Emotional Intelligence

Emotions – 3 by Toddatkins – http://batonrougecounseling.net/managing-emotions/. Licensed under CC0 via Wikimedia Commons

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Acing the Marshmallow Test Lea Winerman, writing for the APA Monitor on Psychology, presents this interview with Walter Mischel on his research on delay of gratification and the marshmallow test.

The Dark Side of Emotional Intelligence The ability to monitor one’s own and other people’s emotions, while generally an important social skill, may also have a dark side. According to a study recently published in theJournal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, Young women with higher emotional intelligence are more likely to commit acts of delinquency. From The Huffington Post, November, 2014.

Don’t! Describes the classic work of Walter Mischel on delay of gratification research, including interviews with the now grown-up participants of the original marshmallow studies. Children who are able to pass the marshmallow test enjoy greater success as adults. The New Yorker, May 18, 2009, by Jonah Lehrer.

Emotional Intelligence John D. Mayer and his colleagues maintain this site Dedicated to Communicating Scientific Information about Emotional Intelligence, Including Relevant Aspects of Emotions, Cognition, and Personality.

Emotional Intelligence Developed for Computerized Tutors Science Daily, March 7, 2008, reports that researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have developed a computerized tutor which demonstrates emotional intelligence by responding to students’ emotions such as anger, frustration, or boredom by monitoring students’ body language, attention and other cues.

Emotional Intelligence Peaks as We Enter Our 60s Older people have a hard time keeping a lid on their feelings, especially when viewing heartbreaking or disgusting scenes in movies and reality shows, psychologists have found. But they’re better than their younger counterparts at seeing the positive side of a stressful situation and empathizing with the less fortunate, according to research by Robert Levenson and colleagues and summarized here in Science Daily, December 18, 2010.

Emotionally Intelligent People Are Less Good at Spotting Liars People high in emotional intelligence overestimate their ability to detect lies in others according to research by Stephen Porter and colleagues and published in the journal Legal and Criminological Psychology and summarized here in ScienceDaily, May 18, 2012.

Emotional Intelligence Trumps IQ in Dentist-Patient Relationship IQ may predict who does well in dental school, but EQ predicts who will make the best patient-friendly dentists. This according to research by Kristin Victoroff and colleagues published in the Journal of Dental Education and summarized here in Science Daily, April 22, 2013.

Five Keys to Enhancing Your Emotional Intelligence Emotional Intelligence is absolutely essential in the formation, development, maintenance, and enhancement of close personal relationships. Find out how to increase your IQ using these five suggestions from Preston Ni for Psychology Today, January 2012.

Learning How to Exert Self-Control Writer Pamela Druckerman interviews Walter Mischel on his famous research using the marshmallow test to study self-control. Mischel explains that there are two warring parts of the brain: a hot part demanding immediate gratification (the limbic system), and a cool, goal-oriented part (the prefrontal cortex). The secret of self-control, he says, is to train the prefrontal cortex to kick in first. From The New York Times, September 12, 2014.

The Marshmallow Study Revisited This classic measurement of children’s self-control was replicated and updated in a study published in Cognition this month and summarized here, October 11, 2012. Children who experienced reliable interactions immediately before the marshmallow task waited on average four times longer—12 versus three minutes—than youngsters in similar but unreliable situations. Includes photos and video from the study, and a graph of results.

The Mistake Everybody Makes With Emotional Intelligence Emotional intelligence isn’t just being nice to people nor is it unequivocally a good thing. This info graphic vividly illustrates what emotional intelligence is . . . and isn’t. From Business Insider, August 18, 2014.

Multiple Intelligences Check out this site for a description, overview, and resources on how the concept of multiple intelligences can be applied to teaching and learning.

Self-Control and Success Art Markman explains the marshmallow test and research on delay of gratification and how it predicts positive outcomes and a better ability to deal with stress. From Psychology Today, July 16, 2013.

The Struggles of a Psychologist Studying Self-Control Psychologist and writer Maria Konnikova talks with Walter Mischel about his research using the marshmallow test to study self-control and delay of gratification. Here, she discusses strategies Mischel used to help himself quit smoking and eat healthier. Self-control is like a muscle: the more you use it, the stronger it gets. Avoiding something tempting once will help you develop the ability to resist other temptations in the future. From The New Yorker, October 9, 2014.

What is your Emotional IQ? A collection of articles from Psychology Today on the topic of Emotional Intelligence including what it is and is not, gender differences in EQ, and alternative intelligences.

You’ll Never Learn: A New Marshmallow Test? Is resisting a blinking inbox or a buzzing phone the new marshmallow test of self-discipline? Read about new evidence on self-discipline and multitasking in this article from Slate, May 3, 2013.

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Tests, Measures, and Scales

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2 Easy Ways to Increase Willpower — Courtesy Of The Cookie Monster Eric Barker, in his Barking Up The Wrong Tree blog, reviews the research on willpower and how to delay gratification using videos of kids and the Cookie Monster. Interestingly, Sesame Street actually consulted with Walter Mischel, the originator of the marshmallow test, to be sure that Cookie instilled got his psychology correct. Cookie Monster illustrates that distraction and focus can help self-control in a charming music video. From December 2, 2013.

Delay of Gratification A modern twist on the classic Marshmallow test. See children successfully and unsuccessful delay gratification in this clip. Embedded in a presentation on Temptation, the test itself starts at about 45 seconds and lasts just over 4 minutes.

Delay of Gratification with the Dilley Sextuplets Dianne Sawyer for the ABC news program Primetime interviews the Dilley sextuplets and tests their ability to delay gratification using M&Ms in this replication of Michel’s classic Marshmallow Test. See also: here for background on the Dilleys.

Delay of Gratification: The Marshmallow Study Revisited This classic measurement of children’s self-control was replicated and updated in a study published in Cognition this month and summarized here, October 11, 2012. Children who experienced reliable interactions immediately before the marshmallow task waited on average four times longer—12 versus three minutes—than youngsters in similar but unreliable situations. Includes photos and video from the study, and a graph of results.

Hot Topics: Intelligence As part of its Science and Nature coverage the BBC designed this extensive introduction to intelligence, featuring key points about intelligence, definitions, a quiz on gender differences, video on learning before birth, language, IQ tests, emotional intelligence, clever celebrities, a reader poll, and the latest news on intelligence research.

The Lifetime Effects of Self-Control in Childhood In following a cohort of individuals from birth to their late 30s, Terrie Moffitt and her colleagues found that children who scored low on a variety of self-control measures at age 3 were more likely as adults to have criminal records, addictions, welfare dependency, low financial savings, bad credit ratings, and health problems compared with those who scored high on self-control as toddlers. Watch her keynote address at the inaugural International Convention of Psychological Science in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, March 13, 2015 in this video. Runs 49 minutes and 2 seconds.

Walter Mischel on The Colbert Report The Colbert Report, a popular late-night satirical television program, featured special guest psychologist Walter Mischel to discuss his new book on the marshmallow test. In this segment, Mischel performs the test on Colbert with hilarious results. Through it all, Mischel remains cool despite Colbert’s antics, summarizes the results of this classic research program, and even admits to not liking marshmallows! From September 25, 2014. The segment with Mischel starts at 15:23 and runs about 5 minutes.

Self-Regulation: Video Talk by Roy Baumeister Roy Baumeister presents this talk to the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, an organization committed to finding innovative practical solutions to today’s social challenges, explaining why willpower and self-control is one of the most important aspects of individual and societal wellbeing (runs 15 minutes and 50 seconds).