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Examining Emotional Intelligence Report
1. Tracey Wright
STA 301
Due: 4/29/09
EI, Adjustment, and Academic Success
Examining Emotional Intelligence (EI), academic
success, and adjustment of students transitioning from high
school to college is the purpose of this study. Parker,
Duffy, Wood, Bond & Hogan (2005) found variables that
relate academic success and retention with adjustment
issues. It is hypothesized that students’ EI will increase
over the first-year and those with higher EI will have
higher GPA’s and report better adjustment. During the
summer, 189 female, full-time students completed the Bar-on
(2006) Emotional Quotient Inventory, EQ-i;125(MHS). During
the fall semester, students attended 2 Adventures classes
each week. Emotionally intelligent curriculum was
implemented in this college orientation program designed to
enhance first-year students’ adjustment to college.
Informed consent was obtained and participants completed
the College Adjustment Test (Pennebaker, Colder & Sharp,
1990) that assesses homesickness, general negative affect,
and optimism. Participants also completed a self-report
questionnaire of how they felt their adjustment
characterized their first semester of college. The
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2. questions assessed academical and social adjustment.
Participants were debriefed on the purpose of the study and
how their responses would be utilized. Academic performance
measures (HSGPA, SAT, midterm deficiencies, and fall
semester GPA) were obtained from the Office of Academic
Affairs confidentially.
EI should have significance in both academic
performance and adjustment. The authors presented in
Berrocal & Extremera’s (2006) call for papers, verify that
EI is related to academic grades and social competence
after controlling for potentially confounding variables
such as general intelligence and personality
characteristics. This is evidence that supports the
relationship between EI and prosocial/maladaptive behavior
and academic achievement. Being emotionally and socially
intelligent means to effectively manage personal, social
and environmental change by realistically and flexibly
coping with the immediate situation, solving problems and
making decisions; being sufficiently optimistic, positive
and self-motivated (Bar-On, 2006). The transition of high
school students to college is an environmental change that
warrants some inquiry of how EI influences it as either
successful or unsuccessful. Parker, Duffy, Wood, Bond and
Hogan (2005) compared academically successful and
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3. unsuccessful students EQ-i (Multi-Health Systems) scores.
There was a high association between academic achievement
and several dimensions of emotional intelligence.
Particular emphasis is placed in interpersonal
relationships, adaptability, and stress management
abilities, as well as overall emotional intelligence. Along
with this reasoning, the majority of high school students
who go on to post-secondary institutions withdraw before
graduation (Parker, Summerfeldt, Hogan & Majeski, 2002).
Students’ abilities to perform well in college with
increased academic pressures (i.e., papers, exams, time-
management) are impacted by non-academic pressures (i.e.,
increased independence, finances, making friends). Failure
to master these types of tasks appears to be the most
common reason for undergraduate students withdrawing from
university (Parker, et al., 2002). Since the greatest
proportion of these students drop out in the first year
(Geraghty, 1996), it is critical to understand the factors
that influence the successful transition from high school
to university (Parker, Summerfeldt, Hogan & Majeski, 2004).
The study by Parker et al. (2004) used the Bar-On (1997,
2000, 2002) model of EI that consists of four related
social and emotional competencies that influence a person’s
capability to cope with the environmental demands and
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4. pressures. These dimensions consist of (a)intrapersonal
abilities (e.g., recognizing and understanding one’s
feelings), (b)interpersonal abilities (e.g., empathy),
(c)adaptability skills (e.g., being able to adjust one’s
emotions and behaviors to changing situations and
conditions), and (d)stress management skills (e.g.,
resisting or delaying impulses). Individuals low in
emotional intelligence show difficulties in expressing
emothons productively, regulating them and utilizing those
abilities to guide their behavior (Parker et al., 2005).
In this study, participants’ EQ-i scores and CAT
adjustment scores were collected along with academic
performance measures. In order to examine relationships
between EI and its subscales with adjustment, correlational
analyses were performed.
Total EQ-i r(157)= .32 p<.01
Intrapersonal r(157)= .27 p< .01
Interpersonal r(157)= .25 p< .01
Stress Management r(157)= .28 p< .01
Adaptability r(157)= .21 p< .01
General Mood r(157)= .26 p< .01
Measures of academic performance were correlated with
adjustment. The only significant relationships were between
midterm deficiencies and fall 2008 GPA.
Midterm deficiencies:
CAT r(157)= .23 p< .01
Homesickness r(157)= .17 p< .05
General negative r(157)= .20 p< .05
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5. affect
Fall 2008 GPA:
CAT r(157)= .26 p< .01
Homesickness r(157)= .30 p< .01
General Negative r(157)= .24 p< .01
Affect
Numerous significant relationships of emotional
intelligence and adjustment were found. Hypothesis 2 was
supported with evidence that students with higher EI will
report better adjustment. Total EQ-i, self-regard,
independence, self-actualization, social responsibility,
interpersonal relationships, stress tolerance, impulse
control, flexibility, optimism, and happiness were all
significant. Although not presented as an original
hypothesis, analyses indicated that adjustment did have a
significant relationship with academic performance
measures, especially Fall 2008 GPA.
Limitations to this research consisted of several
instances. Most importantly, predictions could not be
made based on this sample size and demographics. Previous
research has shown that females have a higher EQ-i than
males, so any assumptions on the predictability of
performance were unattainable. Re-assessment of EI
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6. throughout college career would be more meaningful and
perhaps predictions could be made with the retest data.
Professors’ EI should be another area of interest since
the social relationships that are established with their
students. Depending on the level of emotional
intelligence professors possess, should influence
students’ transition to the increased demand for
successful academic performance. Students enrolled in
college orientation programs begin at different levels of
EI. Similarly, with students taking placement exams in
math and English, EI assessments could be administered to
students to ensure they receive the appropriate level of
enrichment. Subsequently, with these types of procedures
in place, retention of college students should lead to
better program development. Based on the significant
correlations between EI and adjustment and adjustment
with performance, programs that enhance EI and adjustment
should prove beneficial to the success of college
students entering college.
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8. Differences, 36, 163-172.
Scheuermann, B. (2000, February). Curricular and
Instructional Recommendations for Creating Safe,
Effective, and Nurturing School Environments for All
Students. In L.M. Bullock & R.A. Gabel (Ed.), Positive
Academic and Behavioral Supports: Creating Safe,
Effective, and Nurturing Schools for All Students.
Norfolk, VA: Council for Children with Behavioral
Disorders. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No.
ED457628)
Vandervoort, D.J. (2006). The importance of emotional
intelligence in higher education. Current Psychology:
Developmental, Learning, Personality, Social. 25(1),
4-7.
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