Emotional intelligence

It is possible that a scientist can see the future by watching four-year-olds with a sweet. The researcher invites the children into a playing room. You can have this sweet right now, he says. But if you wait while I go out for a few minutes, you can have two sweets when I get back. And then he leaves.

Some children grab the sweet the moment he is out the door. Some wait a few minutes and then give in. But others are determined to wait. They cover their eyes, they put their heads down, they try to play games.

Then the researcher returns, he gives these children their sweets. And then, science waits for them to grow up.

By the time the children reach high school, something remarkable has happened. A survey of the children’s parents and teachers showed that those who as four-year-olds were strong-minded enough to hold out for another sweet generally grew up better adjusted, more popular, confident and dependable teenagers. The children who couldn’t resist the temptation were more likely to be lonely, easily frustrated and stubborn.

Why does natural talent develop in some people and disappear in others? This is where we recall sweets. When a child could resist the temptation, it was a triumph of the reasoning brain over the impulsive one. It is a sign, in short, of emotional intelligence.

In his book “Emotional Intelligence” Daniel Goleman says that brain power as measured by IQ actually matters less than qualities of mind like understanding one’s feelings, empathy (being sensitive to other people’s feelings) and the ability to manage your own emotions. EQ is not the opposite of IQ, they compliment each other. Among the factors of success, researchers generally agree that IQ counts for 20%: the rest depends on anything from luck, to social class and emotional intelligence. In the business world, according to personnel executives, IQ gets you a job, but EQ gets you promotion.

Two ways to improve your memory

The human memory is an incredibly powerful tool, but few of us make the most of it. In these days of high performance even greater demands are made on our memory, so what can we do to make it work more efficiently? The ancient Greeks realized that, in order to remember anything, you have to associate it with something that is already fixed in your mind. They invented memory aids or “mnemonics”. Verbal mnemonics can be words or rhymes containing, for example, the first letters of the items of a list be remembered. These were popular in Victorian schools, where memorizing lists was a major part of education.

Although modern educationalists tend to look down on this method of learning, it is still sometimes necessary, as any medical student will tell you. Visual mnemonics have recently been found to be especially powerful. So next time you have to remember how items are related, say for exam, create a “mind map”. You can draw a plan with items radiating from a central point and use different coloured pens to make the relationship between items clear. You learn as you draw and then the visual image is easy to recall.

ЗМІСТ

Psychology as a science ………………………………………………..... 3

What do psychologists do? ................................................................ 4

Biological processes………………………………………………… …… 5

The nervous system …………………………………………………….. 6

The brain …………………………………………………………………. 7

Brain Power………………………………………………………………. 8

Stress and anger ………………………………………………………... 9

States of consciousness…………………………………………………...9

Hypnosis…………………………………………………………………. 10

Sleep and dreams ……………………………………………………….11

Drugs …………………………………………………………………….. 11

Personality ……………………………………………………………….....12

Theories of personality ………………………………………………….13

Personality at ten is the key to success in adult life ………………… 17

People meet people ……………………………………………………..17

Personality quiz. How easily are you tempted?. ……………………..18

Personality quiz. Are you prejudiced?................................................19

Intelligence………………………………………………………………… 21

Theories of intelligence …………………………………………………21

Which kind of clever is your child? …………………………………….22

Multiple intelligences test ……………………………………………….24

What makes one person more intelligent than the other?.................25

How to bring up a superstar?.............................................................26

Beauty attracts but it’s brains that count ………………………………27

Do men really know best?..................................................................28

Intelligence tests …………………………………………………………28

Mental retardation ………………………………………………………. 29

Educational disadvantages…………………………………………….. 29

Emotional intelligence …………………………………………………...30

Two ways to improve your memory ……………………………………31