Trait Emotional Intelligence:Behavioral Validation And Gray Matter Volume Correlates

As proposed by Salovey and Mayer in 1990, Emotional Intelligence (EI) represents the ability of an individual to perceive, express, manage and exploit his/her feelings and emotions to guide his/her thinking and actions (Salovey and Mayer,1990).However, core parts of several salient El conceptualizations remain untested. Additionally, some researchers considered El as a series of stable trait that can be assessed by self-reporting ("trait El") (Bar-On,2004), while other researchers argued that El as an ability that must be measured in solving emotional problems ("ability El") (Mayer et al.,2002). In this paper, we has focused on what we have labelled "trait EI" and attempt experimentally to demonstrate some issues, including construct validity in a controlled context and the extent to which the self-reported El scores are related to actual respondent to mood induction. Furthermore, we also study the neural correlates of the EI model, which primarily focuses on the abilities of individuals to appraise and express emotions, can also regulate and utilize emotions to solve problems to explore solid evidence for the construction of El.The first study, a 2 (high trait El vs. low trait EI) and 2 (positive emotional stimulus vs. negative emotional stimulus) experimental design was adopted to also explore the extent to which the self-reported El scores are related to actual respondent to mood induction. Independent variable is global El score, which was examined by Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Scale (SSREIS) (Schutte et al.,1998). Dependent variable is respondent to emotional induction, which was estimated by Positive and Negative Scale (PANS) after emotional stimuli.The results showed that:there are significant difference in negative respondents to sad movie between high trait El group and low trait El group (t (55)=1.93, p<0.05), it means that high trait El individuals have stronger reaction to negative emotional stimuli and more sympathy to others’sufferings than low trait El individuals.In the second study, correlation analysis between trait El scores and regional gray matter volume was adopted to explore the neural base of El. SSREIS was employed to estimate EI, which including monitor of emotions, utilization of emotions, social ability and appraisal of emotions in others. Meanwhile, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) were used to evaluate the gray matter volume (GMV) of 328 university students. To examine any correlations between regional gray matter volume and behavioral scores, multiple regression analysis was used, controlling for age, gender and total brain gray matter.The results showed positive correlations between Monitor of Emotions and VBM measurements in the insula and orbitofrontal cortex, as well as significantly negatively correlation between the scores and the gray matter volume in the left cuneus. In addition, Utilization of Emotions was positively correlated with the GMV in the parahippocampal gyrus, but was negatively correlated with the VBM measurements in the fusiform gyrus and middle temporal gyrus. Furthermore, Social Ability had significantly positive volume correlates in the vermis.These findings indicate that high trait El individuals are more sensitive to emotional stimuli and easier to be induced by emotion. As a result, they are better at understanding of others and react correctly to daily life matters. Perception of emotions is also an important part of El construction. The results also demonstrate the neural correlates of the El model, which primarily focuses on the abilities of individuals to appraise and express emotions, can also regulate and utilize emotions to solve problems.