An investigation of the relationship between trait emotional intelligence and emotional task performance

This study examined the relationships between trait emotional intelligence (EI) and tasks involving the recognition of facial expressions of emotion. Two facial expression recognition tasks using the inspection time (IT) paradigm assessed speed of emotional information processing. An unspeeded emotion recognition task was also included, and a symbol IT task was used to assess speed of processing of non-emotional information. It was found that scores on all three emotion-related tasks were strongly intercorrelated, as were scores on the three IT tasks. The two emotional IT scores remained significantly correlated when symbol IT performance was partialled out. This finding, together with the associations between the speeded (IT) and unspeeded face tasks suggests that the association between the emotional IT tasks is not entirely accounted for by general processing speed, and that a general emotion-processing ability also contributes to performance on these tasks. An EI subscale assessing Appraisal of Emotions was significantly correlated with performance on the emotional IT tasks, suggesting that self-reports of emotional perception ability do relate to performance measures.     

Vigilance for threat: effects of anxiety and defensiveness

Eysenck’s (1997) theory that attentional biases for threat vary as an interactive function of trait anxiety and defensiveness was tested using a visual probe task. Two stimulus exposure conditions were used to explore a secondary issue concerning attentional allocation over time. Results indicated that, among high trait anxious participants, only those with low levels of defensiveness showed vigilance for threatening faces presented for 500 ms. They also showed an attentional preference for neutral faces, relative to happy faces, irrespective of exposure condition. This pattern was reversed in high trait anxious participants with high levels of defensiveness, who showed an attentional bias towards happy faces (relative to neutral faces) under both exposure conditions. The findings are discussed in relation to their implications for (a) the significance of measures of defensiveness for the conceptualization of high trait anxious individuals, and (b) the status of anxiety-related biases at different stages of information processing.     

Moderating effect of emotional intelligence on the role of negative affect in the motivation to drink in alcohol-dependent subjects undergoing protracted withdrawal

In order to understand how emotional aspects evolve and are related to craving for alcohol, different emotion-related variables were examined in relationship to craving during a protracted withdrawal. To this end state affectivity (PANAS), emotional intelligence (EI) (TEIQue), and craving (OCDS) were assessed at the onset (T1: day 1 or 2) and at the end (T2: day 14 to 18) of three-week protracted withdrawal among alcohol-dependent inpatients (DSM-IV, N = 41). A significant decrease in craving and negative affectivity (NA) was observed from T1 to T2 while EI scores remained low. At both baseline and follow-up, there was a significant moderation effect of EI on the link between NA and craving for alcohol. Negative mood at the onset of the cure was linked to craving at the end of the withdrawal period but only among patients with low trait EI scores. The merits of using psychotherapeutic approaches were discussed in the treatment of alcohol addiction.     

Effects of handedness and saccadic bilateral eye movements on components of autobiographical recollection

The effects of handedness and saccadic bilateral eye movements on autobiographical recollection were investigated. Recall of autobiographical memories was cued by the use of neutral and emotional words. Autobiographical recollection was assessed by the autobiographical memory questionnaire. Experiment 1 found that mixed-handed (vs. right handed) individuals demonstrated greater levels of autobiographical recollection on the components of seeing, hearing, and emotion. Experiment 2 found that following 30 s of bilateral eye movements, greater levels of autobiographical recollection were demonstrated on the components of reliving, seeing, hearing, emotion, self-perspective and veridicality. The results extend previous research by showing that the recollective components of real world memories can be enhanced by either mixed-handedness or eye movements. In addition, these results provide a bridge between laboratory studies of recollection and autobiographical recollection. The findings are considered in terms of research on the cognitive neuroscience of autobiographical memory.     

The role of political skill in the stressor–outcome relationship: Differential predictions for self- and other-reports of political skill

The beneficial role of political skill in stress reactions and performance evaluations has been demonstrated in a substantial amount of empirical research. Most of the research, however, has focused on self-perceptions of political skill. This study examines the differential moderating effects of self- vs. other-rated political skill in the conflict – emotional burnout and performance relationships, using two samples including non-academic staff employees of a large university (N = 839) and a variety of office and retail employees from an automotive organization (N = 142). We argue that self-reported political skill moderates the relationship between conflict and a self-reported strain-related outcome that is important to the individual (i.e., emotional burnout), but that supervisor-rated political skill does not moderate this relationship. Further, we argue that supervisor-rated political skill moderates the relationship between conflict and an outcome important to the supervisor and the organization (i.e., job performance), but that self-reported political skill does not moderate this relationship. Findings partially support our hypotheses as both self and supervisor-rated political skill neutralized the negative effects of conflict on burnout, but only supervisor-rated political skill neutralized the negative effects of conflict on performance. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.     

