Social and Emotional Intelligence

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fairly well satisfied before safety needs become im- portant, and so on. As applied to social work prac- tice, Maslow’s theory indicates that social workers must first help clients meet basic needs (e.g., physio- logical needs). Once clients’ basic needs are met, higher-level needs can be dealt with.

Maslow did not offer an age-stage approach to development. Striving for self-actualization is seen as a universal process that can be observed at nearly all ages. However, it is likely that there is some progression among age groups. Infants prob- ably have a strong emphasis on physiological needs. As a person gradually grows older, safety needs are emphasized, and then belongingness and love needs, and so on. Because middle-aged adults have had a variety of learning experiences and tend to be at the peak of their earning poten- tial, they tend to have a greater opportunity to fo- cus on meeting self-actualization needs. However, such crises as unemployment, prolonged illness, and broken relationships can switch the emphasis to a lower level of need.

Emotional Intelligence Psychologists Peter Salovey and John Mayer coined the term emotional intelligence (EI) in 1990 (Papalia et al., 2009). It refers to the ability to recognize and deal with one’s own feelings as well as the feelings of others. Daniel Goleman (1995) popularized the EI concept and expanded it to include such qualities as empathy, motivation, social competence, optimism, and conscientiousness.

McClelland had done some earlier work on factors related to emotional intelligence (Papalia

et al., 2009). In the 1960s, the U.S. State Depart- ment concluded that a test of general knowledge was a poor predictor of how well those applying to be foreign service officers would perform. In addition, the test tended to screen out women and people of color. McClelland devised a selec- tion process that had nothing to do with general knowledge. He found that the best foreign service officers had positive expectations of others, were perceptive of the needs of others, and were skillful in forming social networks. His selection process emphasized these characteristics, and led to the ap- pointment of effective foreign service officers. It also ended the discrimination against women and people of color.

Goleman (1995) developed an EI test. Studying nearly 500 corporations, Goleman found that those who rose to the top of the corporate ladder tended to score highest on EI. Goleman (1998, 2001) found the following competencies to be most closely associated with effective work performance:

• Self-awareness (accurate self-assessment, emotional self-awareness, and self-confidence)

• Self-management (trustworthiness, achievement drive, initiative, adaptability, and self-control)

• Social awareness (empathy, organizational aware- ness, and service orientation)

• Relationship management (exerting influence, conflict management, leadership, communication, building bonds, teamwork and collaboration, be- ing a catalyst for change, and developing others

Goleman (1998) found that excelling in at least one competency in each of these four areas appears to be a key to success in almost any job.

Emotional intelligence is not the opposite of cog- nitive intelligence. Some very bright people score high in EI, whereas others score lower. Some less- than-average scorers on IQ tests score high on EI, whereas others score lower.

Emotional intelligence is not easy to measure. Papalia, Olds, and Feldman (2004, p. 478) note:

Hard as it is to assess cognitive intelligence, EI may be even harder to measure. For one thing, lumping the emotions together can be misleading. How do we assess someone who can handle fear but not guilt, or who can face stress better than boredom? Then too, the usefulness of a certain emotion may depend on the circumstances. Anger, for example, can lead to either destructive or con- structive behavior.

Self- actualization

needs

Self-esteem needs

Belongingness and love needs

Safety needs

Physiological needs

FIGURE 11.1 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

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Psychological Aspects of Young and Middle Adulthood 475

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Social Intelligence Closely related to emotional intelligence is social in- telligence. Social Intelligence (SI) has been defined in a variety of ways.

According to the original definition of Edward Thorndike (1920, p. 228), social intelligence is “the ability to understand and manage men and women, boys and girls, to act wisely in human relations.” According to this definition, it is equivalent to inter- personal intelligence.

Some authors have restricted the definition of SI to deal only with knowledge of social situations. With this perspective, SI is synonymous with social cognition or social marketing intelligence.

Daniel Goleman (2006) has drawn on social neu- roscience research to propose that social intelligence is made up of social awareness (including social cog- nition, empathy, attunement, and empathic accu- racy) and social facility (including self-presentation, influence, concern, and synchrony).

There are various types of intelligence, including intellectual competencies, emotional intelligence, and social intelligence. Counseling/psychotherapy often involves helping people to modify their patterns of social intelligence, particularly those that cause clients to have problems in their interpersonal relationships.

Some tests have been developed to measure SI (Goleman, 2006). Like IQ tests, SI tests are usually

based on a 100-point scale in which 100 is the aver- age score. Most people score between 85–115. Scores of 140 are considered to be very high. People with SI scores below 80 may have an autism spectrum disor- der. These people are apt to have trouble making friends, and with communication. They might need social skill training. People with SI scores over 120 are considered to be very socially skilled and well adjusted, and probably will excel in jobs that involve direct contact and communication with people.

Mezzo-System Interactions: Nonverbal Communication In seeking to assess human behavior, it is also im- portant to attend to nonverbal communication. Sig- mund Freud (quoted in Knapp & Hall, 1992) noted, “He that has eyes to see and ears to hear may con- vince himself that no mortal can keep a secret. If his lips are silent, he chatters with his finger tips; betrayal oozes out of him at every pore” (p. 391).

It is impossible not to communicate. No matter what we do, we transmit information about our- selves. Even an expressionless face communicates messages. As you are reading this, stop for a minute and analyze what nonverbal messages you would be sending if someone were observing you. Are your eyes wide open or half closed? Is your posture

According to Maslow, we have a basic need to “belong” and a basic need to be “loved.”

D av id Yo un g- W ol ff /P ho to Ed it

476 Understanding Human Behavior and the Social Environment