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"All emotions are, in essence, impulses to act, the instant plan for handling life that evolution has
instilled in us."
-Daniel Goleman "Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter Than IQ" (1995)
By this, he traces the origins of emotions from the human race's survival instinct to sense, detect,
and act on any threat to its life and survival.
The instinct is known as "flight or fight".
AMYGDALA
Dr. Joseph LeDoux (1992) said that the amygdala has become the center of actions even before the
neocortex could assess what to do. It also keeps a memory bank of previous experiences related to emotions.
AMYGDALA HIJACK
Small amounts of the pulses coming from the thalamus escape to the amygdala, which triggers what we
know as our knee-jerk reaction to a situation.
THE PROCESS
1. NEOCORTEX
Process the stimuli. "THINK"
2. AMYGDALA
Emotions
3. FRONTAL LOBES
Sends the signal to other parts of body.
PRE-FRONTAL CORTEX
Controls emotions so we can deal better and more effectively with the situation.
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
Emotional intelligence (also known as emotional quotient or EQ) is the ability to understand, use, and
manage your own emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with
others, overcome challenges, and defuse conflict.
1. Knowing One's Emotions or Self-awareness
It brings the skills for self-reflection. It is about a person who recognizes an emotion being felt and is
able to verbalize by saying “I am angry” at the peak of one's rage. According to Mayer, when one
recognizes this emotion, there is also a desire to get out of that situation. This is seen as a sign that
the neocortex is gaining some control over the amygdala.
3. Motivating Oneself
Research shown that hope is a major indicator of emotional intelligence. Hope is the element
present when one is fighting some overwhelming anxiety, a defeatist attitude, or depression.
Goleman points out that optimism is a great motivator.
5. Handling Relationships
EQ is also evident in the way we manage our relationship with others.
Social Intelligence (Howard Gardner and Thomas Hatch)
1. Organizing groups (stage directors)
2. Negotiating solutions (mediators)
3. Personal connection (teachers)
4. Social analysis (therapists)
A - NEOCORTEX
Intellectual tasks such
as language, planning,
abstraction, and
perception
B - LIMBIC SYSTEM
(Intermediate Brain)
Motivation and
emotion involved in
feeding, reproductive
behavior, and parental
behavior
C - REPTILIAN COMPLEX
Self-preservation and aggressive behavior of humans similar to the survival
instincts of animals.
SEQUENTIAL THINKING
Responds well to:
agendas, goals and objectives, simple graphs and presentations, step-by-step procedures before
concluding
Vulnerabilities:
reluctant to changes, tends to miss the big picture, does not appreciate innovative ideas, avoids
INTERPERSONAL THINKING
Responds well to:
creative and free flowing activities, experiential activities like music and art, people-centered
activities and discussions
Vulnerabilities:
Dislike for routine and structured activities, tendency to be impulsive and emotional, often misses. out on
details
IMAGINATIVE THINKING
Responds well to:
fun activities, humor, future-oriented activities, experimentation, thought-provoking and challenging
situations, visuals
Vulnerabilities:
Can be impractical, tend to overlook details, may tend to procrastinate especially doing repetitive
tasks, difficulty in prioritizing when they do not like what they are doing
B - ORGANIZED
Get things done
Submits on time
Creates procedures
Plans and organizes
Neat and organized
Reliable in getting things done
C – INTERPERSONAL
Tactile Sensitive
Emotional Sociable
Expressive
Shares knowledge
Uses physical movement
D - IMAGINATIVE
Vivid imagination
Explores Curious Experiments Flexible
Conceptualizes
Uses visual to learn Risk-taker
COPING WITH STRESS
Stress is defined as a reaction of the mind and the body to a stimulus that disturbs the well-being, state of
calm, or equilibrium of a person.
There is a common belief that stress is unhealthy, but experts conclude that this is NOT ENTIRELY the case.
2. AS A RESPONSE
The way body reacts to challenging situations. It involves the interactions between
hormones, glands, and nervous system. The release of adrenaline & cortisol also known as
the stress hormone.
Cortisol produces energy to make our body work. Norepinephrine (noradrenaline) triggers
the body's reaction such as increased heart rate, higher blood pressure, and respiration to
prepare the body.
The adolescent's physical response to stress is faster than an adult. The prefrontal
cortex that assesses danger and directs action during stress is not yet fully
developed.
The prefrontal cortex contributes to a wide variety of executive
functions, including:
1. Focusing one's attention
2. Predicting the consequences of one's actions; anticipating
events in the environment
3. Impulse control; managing emotional reactions
4. Planning for the future
5. Coordinating and adjusting complex behaviors ("I can't do A until
B happens")
3. AS RELATIONAL
A person makes assessment. Assessment here means that a person allows reasoning to
prevail and weigh the relevance or irrelevance of the situation. For instance, if the relevance
is positive, the person will look at the situation in a more positive light.
Bad stress can be transformed into good stress depending on how an individual assesses the
situation. Students are advised to learn some coping mechanisms to assist them in their
development toward a healthy adult life.