Emotional intelligence | EPFL Graph Search

Emotional intelligence (EI) is most often defined as the ability to perceive, use, understand, manage, and handle emotions. People with high emotional intelligence can recognize their own emotions and those of others, use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior, discern between different feelings and label them appropriately, and adjust emotions to adapt to environments. Although the term first appeared in 1964, it gained popularity in the 1995 bestselling book Emotional Intelligence by science journalist Daniel Goleman. Goleman defined EI as the array of skills and characteristics that drive leadership performance. Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to perceive, control, and evaluate emotions. Some researchers suggest that emotional intelligence can be learned and strengthened, while others claim it is an inborn characteristic. Various models have been developed to measure EI. In 1987, Keith Beasley first published the term Emotional Quotient (EQ), named afte

Cultural Adaptation, Validation, and Psychometric Description of the Pictorial Empathy Test (PET) in the Spanish Population

Maria del Carmen Sandi Perez

Research in psychology and social neuroscience distinguishes between dispositional and situational empathy for the cognitive and affective aspects of empathy. Yet, the Pictorial Empathy Test (PET) is one of the few brief tests focusing on situational affective empathy. This paper describes the adaptation of PET in a two-stage process, consisting of instrument translation and exploratory analysis of the construct in a university student sample, followed by confirmatory factor analysis and psychometric validation in a general population sample (Study 1, N = 79 and Study 2, N = 580). Our results indicate that the Spanish PET version constitutes a single factor structure with high internal consistency as well as high construct stability across genders and across in-person and online test administration setups. We report satisfactory convergent, discriminant, and nomological validity of the Spanish PET, as reported for the original version, in addition to when explored across new dimensions, like the Interpersonal Reactivity Index or in relation to age and prosocial tendencies. Based on the above, we discuss delineation of the distinct components of emotional empathy as measured by the instrument. The work presented supports the use of the Spanish PET version as a brief screening toot for state affective (emotional) empathy.

HOGREFE PUBLISHING CORP2022

Shedding light on excessive crying in babies

François Lazeyras, Dimitri Nestor Alice Van De Ville

Background Excessive and inconsolable crying behavior in otherwise healthy infants (a condition called infant colic (IC)) is very distressing to parents, may lead to maternal depression, and in extreme cases, may result in shaken baby syndrome. Despite the high prevalence of this condition (20% of healthy infants), the underlying neural mechanisms of IC are still unknown. Methods By employing the latest magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques in newborns, we prospectively investigated whether newborns' early brain responses to a sensory stimulus (smell) is associated with a subsequent crying behavior. Results In our sample population of 21 healthy breastfed newborns, those who developed IC at 6 weeks exhibited brain activation and functional connectivity in primary and secondary olfactory brain areas that were distinct from those in babies that did not develop IC. Different activation in brain regions known to be involved in sensory integration was also observed in colicky babies. These responses measured shortly after birth were highly correlated with the mean crying time at 6 weeks of age. Conclusions Our results offer novel insights into IC pathophysiology by demonstrating that, shortly after birth, the central nervous system of babies developing IC has already greater reactivity to sensory stimuli than that of their noncolicky peers. Impact Shortly after birth, the central nervous system of colicky infants has a greater sensitivity to olfactory stimuli than that of their noncolicky peers. This early sensitivity explains as much as 48% of their subsequent crying behavior at 6 weeks of life. Brain activation patterns to olfactory stimuli in colicky infants include not only primary olfactory areas but also brain regions involved in pain processing, emotional valence attribution, and self-regulation. This study links earlier findings in fields as diverse as gastroenterology and behavioral psychology and has the potential of helping healthcare professionals to define strategies to advise families.

NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP2020

Shedding light on excessive crying in babies

François Lazeyras, Dimitri Nestor Alice Van De Ville

NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP2020