Cross-sectional study of the relationship between trait emotional intelligence and career adaptability of Chinese youths

BACKGROUND

Young people often experience dramatic changes, both psychologically and physically, as they are transiting from students to working adults. However, there is still a lack of empirical studies on the relationship between the trait emotional intelligence and the career adaptability of youths in the Asia-Pacific region. This research examines that relationship in Chinese youths in Hong Kong.

METHOD

Cross-sectional data (N = 500) was collected from two universities in 2019 and 2020. The 2019 sample was made up of 256 Chinese university students (117 males, 139 females; ages 21-25). The 2020 sample included 244 Chinese university students (132 males, 112 females; ages 21-25). The participants were asked to complete the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS) to evaluate their emotional intelligence in the domains of self-emotion appraisal, other people's emotion appraisal, regulation of emotion, and use of emotion. Participants completed the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS) to assess their career adaptability in the areas of concern, control, curiosity, and confidence.

RESULTS

All domains of trait emotional intelligence were positively associated with career adaptability. Multiple Regression analysis showed that self-emotion appraisal and appraisal of other people's emotional were the most predictive factors in terms of career adaptability. Together, these two dimensions of emotional intelligence explain 12.5%, 26.2%, 13.4% and 69.4% respectively of the variance in students' concern, control, curiosity, and confidence in relation to career adaptability.

CONCLUSION

The results highlight the importance of emotional intelligence in career adaptability. It is thus of value to study further whether career adaptability of young people may improve if emotional intelligence is incorporated into the student curriculum. The findings offer valuable insights for educators and teachers who are responsible for well-rounded development of students, and will thereby foster healthy lifestyles, stable emotional well-being and greater career adaptability in adolescents.

Dangerously Intelligent: A Call for Re-Evaluating Psychopathy Using Perceptions of Intelligence

BACKGROUND

Primary psychopathy (i.e., unemotional and callous predisposition) is associated with career, educational, and general life success, whereas secondary psychopathy (i.e., impulsivity and risk-taking) relates to criminality, hedonistic lifestyles, and detrimental behaviours. Although psychopathy sub-types have differential relationships to career and life success, how these traits are perceived by others relating to intelligence has not previously been researched. It is also unclear what role an individual's own psychopathy score plays in perceptions of intelligence.

METHODS

In an online experiment (n = 458), we investigated perceptions of intelligence (via a combined proxy of whether the rater thought the character in the vignettes had a high IQ and had attended university), using 12 vignettes of high and low primary and secondary psychopathic individuals.

RESULTS

High-secondary-psychopathy vignettes were perceived as least intelligent (in agreement with the literature which states people high in secondary psychopathy traits are usually involved in petty crimes, risk taking, and substance abuse, and therefore perceived as socially undesirable). Low-secondary-psychopathy vignettes were perceived significantly more intelligent than high-primary-psychopathy vignettes (in-line with the literature suggesting the placidity and kindness which comes with being low in psychopathic traits is an amenable quality in our society). There was evidence for assortative intelligence perceptions: those high-primary psychopathy self-scorers perceived primary psychopathy vignettes as intelligent (which could be evidence of a 'likes attract' phenomenon, whereby those high in primary psychopathy admire others who are similarly high in primary psychopathy).

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest individuals demonstrating risk-taking behaviours are perceived as least intelligent, supporting previous research associating secondary psychopathy with poor academic or career success.

Distinguishing between trait emotional intelligence and the five-factor model of personality: additive predictive validity of emotional intelligence for negative emotional states

There is ongoing debate on the utility of trait emotional intelligence and whether it is distinguishable from the five-factor model of personality. In study 1, we investigated the incremental validity of trait emotional intelligence in predicting negative emotional states, after controlling for the five-factor model personality traits. The TEIQue, Mini-IPIP, and DASS-21 were administered to a community based Australian sample. Three significant predictive models emerged: (1) wellbeing, and neuroticism predicting depression; (2) emotionality, and neuroticism predicting anxiety; and (3) self-control, and neuroticism predicting stress. In Study 2, we further explored the relationship between TEIQue domains, neuroticism, and negative emotional states. Three partial mediation models were found: (1) wellbeing mediated the relationship between neuroticism and depression; (2) emotionality mediated the relationship between neuroticism and anxiety; and (3) self-control mediated the relationship between neuroticism and stress. The findings highlight that trait emotional intelligence is related to, and yet distinct from extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, and openness. They also provide support for the incremental validity of the TEIQue domains in predicting depression, anxiety, and stress, beyond the five-factor model personality traits in a community based Australian sample, with the domains of trait emotional intelligence potentially operating as protective factors from pervasive negative moods.

Do Different Types of Intelligence and Its Implicit Theories Vary Based on Gender and Grade Level?

