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Influence Of Emotional Intelligence And Assertiveness On Pro-social Behaviours
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The Origin of Emotional Intelligence
The
seeds of EI has been in bedded in what is known as Social intelligence
(SI) which was first proposed by Thorndike in 1920 cited in (Kobe,
Reiter-Palman & Rickers, 2001) and is defined as the „ability to
understand and manage men and women, boys and girls. As a result of
ongoing research and expansion of the knowledge of social intelligence,
researchers have concurred that social intelligence contains two
components (Kobe et al., 2001):
· Being aware of or noticing others‟ needs and problems;
· Adapting to different social situations.
Evidently
EI and social intelligence overlap and the dilemma appears to be
whether EI is a component of SI as it appears that SI has subsumed EI.
Furthermore, it appears that SI has a much broader scope than EI and
therefore could explain more of the variance associated with leadership
(Kobe et al., 2001).
Robert Thorndike also noted the importance of
non-cognitive aspects of intelligence for success. The work of these two
researchers was not highly regarded as meaningful until 1983 when
Howard Gardner started to write about “multiple intelligenceâ€. He argued
that intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligences were as important as
other measures of IQ (Cherniss, 2000).
Goleman et al (2000), have
suggested that EI as a construct on its own, is not a strong predictor
of job performance but provides the competencies that are. Goleman
attempted to prove this by distinguishing between EI and emotional
competence. He argued that emotional competences are linked to EI
(Cherniss, 2000).
Mayer and Salovey’s ability model defines EI as a
set of mental abilities that has to do with emotions and the processing
of emotional information as well as contribute to logical thought and
intelligence. In terms of this model, abilities are arranged from basic
psychological processes to complex psychological processes and develop
with age and experience. Mayer and Salovey further postulates that these
abilities are independent of traits and talents and preferred ways of
behaving (Gardner & Stough, 2001).
The model proposed by
Wolmarans (1998) is a mixed approach to EI, where the EI assessment tool
as depicted by the 360-degreee assessment instrument, as it is
applicable to the South African organisational context. Wolmarans (2002)
developed a statistically validated emotional intelligence tool taking
into account seven competencies: self-motivation, self-esteem,
self-management, change resilience, interpersonal relations, integration
of „head and heart‟ and emotional literacy. This instrument is designed
to provide accurate feedback, information on critical behaviours for
success and direction for individual development. This instrument
therefore collects performance assessments from supervisors, peers,
clients and subordinates. These assessments are then collated and a
comprehensive feedback report is provided on an individual’s performance
and competence. According to Wolmarans (2002) the purpose of the
Emotional Competency Profiler (ECP) is to give the individual an
opportunity to reflect on their emotional skills through their own eyes
as indicated by the ratings of others.
A number of researchers and
authors have emphasised the importance of understanding and managing the
impact of emotions and related behaviours in an organisational context.
There appears to be a strong interest from the corporate sector as they
seek to gain competitive advantage over competitors. EI arose from the
assumption that it can contribute to the success and achievement of
personal goals more so than IQ (Bar-On, 1988).
Bar-On developed a
non-cognitive model and defines EI as an array of non-cognitive
capabilities, competencies and skills that influence’s an individual’s
ability to cope with environmental demands and pressures. Bar-on states
that the component of the model relates to develops over time and can be
improved through training and development programs (Gardner et al.,
2001).
One of the more prominent researchers in this area argued that
social intelligence is distinct from academic abilities and plays a
very important role in determining how well individual deals with
practicalities in later life. Goleman (1995) adapted a model of Salovey
and Mayer (1990) to explore how EI relates to working life. According to
his model, EI was split into two elements known as: personal and social
competence. In terms of the competence model, emotional competencies
must be learnt. Emotional competence is defined as a learnt capability
based on EI that can result in outstanding performance at work (Cherniss
& Goleman, 2001).
Goleman (1998) has suggested an EI framework that consists of four clusters:
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Self-awareness – being aware of emotions and its significance; having
realistic knowledge of strengths and weaknesses; having self-confidence.
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ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]Empirically explored in the study were emotional intelligence and assertiveness on pro-social behaviour. One hundred and eighty-six students (83 males and 103 females) of the University of Uyo, Uyo in Akwa Ibom State, were used in the study. Valid questionnaires and scales were used in the present study, such as; The Schutte Self Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT) developed by Dr. Nicola Schutte (1998), Rathus Assertiveness Scale (RAS) by Spencer Rathus (1973), and Adult Pro-Socialness S ... Continue reading---
