How the Biology of Emotion Plays a Role in Our Judgement and Decision-Making: A Series
Part 1: The Introduction
The ability to experience emotion is one of the most astonishing parts of the human experience. The way we react to external stimuli with such intensity can be reflective of the intelligence we have as a species. Even moreso, our ability to connect with other human beings and obtain an understanding of their emotional experiences is nothing short of intriguing to the field of psychology.
Oftentimes, a person’s IQ (Intelligence Quotient) is assumed to be the pinnacle of intelligence measurement. However, one of the many items that the IQ does not account for is emotional intelligence. The extent of our ability to label the emotions of ourselves and others, the rationality behind our inferences of why a person may be experiencing a particular set of emotions, and our plans for managing the intensity of emotions are all key pieces of a form of intelligence that we call “emotional intelligence”. We often reference the EQ (Emotional Quotient) as a way of communicating the level of emotional intelligence a person currently has. Psychological researchers have provided encouragement to take the EQ seriously, explaining that a person is more likely to be an effective leader in the workplace, and their personal lives, if they have high levels of emotional intelligence. Elaine Houston communicated this encouragement in a particularly insightful way when she wrote in her article The Importance of Emotional Intelligence “Without being able to understand and manage our emotions, we lose the ability to realize our true potential; this would make it impossible to make truly meaningful progress” (Houston, 2020).
The more we learn about the importance of developing and maintaining a high level of emotional intelligence, the more we ask ourselves what we can do to improve our emotional intelligence. Our everyday lives provide us with an infinite number of questions that can guide us towards strengthening our emotional intelligence. We may observe the decisions made by others and ask ourselves what led them to commit that action. We might wonder “Why did James lie to his girlfriend?” or “Why did Olivia yell at her friend?” Along with this, we may even question the reasoning behind our own decisions “why do I always want to turn the other way when I see someone I know in the store?” While there’s rarely one universal answer to these sorts of questions, by understanding the core of our emotions, the biological phenomena associated with emotions, and how our emotional experiences impact our judgement and decision making, we can raise our emotional intelligence and enhance our relationships with those we interact with, and even ourselves.
Thank you for taking interest in this blog post, I invite you to continue on to the next parts of this blog series to enhance your understanding of the relationship between the biology of emotion, and our judgements and decision-making.
APA Citations: Houston (2020) “The Importance of Emotional Intelligence” Positive Psychology, 3
https://positivepsychology.com/importance-of-emotional-intelligence/
