MODULE 3: Emotional Intelligence.

Emotions: how do I recognize them and what use do they have?

Emotions are complex reactions in which both the mind and the body are mixed.

The emotional response includes three types:

1. A subjective state of mind (eg, I feel good or bad).

2. An impulse to act that may or may not be overtly expressed (eg, approach, avoidance, or crying).

3. Body changes or responses of a physiological nature (eg, sweating or heart rate).

During this course, we will focus on the DIMENSIONAL model of the emotional organization, formed by:

• The affective valence (between what is pleasant or unpleasant).

• Arousal or activation (from excitement to calm).

• Domination or control (from the controllable to the uncontrollable).

Example of emotional response: an emotion of extreme joy would be classified as: pleasant, highly aroused, and uncontrollable 

We can see the following figure of the circumplex model of Posner, Russell and Perterson (2005)

Competences and emotional functions

Saarni (2000), understands emotional competence as the demonstration of self-efficacy in showing or expressing emotions in the different social relationships that occur due to emotions. Saarni (2000) defines the concept of self-efficacy as that capacity and ability that a subject possesses to achieve those desired objectives. Therefore, emotional self-efficacy will require knowledge of one's own competencies and skills to manage emotions in order to obtain the desired results.

 Saarni (1997; 2000) indicates a series of emotional competence skills:

1. Perception of the emotional state of the subject.

2. Ability to discover the abilities of others.

3. Capacity for the appropriate use of emotional vocabulary and adapted to the cultural context.

4. Ability to integrate into the emotional field of others, through the use of empathy.

5. Ability to understand each emotional state at an internal and external level.

6. Ability to face negative emotions through the use of self-control, as a means of emotional regulation, both in intensity and duration.

7. Understanding of the structure and nature of the different relationships defined by:

a. Degree of emotional sincerity.

b. Degree of symmetry in the relationship.

c. Sufficiency in emotional self-efficacy

Bisquerra and Pérez (2007, 69), pose emotional competence as "the set of knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitudes necessary to understand, express and regulate emotional phenomena appropriately". Therefore, the search for the emotional capacity of each student will allow us to provide them with the autonomy to be able to improve the different situations they must face both at the school and social levels.

From the research carried out by the GROP (Research Group in Psychopedagogical Orientation) since 1997 in the field of emotional education, in research and teaching. Bisquerra and Pérez (2007) understand emotional competencies in a group of five large blocks: emotional awareness, emotional regulation, personal autonomy, interpersonal intelligence and life skills and well-being. From these dimensions, a hexagonal model would be obtained in which each of these edges would be the ones that would format the model of emotional competencies, as shown in the following figure.

From the emotional competencies model of Bisquerra and Pérez (2007), we see two differentiated parts at the level of competencies that each individual must achieve or possess. In this text, we focus on the first dimensions such as emotional awareness, regulation, and emotional autonomy. This is related to those aspects that meditation or mindfulness develops, such as the personal aspect and being present in the here and now.

Emotional awareness: we could define it based on what Bisquerra and Pérez (2007) understand, as the ability to become aware of one's emotions and those of others, which would include the ability to understand and comprehend the emotional climate of a given space.

Emotional Regulation: Bisquerra and Pérez (2007) expose it as the ability of an individual to use emotions appropriately in each situation.

Emotional autonomy: it would be understood as a concept that would include a multitude of characteristics and elements that are related to the self-management of the individual (self-esteem, positive attitude, responsibility, ability to assess social norms, being able to seek resources and ask for help...), this point would develop in the subject an approach towards resilience.

Social competence: the ability to create positive relationships with other individuals. For this, it is necessary to have social skills, communication skills, assertiveness, etc...

Competences for life and well-being: it is the ability to favour responsible and appropriate behaviours to optimally face the challenges of life, both at a family, school, social or professional level, but also those situations of an exceptional nature that in life comes to us.

 Emotions can be:

 Primary emotions (adaptive or maladaptive)

Adaptive: basic emotion, fundamental and visceral response. It comes quickly and goes, very healthy and valuable. When a student goes to another course.

Maladaptive: they are not healthy. They are based on previous learning. They last over time, although the cause that produced them no longer exists). Example: You are worthless.

Secondary emotions. It arises from another emotion. They are when the central emotion is not accepted or not perceived. They are usually problematic and want to be eliminated.

Example: “children should not cry”: a classmate of a child goes to another centre (the adaptive thing would be to feel sadness at the loss), but sadness is not allowed, so it makes them angry and pissed off (secondary emotion ).

Instrumental emotions. Expressed consciously and automatically to achieve a goal. They allow us to manipulate, we are not usually aware of having learned them. They are not healthy when they are abused. Example: crying of a boy or girl.

From distortion to emotional calm

 Difficulties at an emotional level generate emotional distortions such as:

• One Is not aware of the sensations, and does not perceive them at a physiological level.

• Being unaware of emotions. They are diverted to another level. Headache, neck, etc.

• Do not express emotions. Physical, psychological, social, school consequences…

• Don't act on your emotions. He identifies them but cannot express them, or act on them...

• Get out of control. Anger, school aggression, etc.

• One goes back to some emotional situation not overcome from the past. Post-traumatic stress.

• Manipulating emotions for secondary gains.

What mindfulness seeks is to generate mechanisms so that we can develop greater emotional maturity, as a means of counteracting emotional distortion. Therefore, emotional maturity consists of:

1. Being aware of one's own emotions and the ability to accept them as positive in themselves.

2. Breadth of emotional experience.

3. Make a clear distinction between “feeling” an emotion, “expressing” it, and “acting it out”.

 Let's watch two videos to later make a reflection: