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by Daniel Goleman
Dr. Goleman did an excellent job with his second book on Emotional Intelligence because he gives more detail on how to correct the lack of Emotional Intelligence in the business and professional world.
On page 26 he tells us how to do a check up on our missing competences for emotional intelligence( both personal and social competencies) and he also mentions that there must be a continious follow up on this program to achieve a lasting effect over the change of our un-wanted bad habits and he alos mentions the guidelines for emotional competence TRAINING which is very helpful in the seminars to train management executives.
Dr. Goleman explains also that it takes months to be able to modify our personality, so that some people will not dispair because they can not get an overnight change, it takes time, perseverance and practice to become a proficient and capable executive with good emotional intelligence. Dr. Goleman also explains the effect that stress has on CONTROL and how it affects mistakes, memory and health and overall management.
In other words Dr. Goleman is helping everybody to modify their personalities to be able to produce more with less stress and wear (or exhaustion).
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Type 1 Type 2 Type 3 Type 4 Type 5 Type 6 Type 7 Type 8 Type 9 |
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Index of More Articles about Leadership
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The Stanford Marshmallow Experiment
In above video you will see kids participating in the Stanford Marshmallow Experiment. The Stanford Marshmallow Experiment must be the most astounding psychological study ever performed, or at any rate ranking right up there with some of the experiments done by Stanley Milgram. Who would ever guess that a brief observation of a four-year old alone with a marshmallow would be an excellent predictor of college entrance exam scores — twice as good a predictor as IQ test scores? In one of the most amazing developmental studies ever conducted, Walter Michel of Stanford created a simple test of the ability of four year old children to control impulses and delay gratification. Children were taken one at a time into a room with a one-way mirror. They were shown a marshmallow. The experimenter told them he had to leave and that they could have the marshmallow right then, but if they waited for the experimenter to return from an errand, they could have two marshmallows. One marshmallow was left on a table in front of them. Some children grabbed the available marshmallow within seconds of the experimenter leaving. Others waited up to twenty minutes for the experimenter to return. In a follow-up study (Shoda, Mischel, & Peake, 1990), children were tested at 18 years of age and comparisons were made between the third of the children who grabbed the marshmallow (the "impulsive") and the third who delayed gratification in order to receive the enhanced reward ("impulse controlled"). The third of the children who were most impulsive at four years of age scored an average of 524 verbal and 528 math. The impulse controlled students who scored 610 verbal and 652 math! This astounding 210 point total score difference on the SAT was predicted on the basis of a single observation at four years of age! The 210 point difference is as large as the average differences between that of economically advantaged versus disadvantaged children and is larger than the difference between children from families with graduate degrees versus children whose parents did not finish high school! At four years of age gobbling a marshmallow now v. waiting for two later is twice as good a predictor of later SAT scores than is IQ. Poor impulse control is also a better predictor of later delinquency than is IQ. Obviously there's a strong correlation between IQ and impulse control. People who do well in life have lots of both, and vice versa for those who don't do well. Sociologists have regaled us for years with their theories as to the causes of poverty: lack of education, structural causes, racism. But it seems that, at least where opportunity exists, the reason for differences in income and wealth is that the poor have high impulsivity.
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Clinical Practice and Temperament
Temperamental characteristics are important facets of child behavior and can be assessed and used for parent education and guidance by members of many professional groups:
Clinical practice using information about temperament is dedicated to:
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1)understanding of the importance of normal individuality in behavior in infants and children, and
2) application of information about temperament by parents and professionals to promote normal growth and development, and
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3) avoidance of unnecessary labels and treatments in otherwise normal infants and children.
Behavioral Individuality and Temperament are Normal
The modern study of temperament began with the work of Alexander Thomas, Stella Chess and associates in the New York Longitudinal Study (NYLS) in the late 1950's. This longitudinal research identified nine temperament characteristics that are present at birth and influence infant and child development in important ways throughout life. Unlike Jungian conceptions that measure personality, the NYLS temperament characteristics are assessed by looking at the behavioral style in the areas of a person's life(environment).
Since the 1950's hundreds of scientific studies of temperament have shown that temperament is an important factor in child growth, health and development.
