Eastern European Perspectives on Emotional Intelligence

Current developments and research

Lada Kaliská,John Pellitteri

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781000346855
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Cognitive Psychology & Cognition
• Index: Psychology

This book offers a unique perspective on Emotional Intelligence (EI) research in Eastern Europe, analyzing current trends in the research and application of EI in a region with a distinct socio-political history.

Bringing together leading researchers from seven countries, namely Bulgaria, Croatia, Lithuania, Serbia, Slovakia, Poland, and Russia, chapters within this edited volume present original research that illustrates both the etic and emic aspects of emotions, to discuss how EI research can address psychosocial challenges across different societies. Using a selection of cross-cultural frameworks for comparison, contributors to the volume make important developments to the field of EI research by instating a cultural and regional adaptation of EI theories. This includes considerations of EI from a collectivistic perspective as well as the relevance of creating psychological measurement tools that reflect and represent the cultural and linguistic nuances in the adaptive use of emotional information.

Eastern European Perspectives on Emotional Intelligence will prove a valuable resource for academics, researchers, and students of cultural and social psychology, or particularly for those seeking to expand their conceptual understanding of EI.

1Emotional intelligence from an Eastern European perspective

Introduction

Lada Kaliská and John Pellitteri

Overview

The importance of emotional intelligence (EI) on a global scale continues to grow as evidenced by the increasing number of published research studies, programs, and curricula throughout numerous countries. EI has evoked wide and extensive interest since the first scholarly publication of the theory (Salovey & Mayer, 1990) from its immediate popularity in mainstream books (Goleman, 1995) through to the current day applications in education, business, and organizations. Some reasons for this appeal might lay in the implied power inherent in the concept of intelligence over the sometimes poorly understood domain of human emotions (Pellitteri, 2006). Emotions and emotional processes are linked to personal well-being, interpersonal relationships, stress management, and mental health, so to be intelligent about our emotions certainly has far-reaching benefits. EI research in general and as illustrated in this volume, has been applied in numerous fields, which attests to the importance of EI in both the personal and professional aspects of everyday life. As the EI field evolves issues of conceptualization, measurement, and cultural adaptation become more complex, therefore increased EI research is needed to address such developments.

One central and emerging issue in the globalization of EI relates to cultural and regional perspectives. The EI construct and its initial research emerged from the US and then Western Europe in the 1990s. Only later did EI begin to be recognized and investigated in other global regions. Even at the current time some countries or regions do not fully embrace the EI concept or acknowledge its potential. This variation in research, cultural adaptations, and professional applications across regions is likely due to numerous sociocultural, economic, and political factors. A volume of EI theory and research that focuses on Eastern Europe is warranted. First, it highlights the current status of the evolution of EI research in the region. Second, this volume allows for a comparison to EI research in other global regions to note similarities, distinctions, and continuities in the field. Third, in compiling a sample of studies from Eastern European countries, regional patterns become more evident and the need for potential development of EI research can be more readily recognized. Lastly, the importance of cultural psychology must be considered in any field that studies human emotional and social processes, so this book allows the distinct sociocultural influences from Eastern Europe on EI to be more clearly identified. While many researchers acknowledge the importance of Ekman’s (1994) work in establishing the universality of emotions, the concepts of emotional “intelligence” may show greater variability in what constitutes intelligent or adaptive behaviors across cultures. Therefore, cultural perspectives are essential for furthering the research in the field and this volume begins to address this need by examining EI from a particular cultural lens.

