GENDER APPROACH IN EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE INVESTIGATION

159.922.1=111    

Kriukova V.1, Bochkareva T.V.2

1Student, 2senior lecturer of the department of foreign languages №2.

Crimean Federal University named after V.I. Vernadsky

GENDER APPROACH IN EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE INVESTIGATION

Summary

The purpose of the article is to investigate gender and psychological specifics of emotional intelligence. The tasks are to demark peculiarities of emotional intelligence, to study psychological emotional intelligence functions specifics in gender comparative aspect. The object of the research is emotional intelligence. The subject is gender specifics of emotional intelligence. The hypothesis is that the level of emotional intelligence of women is higher than the level of emotional intelligence of men. The article is actual as emotional intelligence hasn’t been thoroughly studied yet, it needs further investigation. 

Key words: intelligence, emotions, sex difference, men, women, gender

Scientists that investigated human nature understood importance of emotions for human self-consciousness and social relations even before scientific data appeared. Nevertheless since psychology as a science came to life the analysis of emotions, their mechanisms were ignored until the 80-s of the 20th century. “Emotions are feelings that generally have both physiological and cognitive elements and that influence behavior”. [2, p. 344]. Currently the concept “emotional intellect” is being widely studied. The importance and the necessity of the development of emotional intelligence constituents as factors that contribute to personal and professional growth and influence the quality of life is very high. “Our subjective experiences of love, anger, joy, fear, and other emotions energize and add color to our lives.” [3, p. 412].   Emotional intelligence is responsible for harmonious interaction of emotional, motivational and intellectual features of personality, thus, providing efficiency in professional and personal development.

Emotional intelligence is divided into four groups. The first is the ability to communicate efficiently, to influence and inspire, to work in a big group of people. You understand people well.  The third category is awareness of one’s own strong and weak points and the ability to live with them in harmony. The last is the ability to manage emotions, to restrict their destructive influence.

Differences of emotional intelligence level among men and women is being widely investigated. Data about gender differences of intellectual abilities and emotional field are contradictory that is why scientists will have to study influence of external factor on the development level as well as factors of emotional intelligence of both sexes. Issues connected with gender differences are widely discussed in connection with changing of men’s and women’s roles due to changes of traditions in the modern world. Different priorities in raising boys and girls influence their emotional intelligence. Boys are supposed to be more athletic, brave, and self-confident. They are not supposed to show their feelings; they should be reserved in demonstrating what they feel. Crying is a sign of weakness and is a drawback. Girls are raised as tender and delicate creatures, they are often taught to music, art and dancing.  These occupations help develop sympathy, empathy, better understanding of other people’s feelings. Music, being a universal language, influences all levels of human existence. It is a medium of communication, which can be both a pleasant experience and a healing experience. Modern science and medicine are now rediscovering the healing powers of music. It also contributes to emotional development.  If a girl cries, it is not considered a serious defect. It is pardonable and understandable. In addition, if it is possible to demonstrate one’s own emotions, it is easier to understand other person’s emotions. Women may show their feelings in public openly. Women’s level of emotional intelligence is higher because signs of emotional intelligence such as the factor of “understanding”: emotional awareness, empathy, and discerning of other people’s emotions are more typical for girls. Women have better developed intuition; it especially concerns presentiments of their children’s problems and misfortunes. Being mothers women are always worried about their children and can feel what threatens children. It is hard to understand when a woman predicts that something unpleasant may happen to a member of her family and this presentiment comes true. This is a very subtle feeling, but if people follow the woman’s advice and take her words seriously, they avoid disastrous situations. Women are more patient and that is why they are better educators.   “… when women work outside the home, they are more likely to engage in professions in which nurturance is an important component, such as teaching or nursing” [1, p. 345].

Gender differences in the emotional field are significant.  In spite of the absence of general level of emotionality ratio differences among men and women, women have higher level of emotional intelligence according to interpersonal data of emotional intelligence (emotionality, interpersonal relations, and social responsibility). Men dominate in intra personal data: self-affirmation, the ability to defend their rights: abilities to manage stress: stress resistance, impulsivity control; adaptability: determination of plausibility, problem solution. It is interesting that girls’ general level of emotional intelligence is connected with cognitive processes of awareness and comprehension of emotions, men’s is mostly connected with the quality of interpersonal connections, especially in the period of early ontogenesis. Yet, stereotypes do not always work, some women could be strong enough to be police officers or surgeons, men make excellent artists and musicians. However, girls more often take after their mothers and inherit their weak feminine character.

Diversity of girls’ ways of expression emotions could be explained by the fact that the ability to verbalize emotions is formed earlier and is developed faster than men’s ways. The expression of the emotion of anger could be used as an example of the evolution of emotion. Men and women express their emotions with various degree of intensity and by different ways. The differences of intensity of emotion expression can be connected with the fact that women’s facial expression is more intensive in comparison with men’s expression. We should take into account the fact that men according to their traditional gender role are prone to “restricted emotionality”-the minimization of emotional expression.

People have always been interested in the problem who succeeded in making career better men or women. Goleman found that there is a connection between personal success and emotional intelligence. According to him “… 85%-90% of the success of top executives was attributable to their expertise in building and maintaining relationships” [4, p. 160].  In many cases, women may outperform men in building friendly relationships at work because they understand emotions of the staff better. “Women read other people’s emotional reactions better than men, regardless of whether they receive those emotional cues verbally or visually.” [5].

Women   understand emotions better. Women in comparison with men are able to comprehend changeable social information according to face expression and other nonverbal signs. Women might have a larger brain area that serves processes connected with the processing of emotional information.

Men and women differ in the explanation of the reasons of emotional flashes especially of intensive emotions of anger, sorrow, and fear. Men are prone to look for reasons of emotions in interpersonal situations, but women usually see them in personal relationships or in mood changes. Men tend to explain their failure by external factors; men look for failure in themselves, in personal mismatch.

Sometimes the data of the investigation concerning gender differences of emotional intelligence are ambiguous. It has been found out that women possess better understanding of emotions in comparison with men. Differences are more qualitative than quantitative they are. Men and women as representatives of the same group of humans are prone to suffer problems demonstrating identical psychological reactions. However, they explain the reasons of their emotions differently according to their gender specifics. The expressions of emotions are conditioned by influence of gender norms that are formed by bringing up process. It is clear that well developed emotional intelligence is the quality that is valuable for both sexes. This indispensable quality helps people survive in difficult situations that contributes to avoiding conflicts at home and at work. There are professions that require high level of emotional intelligence. They are politicians, diplomats, psychologists, people who run countries. They may be men or women; they should have sympathy because much depends on their decisions in this world. The better they understand each other the better the world will be.

References

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