The nine characteristics are:
Activity level-the amount of physical motion exhibited during the day
Persistence-the extent of continuation of behavior with or without interruption
Distractibility-the ease of being interrupted by sound, light, etc unrelated behavior
Initial Reaction-response to novel situations, whether approaching or withdrawing
Adaptability-the ease of changing behavior in a socially desirable direction
Mood-the quality of emotional expression, positive or negative
Intensity- the amount of energy exhibited in emotional expression
Sensitivity-the degree to which the person reacts to light, sound, etc.
Regularity-the extent to which patterns of eating, sleeping, elimination, etc. are consistent or inconsistent from day to day.
Individuals differ widely in these categories of behavior, and these
temperament characteristics are an important aspect of a person's individuality.
Although not every child has a disorder, every child has a temperament.
Many are spirited and challenging and difficult to manage, but do not have a disorder. Some need special attention but do not get it because they are too shy and quiet. Even those with a "diagnosis" can be helped by parents, caregivers and professionals who have an understanding of their individuality and an awareness of how to improve the "fit" of behavioral style with the obstacles of daily life.
Certain patterns of temperament have been shown to create risk or protective factors for certain situations. For example highly active children are more likely to have accidents in early childhood compared with those who are inactive. Knowing this can prepare the caregiver for possible problems.
Applications of Temperament to Infants and Children
Temperamental characteristics can be measured by researchers and clinicians in several ways, including interviews, behavioral observations and questionnaires.
In 1968 William B. Carey, M.D., a practicing pediatrician, developed the first practical measure of temperament, the Infant Temperament Questionnaire. Since then he and several associates have authored a series of temperament questionnaires assessing the nine NYLS temperament characteristics in infants as young as one month of age and in children through the end of the twelfth year. Collectively these are known as the Carey Temperament Scales, and are published and distributed by B-DI. Knowledge about temperament and individuality can be useful in several ways.
First, educating parents, teachers and professionals about the existence of individual differences in temperament and ways to deal with these differences can be valuable. Differences are not necessarily the result of a condition or disorder. Many parents feel responsible for, and guilty about having a spirited child, and are relieved to know that their child is normal and they are not responsible for causing the child's behavioral patterns.
Second, it is helpful to know the specific patterns of behavioral individuality to allow those working with the youngster to 'tune in' to their behavioral style. Often caregivers have a general idea about the child's temperament, but ratings on a standardized temperament measure can improve everyone's focus, and there are often surprises (for example, the inability to adjust quickly is often seen as high persistence rather than gradual adaptability). Furthermore discrepancies between perceptions and actual behaviors are important to understand.
Third, with an accurate assessment of the child's behavior, specific changes can be planned and implemented by those working with the youngster. These interventions can improve the 'fit' between the youngster and environment, reducing stress and improving adjustment. Avoiding Unnecessary Labels in Infants and Children The similarity of some normal temperament traits to symptoms of ADHD (especially activity level, distractibility and persistence) has led to confusion about the dividing line between normal and abnormal behavior. The current definition of ADHD contains lists of behavioral characteristics and possession of these is often thought to constitute the disorder. However careful reading of the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria indicates that the person must 1) have the characteristics, 2) the characteristics must be causing significant impairment in adjustment and 3) must be present in two or more settings. All of these conditions must be met before a diagnosis is justified. This is important because ADHD is
considered to be a neurobiological disability and many transient adjustment problems can be mistaken for ADHD if the criteria are not strictly applied. Even so, there is no evidence that every child who meets the criteria for diagnosis has something wrong with their brain. Studies are not yet conclusive on the relationship between the disorder and behavioral characteristics.
It is important to help persons in need, but mislabeling a child with a neurobehavioral disability when the issue may be their behavioral individuality is potentially damaging to that child. Recognition that normal behavioral style exists and is not pathological is essential if unnecessary labeling is to be avoided, especially in early childhood. If the problem is the child's temperamental 'fit' with their environment, then the problem should be recognized as such. Many of the behavioral recommendations for dealing with temperament are similar to those for dealing with ADHD, but do not imply that there is a disorder or disability involved.
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