AN EXPLORATION ON THE EFFECT OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE TRAINING ON EMOTIONAL SKILLS

Abstract

Emotional Intelligence (EI) has been widely studied in an effort to accurately define and understand the ambiguous concept. Despite great interest in the topic, debates continue as to the dimensions and characteristics of emotional intelligence, and whether or not it has the capacity to be improved over time. A study was established to redesign current EI training programs and explore the efficacy of these new models. A total of 448 participants were recruited and assigned to either the Emotional Intelligence Training (EIT) program or the Placebo Awareness Training (PAT) program. EIT participants completed three tiers of modules with content related to EI while PAT participants completed three tiers of training modules with content related to a diverse range of topics including geography and scientific processes. A collection of baseline measures in the TEIQue, MSCEIT, SMQ, CISS, and GRIT scales was completed before participants completed their training modules. Following the completion of the programs, the participants completed all measurements again for the post-training assessments. Through the use of a three way ANOVA, there was found to be no effect for the sex by condition by time results for SMQ scores (p = 0.297). Additionally, GRIT scores were found to be unaffected by the training programs as scores changes were insignificant (p = 0.634). Finally, CISS scores from an analysis in a three way ANOVA found no significant change in scores for the two groups over time. F(1, 320) = 0.001, p = 0.973. However, a significant difference in sex was noted as female participants tended to have higher pre and post intervention CISS measures than their male counterparts.