Emotional intelligence and hot and cool cognitive control ability

Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to perceive, use, understand, and regulate emotions. The EI construct has been organized following three main approaches: performance-based ability model, a self-report mixed model, and a self-report ability model. EI appears to be beneficial to the performance of “hot” (i.e., emotionally laden) cognitive tasks when using performance-based ability models but not when using self-report EI models. The aim of the present study is to analyze the relationship between the three models of EI and cognitive control ability during the performance of hot and “cool” (i.e., non-emotionally laden) “go/no-go” tasks. 187 undergraduate students participated in the experimental design. They completed the three EI tests of interest as well as go/no-go tasks; the stimuli used for the hot and cool cognitive task were faces and geometric figures, respectively. Results show that individuals with higher EI, measured through the performance-based ability test, perform better on a hot cognitive control task. Specifically, we provide evidence for negative associations between the “managing” branch of EI measured through the performance-based ability test of EI and the cognitive control index of the hot go/no-go task; when using the self-report EI instruments, no consistent findings were achieved. The study found no such results with the cool task. Findings in terms of the validity and different implications of the different EI models are discussed.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

The effects of the quality of social relationships and emotion regulation ability on the happiness of introvert individuals

Previous research has shown that extraverts are happier than introverts and, although happy introverts exist, it is unclear under what conditions they can achieve happiness. The aim of the present study is to analyze the quality of social relationships and emotion regulation ability as a possible factor for happiness in introvert individuals. 1006 adults (42% males) completed measures of extraversion, neuroticism, quality of social relationships, emotion regulation ability and happiness. Results shows that introverts have significantly lower happiness, quality of life, quality of social relationship and emotion regulation ability scores than extraverts. Besides, those individuals with high quality social relationships or high emotion regulation ability were happier. Introverts were happier when they had high scores for quality of social relationships and emotion regulation ability, however the effect size was small. These results suggest that emotion regulation and social relationships are important to understand the relationships between introversion and happiness.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

INTEMO+ program: A Socio-Emotional Learning Intervention to improve adolescent psychosocial functioning

The INTEMO+ program is a Socio-Emotional Learning (SEL) Intervention designed by the Emotion Lab of University of Malaga to develop and improve adolescent psychosocial functioning. INTEMO+ has been designed based on Mayer and Salovey's ability model: (1) accurate perception, appraisal, and expression of emotions; (2) awareness of feelings and ability to generate emotions to facilitate thought; (3) understanding of emotions, including the ability to label them with a rich emotional vocabulary; and (4) regulation of emotions to promote emotional and intellectual growth. INTEMO+ consists of 12 sessions distributed in four phases, corresponding to the four branches of the theoretical model of Mayer and Salovey (1997. In addition, the INTEMO+ program includes two more cross-cutting sessions. Specifically, the development of an "Emotional Newspaper" and a "Film Script," which try to exercise most of the EI abilities. The complexity of the INTEMO+ activities change every year and adapts to students’ maturation, which allows the gradual introduction of more complex emotional contents, skills, and situations every academic year. The empirical results show that when students have received an adequate EI education and well-implemented programs such as INTEMO+, they can have higher quality and well-being in socio-family and academic life.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

The relationship between the three models of emotional intelligence and psychopathy: a systematic review

Psychopaths are usually characterized as having numerous troubles with social and emotional facets in their daily. In addition, these individuals generate a series of harmful situations to society, such as violence and crime. Due to this, it is very important to find those variables that can reduce these behaviors. In this regard, Emotional Intelligence (EI) or the ability to perceive, use, understand and regulate emotions is a potentially useful variable. EI has been categorized according to three main approaches: performance-based ability, self-report ability and self-report mixed models. Several studies have analyzed the relationship between EI and psychopathy, however inconsistent results have been found. These inconsistencies may be due to the EI model employed to measure it. The objective of our study is to systematically review the previous literature about the relationship between the three models of EI and psychopathy, both in the clinical and total population.Scopus and Medline were searched for finding relevant articles. 29 eligible studies were identified. The results were divided according to the EI model and the population used.The results for both the total and clinical population differ according to the measure of EI employed. Specifically, through performance-based ability models, the majority of studies find a negative relationship between EI and psychopathy, and when EI is measured using self-reports, the results are inconsistent. In conclusion, the results suggest that higher EI abilities measured through performance-based ability models - but not through self-reports - are related to lower psychopathy deficits. Limitations and clinical implications are discussed.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Validez de la puntuación albúmina-bilirrubina sérica en el pronostico de mortalidad intrahospitalaria en cirrosis hepática descompensada