This book is the result of a regional research network meeting, established by the first editor (Dr. Lada Kaliská), which was held in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, in November 2018. The meeting was part of the International Society for Emotional Intelligence (ISEI, www.emotionalintelligencesociety.org/) which is a non-profit educational and research organization established to encourage and support the global advancement of EI theory, research, and professional practice. The intention of the meeting was to gather researchers and theoreticians in the Eastern European region to share their research findings in EI and to promote collaborations. The idea of a project for the international comparisons in EI research, the network meeting, and this book were supported by the Slovak Scientific Grant Agency (VEGA 1/0654/17) that promotes research in Slovakia. Many of the contributing authors participated in this first regional research meeting although additional researchers in the region were invited to write chapters. The representative countries in this volume include Bulgaria, Croatia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Serbia, and Slovakia, as shown in Figure 1.1. This does not constitute all of the countries within Eastern Europe, but it does represent work from a sample of the interested researchers who have been engaged in developing the EI field in their regions. It is our hope that this volume can contribute to and inspire current and future EI research in Eastern Europe and beyond.

Figure 1.1Map of Central and Eastern Europe.

Source: Dobek-Ostrowska, 2015.

Cross-cultural frameworks for comparison

Cultural factors (in addition to historical, political, social, and linguistic factors) within geographical areas influence individual personalities and attitudes. Studies aimed at cross-cultural analysis point to the findings that neighboring countries tend to have similar ratings of personality and that regions separated geographically or historically have more distinct means on personality trait scales (Allik & McCrae, 2004; Schmitt, Allik, McCrae, & Benet-Martínez, 2007). One approach to intercultural comparisons can be conducted with Hofstede’s intercultural and organizational culture model (Hofstede, 1984). Three dimensions of Hofstede’s model that are most relevant for our current work are: Indulgence vs. Restraint (IVR), Power Distance Index (PDI) and Individualism vs. Collectivism (IDV). The distinct patterns of ratings on these dimensions between Eastern European and Western countries illustrates these larger sociocultural similarities and differences (see www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison).

The dimension of Indulgence vs. Restraint (IVR) refers to the relatively free gratification of people’s own drives and emotions (such as enjoying life and having fun) and is defined as the extent to which people try to control their desires and impulses, based on the way they were raised. In societies with low IVR scores (e.g., Bulgaria = 16, Croatia = 33, Lithuania = 16, Poland = 29, Serbia = 28, Slovakia = 28, Russia = 20, out of 100 in each case), there is more emphasis on suppressing gratification, on regulating people’s conduct and behavior, and on stricter social norms in comparison to countries with higher IVR scores (e.g., Germany = 40, France = 48, Norway = 55, UK = 69; US = 68).

The Power Distance Index (PDI) refers to the degree of power inequality that exists and is accepted among people. It is defined more specifically as the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. Eastern European countries share a higher level of acceptance and expectation with regard to power inequalities within the hierarchy in society (e.g., Bulgaria = 70, Croatia = 73, Lithuania = 42, Poland = 68, Serbia = 86, Slovakia = 100, Russia = 93) in comparison to benevolent and shared power within a society with less acceptance of unequally distributed power (e.g., Germany = 35, UK = 35, US = 40).

The last dimension is Individualism vs. Collectivism (IDV) and refers to the degree of interdependence a society maintains among its members. The higher scores indicate individualistic societies where people consider themselves first and take less responsibility for others’ actions and outcomes. In the collectivist societies with lower IDV scores people perceive themselves as members of “groups” that take care of them in exchange for loyalty and protection of their interests. It is more common in Eastern European countries that people take responsibility for one another’s well-being. The results again show a clear difference between Eastern European countries (e.g., Bulgaria = 30, Croatia = 33, Lithuania = 60, Serbia = 25, Slovakia = 52, Poland = 60, Russia = 39) and the Western world (e.g., Germany = 67, UK = 89, US = 91; www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison). While we do realize and take into consideration the criticism of Hofstede’s model (Jones, 2007; McSweeney, 2002) we have presented these results to illustrate how cultural patterns play a role across specific geographical regions.

Another framework for comparison conside...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Information
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of figures
• List of tables
• List of contributors
• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• 1 Emotional intelligence from an Eastern European perspective: Introduction
• Part I Conceptual and measurement issues in emotional intelligence
• Part II Applications of emotional intelligence
• Author index
• Subject Index