Interactive effects of emotional dissonance and self-control demands on burnout, anxiety, and absenteeism

Two specific sources of stress at work have recently received increasing attention in organizational stress research: emotional dissonance (ED) and self-control demands (SCDs). Both theoretical arguments and experimental findings in basic research strongly suggest that ED and different SCDs draw on a common limited regulatory resource. Consequently, both kinds of stressors should exert interactive effects on indicators of job strain and well-being. Drawing on two German samples (total N = 586), we tested this prediction by examining the interaction effects of ED and different dimensions of SCDs on burnout, anxiety, and absence behavior. Latent moderated structural equation modeling provided support for the hypothesized interactive effects of ED and dimensions of SCDs in predicting burnout, anxiety, and absence behavior. More specifically, with each pair of stressors the effects of one stressor were found to be amplified by the other. Finally, we discuss theoretical and practical implications of our results.     

Gender differences in burnout: A meta-analysis

The literature on male-female differences in burnout has produced inconsistent results regarding the strength and direction of this relationship. Lack of clarity on gender differences in organizationally relevant phenomena, such as work burnout, frequently generates ungrounded speculations that may (mis)inform organizational decisions. To address this issue, we conducted a meta-analysis of the relationship between gender and burnout using 409 effect sizes from 183 studies. Results challenge the commonly help belief that female employees are more likely to experience burnout than male employees, revealing instead that women are slightly more emotionally exhausted than men (δ = .10), while men are somewhat more depersonalized than women (δ = −.19). Although these effects are small, they are practically noteworthy when translated into a percent overlap statistic. Moderator analyses further revealed some intriguing nuances to the general trends, such as larger gender differences in the USA compared to the EU. In contrast, gender differences did not vary significantly in male-typed vs. female-typed occupations. Our analyses also suggest discontinuation of the use of overall burnout measures because they are highly consistent with the emotional exhaustion dimension of burnout only.     

Emotional reactivity and cognitive regulation in anxious children

Recent models of anxiety disorders emphasize abnormalities in emotional reactivity and regulation. However, the empirical basis for this view is limited, particularly in children and adolescents. The present study examined whether anxious children suffer both negative emotional hyper-reactivity and deficits in cognitive emotion regulation. Participants were 49 children aged 10-17 with generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety, or separation anxiety disorder as their primary diagnosis, as well as 42 age- and gender-matched non-anxious controls. After completing a diagnostic interview and self-report questionnaires, participants were presented with pictures of threatening scenes with the instructions either to simply view them or to use reappraisal, a cognitive emotion regulation strategy, to decrease their negative emotional response. Emotion ratings, content analysis of reappraisal responses, and reports of everyday use of reappraisal were used to assess negative emotional reactivity, reappraisal ability, efficacy and frequency. Relative to controls, children with anxiety disorders (1) experienced greater negative emotional responses to the images, (2) were less successful at applying reappraisals, but (3) showed intact ability to reduce their negative emotions following reappraisal. They also (4) reported less frequent use of reappraisal in everyday life. Implications for the assessment and treatment of childhood anxiety disorders are discussed.     

Perfectionism, anger, and anger rumination

Anger and anger rumination are considered to be detrimental to both physical and psychological well being. Furthermore, perfectionism, as a personality construct, seems to be related to various types of maladjustment. Whereas perfectionism has been characterized as being positive when an individual derives pleasure from striving for excellence yet recognizes and accepts individual limitations, it is deemed negative when the individual has unrealistic expectations and is never satisfied with his or her performance. The present study examined whether positive and negative perfectionism was associated with anger and anger rumination. The Farsi version of the Positive and Negative Perfectionism Scale and the Farsi version of the Anger Rumination Scale, as well as Spielberger's State-Trait Anger Scale were completed by 384 Iranian students. Results showed that anger and anger rumination were, as expected, associated negatively with positive perfectionism and associated positively with negative perfectionism. Positive perfectionism enables individuals to strive for success in a flexible manner and, thus, to experience satisfaction and pleasure rather than dissatisfaction, frustration, and anger. Conversely, negative perfectionism makes individuals vulnerable to emotional distress such as predisposition to experience anger and anger rumination through setting high standards for performance, overgeneralization of perceived failures, negative self-evaluation, self-blame, and measuring self-worth in terms of unachievable goals of accomplishment and productivity. Hence, perfectionism may be regarded as having both adaptive and maladaptive aspects with regard to health.