A New Look at Emotional Intelligence: A Dual-Process Framework

In this article, the author provides a framework to guide¦research in emotional intelligence. Studies conducted up¦to the present bear on a conception of emotional intelligence¦as pertaining to the domain of consciousness and¦investigate the construct with a correlational approach.¦As an alternative, the author explores processes underlying¦emotional intelligence, introducing the distinction¦between conscious and automatic processing as a potential¦source of variability in emotionally intelligent¦behavior. Empirical literature is reviewed to support the¦central hypothesis that individual differences in emotional¦intelligence may be best understood by considering¦the way individuals automatically process emotional¦stimuli. Providing directions for research, the author¦encourages the integration of experimental investigation¦of processes underlying emotional intelligence with¦correlational analysis of individual differences and¦fosters the exploration of the automaticity component¦of emotional intelligence.

Working alliance in communication skills training for oncology clinicians: A controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of communication skills training (CST) on working alliance and to identify specific communicational elements related to working alliance. METHODS: Pre- and post-training simulated patient interviews (6-month interval) of oncology physicians and nurses (N=56) who benefited from CST were compared to two simulated patient interviews with a 6-month interval of oncology physicians and nurses (N=57) who did not benefit from CST. The patient-clinician interaction was analyzed by means of the Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS). Alliance was measured by the Working Alliance Inventory - Short Revised Form. RESULTS: While working alliance did not improve with CST, generalized linear mixed effect models demonstrated that the quality of verbal communication was related to alliance. Positive talk and psychosocial counseling fostered alliance whereas negative talk, biomedical information and patient's questions diminished alliance. CONCLUSION: Patient-clinician alliance is related to specific verbal communication behaviors. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Working alliance is a key element of patient-physician communication which deserves further investigation as a new marker and efficacy criterion of CST outcome.

Let's share perspectives! Mentalistic skills involved in cooperation = ¿A tu Izquierda o a la Mía? Habilidades Mentalistas Implicadas en la Cooperación

Previous research has found a link between theory of mind and cooperation. The aim of this study is to deepen into this relationship, to identify which theory of mind skills are more related to the cooperative capacity on a referential communication task. A total of 50 children from first and fifth grade completed a battery of theory of mind tasks, and also a cooperative task where children worked in pairs to build block models. Each pair was composed by a builder and a guide, who gave instructions to his partner about how to build a replica of the model. The results show a significant relationship between the theory of mind skills and cooperation. Specifically, we found that the second-order false-belief task was the variable most related to cooperation after controlling the effect of age. In addition, we observed that the mentalist skills were more important for cooperation in the builders than in the guides. Finally, we discuss the findings of this study and make suggestions for the future

Estudio sobre la relación entre personalidad, actitudes socio-sexuales y tendencia de voto en estudiantes universitarios

Este trabajo se diseñó para evaluar la relación entre variantes de personalidad, actitudes sociales y actitudes hacia el sexo, con las tendencias de voto hacia los partidos políticos vascos y catalanes. Se partía de los hallazgos de Eysenck en que los extravertidos informaban de más interés por el hedonismo sexual y de mantener actitudes sexuales más duras que los introvertidos. Los resultados de este trabajo se presentan por sexos y conjuntamente, ya que existen diferencias importantes tanto en la personalidad como en las actitudes sociales y políticas de los varones y las hembras estudiadas. Los hombres son más favorables al sexo oral e impersonal, son menos conservadores, son más desinhibidos y más buscadores de sensaciones que las mujeres y tienen más curiosidad morbosa por las películas pornográficas y violentas que aquellas. Los comunistas, nacionalistas vascos y catalanes son más buscadores de sensaciones y tienen actitudes sexuales más liberales. Se comentan las interrelaciones entre las variables, así como las diferentes soluciones factoriales obtenidas a partir de las medidas psicométricas empleadas.