Emotional Intellect. Part 2 - Reviews, Self-development

• Emotional intellect. Why it can matter more than IQ
• Daniel Goleman
• Mann, Ivanov and Ferber. Moscow, 2018

Publishing excerpts from the book

Daniel Goleman, an American psychologist and recognized expert in the field of emotional intelligence, argues that our emotions play a much larger role in achieving success in the family and at work than is commonly believed

See also: Emotional Intelligence. Part 1

All emotions, in essence, represent the urge to action, instant programs of action that evolution has gradually instilled in us. Actually, the root of the word "emotion" is the Latin verb moveo, meaning "to move, lead a movement", with the prefix e- ("e-"), which gives an additional meaning to the outward orientation: "move, remove." This means that each of the emotions awakens the desire to act. The fact that emotions lead to action is most easily convinced by observing animals or children. Only in "civilized" adults do we often find a colossal deviation from the norm of the animal kingdom: emotions - the main stimuli for action - often diverge from the action itself.

Each emotion in our emotional repertoire plays a unique role as revealed by biological characteristics (see Appendix A for more on “core” emotions). By adopting new methods to "look" the human body and its brain, researchers are discovering more and more physiological details of how each emotion prepares the body for completely different responses.

• In a moment of anger, blood rushes to the hands, allowing you to quickly and easily grab a weapon or strike an enemy; the heart rate increases, and the release of hormones such as adrenaline provides a boost of energy for decisive action.
• When a person is seized by fear, blood rushes to the large skeletal muscles, in particular, to the muscles of the legs, helping to quickly escape from danger; the person turns pale, which occurs as a result of the outflow of blood from the head (there is a feeling that the blood "freezes in the veins"). The body instantly becomes numb, although not for long, probably giving time to assess the situation and decide whether it would not be the best way to hide in a secluded place as soon as possible. Circuits in the emotional centers of the brain trigger the release of hormones, bringing the body into a state of general alertness, causing it to burn with impatience and preparing it for action. Attention is focused on the immediate threat: you need to quickly and better determine what decision to make in a given environment.
• Among the many biological changes that occur when a person is happy, we note the increased activity of the brain center, which suppresses negative feelings, calms the experiences that provoke anxious thoughts, and promotes the flow of energy. In this case, however, there are no special changes in physiology, except for the fact that a state of rest occurs. It allows the body to recover faster from the activation of destructive emotions. Such a device provides the body with the general rest, as well as the state of readiness and inspiration necessary to complete any urgent task and move towards new large-scale goals.
• Love, affectionate feelings and sexual gratification trigger the activation of the parasympathetic nervous system, which is physiologically opposite to the “fight-or-save” mobilization caused by fear or anger. The parasympathetic model, duplicating the "relaxation response", is formed by a set of reactions distributed throughout the body that create a general state of calmness and satisfaction, and promote psychological compatibility.
• Raising eyebrows in surprise, a person increases the space covered by the gaze and lets in more light falling on the retina. As a result, it is possible to collect more information about the unexpected event in order to get the most accurate picture of what is happening and develop the best plan of action.
• Disgust is expressed everywhere and everywhere in the same way and conveys the same feeling: something literally or figuratively smells bad or tastes unpleasant. The expression on the disgusted person's face - a raised upper lip and a slightly wrinkled nose - suggests an initial attempt, as Darwin noted, to pinch his nose so as not to smell a ghoulish smell, or to spit out something poisonous or disgusting.
• The main function of sadness is to help you cope with an irreparable loss, such as the death of a loved one or serious disappointment. Sadness entails a dramatic decrease in energy. We stop being addicted to anything that brings pleasure. The stronger the sadness, the closer the depression, leading to a slower metabolism. This withdrawal with the accompanying introspection provides an opportunity to mourn a loss or unfulfilled hope, to ponder its implications for later life and - with the return of energy - to start planning new beginnings. The loss of energy probably kept those who were in sorrow and therefore vulnerable people of the ancient world closer to home, where they were safe.

Our life experiences and our culture contribute to the formation of a biologically determined propensity for action. For example, the loss of a loved one causes sadness and grief in everyone. But how we discover our grief - whether we show or hold back emotions until no one sees us - is culturally shaped. As well as what kind of people in our life fall into the number of loved ones, whose death we mourn.

Emotional responses have been developed over a long period of evolution. It was a harsher reality than the one in which most people lived and live after the story itself began. In the pre-literary era, very few babies lived to be children and very few adults to thirty. Predators could attack at any moment, droughts and floods put a person on the line between starvation and survival. But with the advent of agriculture and human communities, even in its most rudimentary form, the chances of survival have increased dramatically. Over the past ten thousand years, as the achievements of civilization began to spread throughout the world, the oppression of the harsh circumstances that held back population growth has been steadily weakening.

Difficulties have made our emotional responses so important to survival. The weaker the reactions, the worse the rest of the emotional repertoire fit together. Whereas in ancient times, instantly flaring anger could provide decisive chances for survival, today the availability of automatic weapons for thirteen-year-olds too often turns its manifestations into disaster.