Objetivo: Determinar si el puntaje Albúmina-Bilirrubina sérica tiene validez en el pronóstico de mortalidad intrahospitalaria en cirrosis hepática descompensada. Material y métodos: Estudio de tipo observacional, analítico, retrospectivo, transversal y de pruebas diagnósticas; en 230 pacientes con cirrosis hepática descompensada hospitalizados en el hospital Belén de Trujillo durante el periodo 2010-2017. Se calcularon la sensibilidad, especificidad, valor predictivo positivo, valor predictivo negativo, y el área bajo la curva para determinar exactitud pronóstica de la puntuación Albúmina-Bilirrubina sérica. Resultados: La sensibilidad y especificidad de la puntuación AlbúminaBilirrubina sérica en el pronóstico de mortalidad intrahospitalaria en cirrosis hepática descompensada fue de 84,3% (I.C. 95%: 80,1 – 88,2) y 83,2% (I.C. 95%: 78,1 – 86,3) respectivamente. El valor predictivo positivo y valor predictivo negativo fue de 58,9% (I.C. 95%: 52,2 – 66,1) y 94,9% (I.C. 95%: 89,1 – 98,3) respectivamente. La exactitud pronóstica de la puntuación Albúmina-Bilirrubina sérica en el pronóstico de mortalidad intrahospitalaria en cirrosis hepática descompensada fue de 88,8% (I.C. 95%: 0,84 – 0,94). Conclusiones: La puntuación Albúmina-Bilirrubina sérica tiene validez en el pronóstico de mortalidad intrahospitalaria en cirrosis hepática descompensada.Objective: To determine if the serum albumin-bilirubin score has validity in the prognosis of intra-hospital mortality in decompensated liver cirrhosis in the Belen Hospital of Trujillo. Material and methods: Observational, analytical, retrospective, crosssectional study and diagnostic tests; in 230 patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis hospitalized in the Belen Hospital of Trujillo during the period 2010-2017. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and the area under the curve were calculated to determine prediction accuracy of the serum albumin-bilirubin score. Results: The sensitivity and specificity of the serum albumin-bilirubin score in the prognosis of intra-hospital mortality in decompensated liver cirrhosis was 84.3% (95% CI: 80.1 – 88.2) and 83.2% (95% CI: 78.1 – 86.3) respectively. The positive predictive value and negative predictive value was 58.9% (95% CI: 52.2 – 66.1) and 94.9% (95% CI: 89.1 – 98.3), respectively. The prognostic accuracy of the serum albumin-bilirubin score in the prognosis of intra-hospital mortality in decompensated liver cirrhosis was 88.8% (95% CI: 0.84 – 0.94).Tesi

Influence of emotional intelligence on performance in an emotionally Laden Cognitive Task: an ERP Study.

A higher level of emotional intelligence (EI), understood as a greater ability to perceive, use, understand, and manage emotions, is associated with an increase in performance on emotionally laden cognitive tasks. The main objective of this research was to study the neural basis underlying the execution of an emotional cognitive control task (GoNogo) as a function of ability EI. Forty-four participants were divided into two groups depending on EI level (High EI vs. Low EI). The participants’ task consisted of an emotional face GoNogo task, in which happy, fear and neutral facial expressions were the go and no go stimulus. Results showed a larger N170 and smaller N2 amplitude for the low EI group than for the high EI one. Greater levels of cognitive control were associated to participants with high EI. Our findings show the importance of studying emotion and cognition interaction to explain our behavior and performance. This work was partially supported by the project Innovation and Development Agency of Andalusia, Spain (SEJ-07325) to Pablo Fernández-Berrocal. Alberto Megías is supported by a Juan de la Cierva postdoctoral fellowship from the Spanish MINECO (FJCI-2015-25600).Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Emotional intelligence and hot and cool working memory capacity