The current study investigated correlations among gifted students' academic performance; emotional, social, analytical, creative, and practical intelligence; and their implicit theories of intelligence. Furthermore, it studied the effect of gender and grade on these variables. The participants included 174 gifted fifth (41.4%) and sixth (58.6%) grade students, comprising 53.4% male and 46.6% female. The following analytical, creative, and practical intelligence tests were administered: Aurora Battery, the emotional intelligence scale, the implicit theories of intelligence scale, and an assessment scale of students' performances. The results revealed significant correlations among academic performance, kinds of intelligence, and implicit theories of intelligence. There were no significant differences between the male and female students in these measures. There were, however, significant differences between the fifth and sixth grade students, with the sixth-grade students showing higher levels of all kinds of intelligence, except emotional intelligence. Moreover, the results indicated that the intelligence measures were non-significantly affected by either gender or gender-grade interaction. Overall, our results showed that most types of intelligence are related to giftedness, and that there were no gender differences among gifted students on measures of intelligence.

Assessment of Problem-Solving Skills and Inhibitory Control in Mice Using Water Escape Detour Test

Despite the importance of emotional intelligence, its biological mechanism is still not well understood. For this reason, we have developed a rodent detour task which requires an animal to reach a highly desired object placed directly behind a transparent barrier that blocks the direct route to the target. This apparently simple task is highly dependent on the emotional control that is necessary to inhibit prepotent and counterproductive responses driven by the sight of a desired object. The water escape detour task designed for mice enables testing the ability to solve emotionally challenging problems, as well as identification of an impairment termed perseveration. Such a maladaptive reaction to a challenging situation is characterized by difficulty in terminating an unsuccessful response, leading to persistent repetition of inappropriate behavior. This issue is important because perseveration is associated with schizophrenia, drug abuse, and aging. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol: Water escape detour task Support Protocol 1: Preparation of escape platform Support Protocol 2: Preparation of the transparent barrier Alternate Protocol: Water escape detour task for testing acute effects.

Could Emotional Intelligence Ability Predict Salary? A Cross-Sectional Study in a Multioccupational Sample

The study of emotional intelligence (EI) in work environments is a trending topic. However, few studies have examined the relationship between EI and salary. Therefore, the presented research aims to analyze the influence of EI on salary using a multioccupational sample. The participants were 785 subjects aged between 18 and 58 years (M = 39.41; SD = 10.95). EI ability was measured using the Mobile Emotional Intelligence Test (MEIT), while the salary was collected together with other sociodemographic variables in a questionnaire created ad hoc. After controlling for the age, gender, social class, educational level, and work experience variables, the results of correlation and regression analysis showed that participants with higher EI and emotional-repair capacity generally have higher salary. These findings provide preliminary evidence that EI is a relevant variable in achieving career success. The ability to channel and manage emotions could help employees develop stronger interpersonal relationships, leading to higher positions and greater financial compensation.

The Contribution of Emotional Intelligence to Career Success: Beyond Personality Traits

This study sought to investigate the role of emotional intelligence in both extrinsic and intrinsic career success in early and later career stages. Specifically, we examined the predictive and incremental validity of emotional intelligence in career success after controlling for personality factors in a sample of 271 graduates. When analyzing extrinsic career success, regression analyses revealed that demographic variables, such as gender, age, area of study and career stage, and the variable of proactive personality, were related to salary. When the dependent variable was job satisfaction, emotional intelligence acted as a strong predictor, even when personality traits and proactive personality were controlled. These findings provide preliminary evidence that emotional intelligence is a relevant addition to guide the achievement of career success. Finally, limitations of the results and implications of these findings are discussed.

#Trending topics in careers: a review and future research agenda

Purpose

Virtually all contemporary scientific papers studying careers emphasize its changing nature. Indeed, careers have been changing during recent decades, for example becoming more complex and unpredictable. Furthermore, hallmarks of the new career – such as individual agency – are clearly increasing in importance in today’s labor market. This led the authors to ask the question of whether these changes are actually visible in the topics that career scholars research. In other words, the purpose of this paper is to discover the trending topics in careers.

Design/methodology/approach

To achieve this goal, the authors analyzed all published papers from four core career journals (i.e. Career Development International, Career Development Quarterly, Journal of Career Assessment, and Journal of Career Development) between 2012 and 2016. Using a five-step procedure involving three researchers, the authors formulated the 16 most trending topics.

Findings

Some traditional career topics are still quite popular today (e.g. career success as the #1 trending topic), whereas other topics have emerged during recent years (e.g. employability as the #3 trending topic). In addition, some topics that are closely related to career research – such as unemployment and job search – surprisingly turned out not to be a trending topic.

Originality/value

In reviewing all published papers in CDI, CDQ, JCA, and JCD between 2012 and 2016, the authors provide a unique overview of currently trending topics, and the authors compare this to the overall discourse on careers. In addition, the authors formulate key questions for future research.