population groups based on the social status of the subjects and their living conditions. Groups will be determined based on age and social standing of the participants. They will consist of subjects going through various stages of development from children to people nearing old age. Subjects of the same age group will be further divided into groups based on their social standing. That will ensure that the effects of the environment on the subjects’ development are taken into consideration. The study will be conducted over several years. Annually, the subjects will be asked to fill in a questionnaire with questions pertinent to their level of emotional intelligence development as well as their perceived social position and success in life. The Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test will be used to measure the overall level of the subject’s emotional competence which was proven to be effective, if not technically perfect (Mayer, Salovey, & Caruso, 2012).
Another series of surveys should target the subject’s colleagues, friends, and family if they agree to participate. Since emotional intelligence has a huge effect on the social life of the subjects, this will give the researchers a deeper insight into the subject’s level of development (Zeidner, Matthews, & Roberts, 2009). Additionally, the research will include observation sessions. The subjects, who agree to participate, will be observed for a day. The researchers will take notes of their interactions with other people, expression of emotions, and the ability to express or suppress emotions. Since there are no concrete variables for analysis, the study will include a coding system for the most common emotional conditions and how the subject perceives them. It is important that compared observations are conducted by the same person since the interpretations of emotions must be consistent. Throughout the research process, the data collected will be analyzed and filtered. It is crucial to ignore the data from the subjects possibly suffering from pathologies or showing considerable inconsistencies between the surveys and observations. That will ensure that the results of the research are informative. After the data collection is finished, the results will be summarized and analyzed to create a coherent picture of lifespan emotional development.
Timeframe
The proposed length of the study is 10 years, making it a longitudinal study. That will allow the researchers to collect a considerable amount of data for the statistical analysis and follow some subjects through stages of development. Since the subjects will belong to various age categories, this timeframe will allow the researchers to examine the changes in emotional intelligence across several development periods and transitional phases.
Conclusion
The proposed research will use surveys and observations over the time span of 10 years to create a cohesive picture of emotional intelligence across stages of development. The final results might allow the researchers to understand how human ability to perceive and express emotions changes with time. The research also has the potential to shed light on the causes of the intergenerational conflicts.
References
Mayer, J., Salovey, P., & Caruso, D. (2012). The Validity of the MSCEIT: Additional Analyses and Evidence. Emotion Review, 4(4), 403-408.
Zeidner, M., Matthews, G., & Roberts, R. (2009). What We Know about Emotional Intelligence. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.