Emotional Intelligence (EI) is the ability to perceive, use, understand and manage our emotions and the emotions of others. EI, measured through performance-based ability models, seems to favour performance on hot tasks. The aim of the present study is to analyse the relationship between EI, measured through its three main models, and performance on a hot (emotional) and cool (non-emotional) working memory task. 203 undergraduate students of psychology took part in the experiment. They completed an EI test for each of its three main models (performance-based ability model, self-report ability model and self-report mixed model) and a hot and cool working memory task. We found a better performance for higher EI participants, measured through the performance-based ability model instrument (but not with self-report instruments), in the hot working memory task. This result was obtained for the managing branch of the EI instrument. Similar evidence was not found when using the cool working memory task. Our study takes a step forward in the conceptualization of the EI construct within the domain of cognitive processes. They show that, at least when using hot stimuli, the managing branch of the performance-based ability model of EI is a better determinant measure for the working memory capacity than the self-report models.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Are psychopaths emotionally intelligent?

Psychopathy is a serious personality disorder, characterized by proneness to low anxiety, egocentricity, failure to form close emotional bonds, superficial charm and dishonesty, that has very negative consequences for society as aggression, delinquency and even crime. Therefore, its control and treatment are of great importance. Psychopathy has been related to important emotional deficits as such as a lack of impulse, low empathy and deficits in moral expressions. These findings have led to a growing interest in exploring if psychopathic traits are associated with emotional intelligence (EI) or to the ability to perceive, use, understand, and regulate emotions in one’s self and others. However, the literature exploring this association has revealed conflicting results. The aim of the present study was to provide a reliable estimate of the relationship between psychopathy traits and EI (measured as performance-based ability) through meta-analysis. A quantitative and systematic review of the literature using Scopus, Medline, Pubmed, and PsicINFO and for both Spanish and English studies that included measures of EI and psychopathy, showed a total of 13 studies meeting inclusion criteria with a combined sample of 2401 participants. The meta-analysis revealed a significant negative relationship between both constructs, showing that higher psychopathic trait scores are related to lower EI levels. We propose several future research lines to clarify possible gaps and ambiguities in the current literature and a set of interesting clinical implications for the prevention, evaluation, and treatment of psychopathy by including EI factors in traditional models of psychopathy.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

The mediating role of negative affect on the relationship between emotional intelligence abilities and aggressive behavior levels

The aim of the present research aimed to study the mechanisms underlying the relationship between aggressive behaviour and individual levels of ability emotional intelligence (EI). We particularly focused on the mediator role of negative affect explaining this relationship. Three hundred and ninety-five participants took part in the study. Participants were assessed on ability EI (by the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test), aggression (Buss-Perry Aggression questionnaire), and negative affect (the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule). Path analyses were used to explore which branches of the ability EI are directly related to the four aggression dimensions (physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger and hostility) and indirectly related via negative affect. The results revealed a negative relationship between ability EI and aggression, but this relationship was a function of multiple factors such as the performance level in each of the ability EI branches, the type of aggression studied, the mediator effect of NA, and gender. The emotional managing branch showed a direct effect on aggression, specifically this branch was directly related to physical, verbal, and hostility aggression. Moreover, the emotional perception branch was indirectly related to the four aggression dimensions (physical, verbal, anger, and hostility) through negative affect acting as mediator. The direction of these relationships was always negative, that is, greater ability EI was associated with lower levels of aggression, highlighting the strength of the association with physical aggression. Finally, results also showed interesting gender differences. Women possess greater EI abilities, higher levels of negative affect, less aggressive behaviour, and a lower relationship between negative affect and aggression compared with men. This research offers a better understanding of the psychological processes explaining aggression.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech