Emotional Intelligence

Chapter 9
The Neurological Basis of Emotional

“all emotions are, in

essence, impulses to
act, the instant plan
for handling life that
evolution has
instilled in us”.
By this, he traces the origins of emotions from human
race’s survival instinct to sense, detect, assess, and act
on any threat to its life and survival. This instinct is also
known as the “flight or fight” response that animals and
humans alike are capable of doing when faced with
danger. As humans and animals in general have this
instinctive nature for survival, it is only the human brain
that was gifted with the capacity to process on an
intellectual level the emotions being experienced,
validating the reality of the danger, controlling the
emotions being experienced and acting accordingly given
several options to choose from. Neuroscientists have
agreed that there are parts of the human brain primarily
involved in the creation of emotions, specially the
amygdala, the neocortex, and the frontal lobes.
 As an example, if we see a snake in front of us, its
image is quickly passed on the thalamus, which in
turn send out the pulses to the other parts of the
brain, first into the neocortex which is termed as the
thinking brain, then to the amygdala, then to the
frontal lobes which eventually send these signals to
the other parts of the body for action.
 LeDoux pointed out that small amounts of the pulses
coming from the thalamus escape to the amygdala,
which triggers what we know as our knee-jerk
reaction to a situation, happening even before the
information was processed by the rational part of the
brain. This phenomenon is also known as “hijacking
of the amygdala”.
What is Emotional Intelligence
 Goleman defines emotional intelligence as
“the ability to motivate oneself and persist
in the face of frustrations, to control
impulse and delay gratification, to regulate
one’s moods and keep distress from
swamping the ability to think, to
emphasize, and to hope”.
Knowing one’s emotions or self-awareness
 Self awareness brings with it the skill for self-
reflection. It is about a person who recognizes
an emotion being felt and is able to verbalize
it, by saying, “I am experiencing anger” or “I
am angry” at the peak of one’s rage. This is
about knowing how we feel and the thought
behind the feeling. According to Mayer, when
one recognizes this emotion, there is also a
desire to get rid of it or get out of that
situation. When this happens, this is seen as a
sign that the neocortex is gaining some
control over the amygdale.
Managing Emotions
 Goleman points out that we often have very
little or no control when an emotion occurs
and what this emotion will be, but we can
have control on how long an emotion will
last. For example, when we grieve over the
loss of a loved one, to dwell on the grief for
a very long time will often times results in
deeper emotional problems, such as
depression. It is important to recognize an
emotion and experience it, but dwelling on
it, particularly if it is negative, is not healthy.
Motivating oneself
 Research studies have shown that hope is
a major indicator of emotional
intelligence. Hope is the element present
when one is fighting some overwhelming
anxiety, a defeatist attitude, or
depression. Goleman points out that
optimism is a great motivator and like
hope, it provides a person with
expectations that things will turn out
better or right, when faced with adversity.
Recognizing emotions in others
 The capacity to recognize the
emotions in other people is called
empathy. According to Goleman, the
root cause of our capacity to
empathize is self-awareness. If we
recognize our own emotions and how
these affect us, then it will be easier
to recognize other people’s emotions
as well. Empathy is important in
maintaining relationships as this also
taps on the caring capacity of people.
Handling Relationships
 Emotional intelligence is also evident in the
way we manage our relationships with others.

• Organizing groups – a leadership skill essential

in mastering groups of people toward a
common action. Examples of people with this
talent are orchestra conductors, military
officers, and stage directors.
• Negotiating solutions- this talents to bring
people in conflict to talk and com up with a
solution is usually found among mediators of
disputes.
 Personal–connection- this is the talent where
empathy and connecting with another people’s
emotions are manifested. Teachers usually have
this natural tendency to relate to others.
 Social analysis- is the talent to step out of a
situation and objectively form insights about the
way people feel and behave. Therapists are
gifted with this talents.
Goleman also gave some attention to Howard
Gardener’s multiple intelligences saying that
emotional intelligence could be part of the seven key
varieties, namely:
1. Verbal-linguistic
2. Mathematical logical
3. Spatial
4. Bodily kinesthetic
5. Musical
6. Interpersonal
7. Intrapersonal
Two more were added to these seven varieties of
intelligence.
8. Natural
9. Spiritual
Goleman also refer to eight main families of
emotions and their corresponding members:
1. ANGER – fury, outrage, resentment, wrath,
exasperation, indignation, vexation, acrimony,
animosity, annoyance, irritability, hostility; and to its
extremes, hatred and violence
2. SADNESS- grief, sorrow, cheerlessness, gloom,
melancholy, self-pity, loneliness, dejection, despair,
and in extreme, depression
3. FEAR- anxiety, apprehension, nervousness, concern,
consternation, misgiving, wariness, qualm, edginess,
dread, fright, terror, and in extreme, phobia and panic.
4. ENJOYMENT- happiness, joy, relief, contentment,
bliss, delight, amusement, pride, sensual, pleasure,
thrill, rapture, gratification, satisfaction, euphoria,
whimsy, ecstasy; and to its extreme, mania
5. LOVE – acceptance, friendliness, trust,
kindness, affinity, devotion, adoration,
infatuation, and agape.
6. SURPRISE – shock, astonishment,
amazement, and wonder
7. DISGUST- contempt, disdain, scorn,
abhorrence, aversion, distaste, revulsion
8. SHAME- guilt, embarrassment, chagrin,
remorse, humiliation, regret, mortification,
and contrition.
Emotional intelligence is important as it
directly affects:
1. Physical and mental health
emotional intelligence equips one with tools in managing stress;
and stress, which usually brings discomfort and illnesses, can be
avoided. For mental health, emotional intelligence works well
when dealing with frustrations and challenges, providing the
individual with plenty of healthy coping mechanisms.
2. Work performance
either in school if you are still a student, or at work, if you are
already employed. EI helps in understanding people and
situations more objectively and with more understanding and
compassion. Emotions that are managed well relieve one from
stressful situations and misunderstanding with others.
3. Relationships
interpersonal relationships are enhanced because emotions are
expressed in a more positive way, and with empathy, genuine
caring is expressed and shared. EI also builds trust so that
conflicts are managed better.
Developing emotional intelligence
 In developing one’s emotional intelligence, one must first
be aware of the neurological genesis of emotions,
which emanates from the interplay between the different
parts of the brain, particularly, the thalamus, amygdale,
and frontal neocortex. At the immediate occurrence of a
knee-jerk reaction, we immediately know this is coming
from the amygdale, so the next thing to do is to assess
the emotion and see its relevance to the situation. A
person who fears cockroaches will always react to
something small and dark colored that is on the floor.
Instinctively, the person would think it is a cockroach, and
will automatically be on a fight or flight mode. However, if
this person reassesses the dark object on the floor and
sees it is not a cockroach, the emotion of fear subsides
and no fight or flight action is taken.