Neurobiological Basis of Emotional Intelligence
Condition: Emotional Intelligence
Study type: Observational

Summary: 
      Emotional Intelligence (EI) is defined as the ability to accurately perceive and identify
      emotions in oneself and others, understand and use emotions to enhance cognitive processes,
      and effectively manage one's own emotions as well as those of others. Two major approaches to
      the construct of emotional intelligence have emerged. These two approaches can be broadly
      defined as the Trait and Ability Approaches. The Trait Approach, which is typically assessed
      via self-report measures such as that Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory, appears to be
      strongly related to existing models of personality and coping. The other major approach to EI
      follows an Ability Model, assuming that EI is similar to but distinct from other types of
      cognitive intelligence, and involves measurement of a variety of skills and abilities related
      to emotional processing. An understanding of the neurobiological substrate of emotional
      intelligence is beginning to emerge. One influential theory that is particularly relevant to
      the neurobiology of emotional intelligence is the "somatic marker hypothesis," yet there
      still remains a limited understanding of the neurobiological basis of EI. The proposed
      investigation will attempt to provide the most comprehensive study to date examining the
      behavioral, psychological, functional, and brain structural correlates of EI. The proposed
      study will use neuroimaging techniques to examine the relationship between current measures
      of EI, behavioral expression of emotionally competent capacities, brain functional responses,
      and structural cerebral organization.

      The specific questions to be addressed and their associated hypotheses are:

        1. The two major approaches to EI (i.e., Trait vs. Ability) will show only modest, though
           significant positive correlations with one another.

        2. EI Trait measures will be highly correlated with measures of personality but weakly
           correlated with specific skills such as facial affect identification, emotional
           decision-making, and affectively based judgments, whereas EI Ability measures will
           correlate more highly with specific emotional skill measures.

        3. During functional MRI affective challenge tasks, EI scores will be negatively correlated
           with activity within the Somatic Marker Circuitry suggested by Damasio and colleagues
           (i.e., ventromedial prefrontal cortex, amygdala, insular cortex), as suggested by the
           neural efficiency hypothesis.
    


Observational model: Cohort
Time perspective: Cross-Sectional
Sampling method: Non-Probability Sample
Study population: 
        Between 70 and 80 healthy, English speaking, right-handed, adults between the ages of 18
        and 45 participated. Attempts were made to include equal numbers of men and women to permit
        the broadest generalization to the population and to permit direct assessment of gender
        effects, an issue that has received considerable attention recently regarding the
        neurobiology of affective processes. Subjects were not excluded on the basis of ethnicity,
        gender, or sexual orientation. Healthy participants were recruited via local
        advertisements, including email broadcasts such as the Harvard Hospital and Partners
        Healthcare systems, internet advertisements, and posting of IRB-approved flyers in various
        community centers. IRB-approved print advertisements were posted in local newspapers.