What is important to any student is a harmony of emotional roles and not too great a disparity in the general level of intelligence. Every small emotional wave tends to disrupt the progress that a student aspires to make in his preparation for examinations. Let us understand through this article, the importance of EQ. Every aspiring student must learn to perform well under pressure, set very high standards for himself/herself, make the most of his or her ability always giving 100% and be prepared to match the levels of IQ with an equally high level of EQ!

The concept of EQ exploded on the intelligence horizon in1995 after the publication of Daniel Goleman’s bestseller ‘Emotional Intelligence’. EQ is a fairly new concept. In the 1940s and 1950s there were several attempts to find a substantial relationship between achievement and personality but these attempts were futile. In 1968, Catell and Butcher tried to predict both school achievement and creativity from ability, personality and motivation. They were successful in showing the importance of personality in academic achievement but were unable to link motivation to it. In 1983, Howard Gardener introduced his theory of Multiple Intelligences which opened doors to other theories like EQ. But EQ, entered the mainstream only with Daniel Goleman in 1995.

There are competing theories on what EQ is and what its origins and motivations are. EQ can be considered a mental ability that involves the ability to reason validly with emotional information and the action of emotions to enhance thought. Our traditional education system has in the past focused on the three R’s and the development of our cognitive skills. Therefore it is not surprising that whilst a few people may have naturally high EQ; most of us need some skill development in this area. Achievement encompasses student ability and performance; it is intricately related to human growth and cognitive, emotional, social and physical development.

Mayer and Saloney in1997 gave the four branch model of EQ in which they describe four areas of capacities or skills that collectively describe many areas of emotional intelligence. They are:-

1.    Perceiving Emotion – The initial, most basic, area has to do with the nonverbal reception and expression of emotion. The capacity to accurately perceive emotions in the face or voice of others provides emotions in the face or voice of others provides a crucial starting point for more advanced understanding of emotions.
2.    Using Emotions to Facilitate Thought – This is the capacity of the emotions to enter into and guide the cognitive system and promote thinking. Something we respond to emotionally is something that grabs our attention. Both mood swings, and positive moods, have been implicated in the capacity to carry out creative thought.
3.    Understanding Emotions – Emotions convey information: Happiness usually indicates a desire to join with other people; anger indicates a desire to attack or harm others; fear indicates a desire to escape, and so forth. Each emotion conveys its own pattern of possible messages, and actions associated with those messages.
4.    Managing Emotions – Finally, emotions often can be managed. A person needs to understand that emotions convey information.

We are at the beginning of a new century and IQ is no more the only measure for success; understandably, emotional intelligence, social intelligence, and luck also play a big role in success.

EQ analysis works by breaking down our emotional awareness, social knowledge and our ability to cope with the demands of modern-day life into different spheres self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills. The different skills needed in each sphere are measured so that tracking and mapping them becomes possible. Just imagine the difference it will make to your study patterns and how much closer all this will bring you to converting your dreams and aspirations to reach the best B-school!

[Arvind Passey]
[2007]
Written for PT Education