Introduction: It is the progress or development that an individual’s look for in any field and it is the key to the survival of mankind. It is here the word “emotional intelligence” comes in which determines the progress or development of an individual in his/her career path. The concept of self or identity and knowing different types of personalities existing around us goes a long way in managing the challenges and hurdles one faces in life’s journey. The key ingredients of an emotional intelligence are self-awareness, self-control, self-motivation, empathy, etc. Individuals who excel in these traits are found to achieve a lot better than those who don’t. It is therefore necessary to study the elements of emotional intelligence and learn means to improve the emotional intelligence. This article talks about the concept of identity, defining characteristics of a personality and an introduction to emotional intelligence.
1. Concept of Identity To understand oneself or to know oneself is identity. There are two selves for every working individual: one is professional and other is personal. The core aspects of selfhood constitute identity. From identity one can know whether a person is stable or unstable, it is the static features that exist before a particular situation. Identities can be broadly categorised into following types: Master identities: These are relatively stable or unchanging aspects of personhood like gender, ethnicity, national and regional origins. Interactional identities: These are the roles a person plays with regards to others like friends, colleagues, college students, doctors, police etc. Personal identities: A person’s attitude, character and personality defines these identities. Relational identities: It is identified by determining how a person establishes a relation with others in a particular situation. Examples include whether a person treats others as equal or unequal, friendly or hostile, distant or close, trusting or wary etc. This is a variable aspect of an identity and can change from time to time. There are two layers of an identity: Personal: Self descriptive characteristics come under this identity and it comprises one or more of the identity categories. Social: The roles (e.g., in family) or membership categories (e.g, president of college, etc.) that a person represents. Dimensions of social identities include region, religion, class, culture, gender, and race.
The self-identity or self-concept has three different components according to Carl Rogers: Self-image: The image one creates of oneself. Self-esteem: The value which one places on oneself. Ideal-self: What one wish he is really like. Unless we understand what we really are, we are non-existent individuals. Inorder to know oneself or understand oneself one has to do a lot of self-study. There are two paths of self study: Evolution: The basis of this study involves that we came from nowhere and therefore any meaning in life is self-ascribed. Creation: The basis of this study involves the existence of a supernatural power called god, who created everything and to understand the self through the lens of god one has to study lots of scriptures from different schools of thoughts.
2. Personality and its defining characteristics It has been empirically found that the matching of the teaching styles of teachers and learning styles of learners have a direct impact on the grasp of the subject by students. Students whose learning styles are compatible with the teaching styles of a teacher tend to retain information longer, apply it more effectively, learn more, and have a more positive attitude toward the course and the institution.
In order to understand the personality type of a learner, one has to determine the learner’s personality and his/her learning styles as there exists a close relationship between them. It was empirically found that the extent by which the teaching styles of a teacher and the learning styles of a learner matches determines the extent by which a student grasps the subject. If there is a good match then the information retention capacity is longer, students can apply the concept more effectively and the students have a more positive attitude towards the course instructor and the institution as a whole. Myers-Briggs Type Indication (MBTI) is a tool to discover the learning preference of a learners and it classifies four types of learners: Extraverts: These learners prefer to work with others and love to exchange ideas and experience with others. They believe in group study. Introverts: These learners prefer to work on their own instead of brainstorming with others. Self-sufficiency is their mantra. They believe in self study. Sensing: These learners are practical and realistic. They learn from facts and figures. Organising information or systematizing the process is one of their methods of learning. They are better off as doers than thinkers. Intuitive: These learners have what is known as, ‘sixth sense’, through which they base their understanding. These learners see the pattern and order in the facts and information they gather. They are better off as thinkers than doers. Beside these there are other four personality types: Thinking types: These personalities use logic, analysis, and reasons to make decisions. They value head over their heart and value truth over tact. These people have strong principles, purpose and value fairness over everything. Feeling types: These personalities value others and have a mutual look on their roles. They like to work in groups and are cooperative in nature. Judging types: These personalities live by plan, seek orderly ways of doing things and they try to regulate and manage their lives. Getting things done is what pushes and motivates them in their journey. Perceived types: They tend to live in freedom and don’t like to be constrained by deadlines. They follow their impulses and are spontaneous in nature.
In order to study personality in depth many theories have been developed and no theory is complete in itself. These theories can be broadly categorised into five groups: Intrapsychic Theory Type Theory Trait Theory Self-Theory
3. Emotional Intelligence According to Daniel Goleman Emotional intelligence is “The capacity of recognising our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves, for managing emotions well in ourselves and in relationships”. It is the ability to connect in harmony with others that promotes emotional and intellectual growth, understanding the situations and responding instead of reacting, perceiving things accurately and facilitates expressions of emotions. Mayor, Roberts and Barsade identified three models to measure emotional intelligence: Specific Ability Model: This model was developed by Salovey and Mayer in the year 1990. This approach assumes that Emotional Intelligence develops over time, and can be correlated with measures of Intelligent Quotient (IQ) and therefore can be measured using a test method based on performance. Under this approach there are four branches arranged in hierarchy from which emotional intelligence can be measured. Those four branches in hierarchy are as follows: Ability to perceive emotions accurately Ability to use emotions to facilitate thought Ability to understand emotions Ability to manage emotions.
Integrative Approach Model: This approach has a coherent and global look and it integrates the specific skills to get the overall sense of emotional intelligence. Examples includes the emotional intelligence test combined with the ability test in four areas: Accurately perceiving emotion Using emotions to facilitate emotions Understanding emotions Managing emotions Mixed-Approach Model: This approach was developed by Daniel Goleman and it focuses heavily on defining emotional intelligence using a vast array of skills and challenges that affect leadership performance. Therefore mixed model approach is often used in professional settings to train and analyze the management potentials. This model has five essential constructs: Self-awareness: It is interpreted as recognizing one’s own emotions, strengths and weaknesses. Self-regulation: It involves one’s own emotions and impulses to produce a productive or positive purpose or feeling. This is an important element in determining an individual’s capacity to adapt to changing circumstances. Social scale: This construct involves the ability to use the first two constructs to manage the society or relationships in the direction one wants them to move. Empathy: In this construct a person feels sorry for the bad or difficult circumstance another person is facing and takes this factor into consideration when making a decision. Empathy often serves pragmatic and emotional purposes. Motivation: In this construct it is theorized that a person with high emotional intelligence will be able to motivate himself.
Conclusion: Emotional intelligence affects every area of our life whether in business, ministry, human services, education or any other field. Therefore it is essential that the means suggested above should be incorporated in day-to-day life to lead a successful and a happy life.
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