Eastern Illinois University The Keep Masters Theses Student Theses & Publications 1-1-2008 The ulturC al Dimension Of Emotional Intelligence And Its Clinical Implications Koyeli Sengupta Eastern Illinois University This research is a product of the graduate program in Psychology at Eastern Illinois University. Find out more about the program. Recommended Citation Sengupta, Koyeli, "The ulturC al Dimension Of Emotional Intelligence And Its Clinical Implications" (2008). Masters Theses. 601. http://thekeep.eiu.edu/theses/601 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Theses & Publications at The Keep. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of The Keep. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 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The Cultural Dimension of Emotional Intelligence and its Clinical Implications BY Koyeli Sengupta THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF Masters of Arts in Clinical Psychology IN THE GRADUATE SCHOOL, EASTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY CHARLESTON, ILLINOIS 2008 YEAR I HEREBY RECOMMEND THAT THIS THESIS BE ACCEPTED AS FULFILLING THIS PART OF THE GRADUATE DEGREE CITED ABOVE ~~ 7~.!!L"r --7"­ ....... ----­ Thesis C61 (1/\ \tv 1(l+101 D~nUSChOOIHead Date Emotional Intelligence 1 The Cultural Dimension of Emotional Intelligence and its Clinical Implications By Koyeli Sengupta THESIS FOR THE DEGREE OF Masters ofArts in Clinical Psychology Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, Illinois. 2008 Thesis Committee: Chair: Ronan Bernas, Ph.D. Anu Sharma, Ph.D. Christine McCormick, Ph.D. Emotional Intelligence 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to thank Dr. Bernas, Dr. Shanna and Dr. McConnick for their guidance, wisdom and encouragement throughout the thesis process To Dr. Bernas, my unending gratitude for encouraging me to do a thesis on a topic that I am "passionate" about, and for his unfailing patience and superlative guidance as I worked on it. To Dr. Shanna and Dr. McConnick, I extend my sincere appreciation for their many helpful suggestions and their constant encouragement and incredible support. I could complete this thesis only because ofthe three of you. Special thanks go out to my parents and my hubby for their encouragement and loving support and for helping me to regulate my own emotions through this grueling process. And last but not least, a big thank you hug to my daughter Tanaya. She is my little helper and cheerfully kept herself entertained for hours as mommy worked on her thesis. Emotional Intelligence 3 ABSTRACT The purpose ofthis thesis was to examine the role that culture plays in emotional intelligence, in people's ability to use emotions adaptively in their daily lives. Specifically, it presented existing cross-cultural research literature on emotional intelligence, with particular focus on the emotional competencies of Americans and Indians. The literature on cross-cultural psychology of emotions revealed cross-cultural similarities as well as differences in each phase ofthe emotion process. It supported the view that considerable universality existed with regards to perception of emotions in facial expressions, while the major sources of differences were detected in the processes of regulation of emotion and in certain appraisal propensities. Implications ofthese cultural variations were discussed with regards to the role of emotional intelligence in the diagnosis and treatment of psychopathology. Emotional Intelligence 4 Table of Contents Emotional Intelligence Competencies 6 Emotions: Physiological and cognitive components 7 Appraisal and arousal theories of emotion 8 Processing theory of emotion 9 Emotional Intelligence: How competent we are in processing and using emotions adaptively 11 Origins of emotional intelligence 12 Current definitions of emotional intelligence 13 Emotional intelligence as a set of abilities 14 The primary modeL 14 Competencies included in the model.. .14 Measuring the competencies 16 Limitations ofthe measure 17 Emotional intelligence as a set of traits 19 The primary model. 19 Competencies included in the model. .20 Measuring the competencies 20 Limitations of the measures .21 Emotional intelligence as a mixed set of abilities and traits .21 The primary model 21 Competencies included in the model 22 Measuring the competencies .23 Emotional Intelligence 5 Limitations of the measure '" 24 Emotional intelligence: An ability, a trait or both? .24 Emotional Intelligence and Well-Being: .27 Implications for establishing and diagnosing psychopathology 28 Implications for therapy 34 Cultural Variations in Emotional Intelligence Competencies 37 Cross-cultural studies on emotional intelligence 38 Factors that may influence emotional processing competence in the Indian context 41 Individualism-collectivism .41 Masculinity-Femininity .41 Indigenous theory of emotions .42 Cross-cultural variations in emotional processing .46 Cross-cultural comparisons in the perception, appraisal and expression of emotions 46 Cross-cultural comparisons in the understanding, regulating and managing ofemotions 52 Clinical Implications of Cultural Variations in Emotional Intelligence Competencies 56 Implications for establishing and diagnosing psychopathology 57 Implications for therapy 59 Conclusion 63 References 66 Emotional Intelligence 6 The Cultural Dimension of Emotional Intelligence and its Clinical Implications The purpose ofthis thesis is to examine the role that culture plays in emotional intelligence, in people's ability to use emotions adaptively in their daily lives. Specifically, it will present the existing research literature on people's capacity to perceive and identify emotions in others and in themselves, to incorporate emotions into their thinking, to understand the role and value of emotions in their lives, and to manage their emotions and use them for their personal development. Particular focus will be made on research literature that has examined the emotional competencies of Americans and Indians. The thesis will then discuss the implications of these cultural variations in the diagnosis and treatment of psychopathology in American and Indian cultures. Emotional Intelligence Competencies In this section, I will present existing literature that describes the origins and evolution of the concept of emotional intelligence (EI). Further, I will look at the specific competencies that underlie the broader construct of EI and how they are measured Emotion is one of the most central and pervasive aspects of human experience. Most people experience a wide range of emotions in their daily lives, from the quiet satisfaction of completing a relatively mundane task to the overpowering grief at the death of a near one (Ortony, Clore, & Collins, 1988). Emotions also have many facets. They involve feelings and experience, they involve physiology and behavior, and they involve conceptualizations and cognitions (Ortony, et al.). Historically, emotion has often been delegated to the back seat, for emotion has been considered as an inferior component of human nature (Salovey, Bedell, Detweiler, & Mayer, 2000; Mayer, 2002). In his description of the historical basis of the philosophy Emotional Intelligence 7 of emotions, Solomon (2000) describes how ancient Greek and Stoic philosophers considered the wisdom of reason to hold the reins while emotion consisted of dangerous impulses that needed to be suppressed or safely channeled to exist in harmony with reason. The Greek philosopher Aristotle, in his book The Rhetoric, defined emotions thus: "Let the emotions be all those things on account of which people change and differ with regard to their judgments, and upon which attend pain and pleasure, for example anger, pity, and fear, and all other such things and their opposites" (Aristotle, trans. 1954). Thus, emotions commonly conveyed the idea of irrational passions that had the power to sway judgment (Planalp & Fitness, 1999). Emotions: Physiological and Cognitive Components Scientific theory and research during most of the twentieth century continued to ignore emotions (Manstead, Frijda, & Fisher, 2004). This situation changed dramatically in the latter part of the century when there grew an enormous interest in emotion research within a multitude ofdisciplines including psychology, biology, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, neuroscience and cognitive science. New insights followed research, and a wide range of research gave rise to multiple theories and conceptualizations. Emotions have been examined and defined in terms of their disruptive/motivational intraorganismic