Return to search

A study of the relationships between emotional intelligence and basic writers' skills

The study implied that a basic writer's overall abilities, shown through a type of "emotional intelligence quotient" [EQ], could help in determining that individual's inherent abilities in the writing classroom. Using prompted and timed writings plus two EQ surveys, developed by the investigator, the study analyzed students' emotional cognition in their writing environments. EQ qualities displayed while interacting with their instructor and peers or self-disclosed EQ qualities displayed in surveys or metacognitive writings were interpreted and compared to portfolio assessments by outside readers.During the spring semester of 1996, 409 students enrolled in 27 Ball State University English 102 basic writing classes. From 7 classes, 108 sample subjects accomplished surveys and prompts. Fifty randomly-selected subjects of the 108 were scrutinized. Comparisons of the two samples were detailed. Providing a close look at the 50 random-sampled group, 13 students occupying opposing levels at particular scoring-range margins were further detailed. Portfolio results, course grades, and how classroom teachers viewed their classroom students' emotional intelligence skills were the quantitative data compared with two EQ surveys' results.The study's governing gaze revealed self-disclosed, emotional dynamics of basic writers. It surrounded those disclosures with particulars on the biology of emotions. It extended the views on students' personality types as determined by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. The study combined the conceptual knowledge of the biology of our emotions and the specific knowledge of personality traits to explain certain dimensions of the composing process. With the beginnings of a comprehensive synthesis, we may better understand how basic writers begin to evolve as effective writers and thinkers.Whether two surveys and portfolio assessments can determine a relationship between basic writers' emotional intelligence and how appropriately they write is still undecided. The statistical results are not as convincing as would be desired for any clear breakthrough. However, the descriptive information, written by the students themselves, coupled with information about preferred and inferior traits, displayed a nucleus of support for the hypothesis: a predisposition toward the four categories of emotional intelligence relates to basic writing skills and composing processes. / Department of English

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/176836
Date January 1997
CreatorsHolbrook, William L.
ContributorsHanson, Linda K.
Source SetsBall State University
Detected LanguageEnglish
Formatviii, 274 leaves ; 28 cm.
SourceVirtual Press

Page generated in 0.0017 seconds