Emotional Intelligence
Daniel Goleman is discussing his famous "impulse
control" test at a San Francisco lecture and has the
entire audience's attention. Goleman, a psychologist and
science writer, is the author of the best-seller Emotional
5 Intelligence, a fascinating book about recent discoveries
in brain research that prove emotional stability is more
important than IQ in determining an individual's success
in life. One of the highlights of the book, Goleman explains
to his audience of foundation leaders, educators, and
10 grants donors, is a test administered thirty years ago that
Goleman calls "The Marshmallow Challenge."
In this experiment, four-year-old children were individually called into a
room at Stanford University during the 1960s. There, a kind man gave a
marshmallow to each of them and said they could eat the marshmallow
right away, or wait for him to come back from an errand, 1 at which point they 15
would get two marshmallows.
Goleman gets everyone laughing as he describes watching a film of the
preschoolers while they waited for the nice man to come back. Some of them
covered their eyes or rested their heads on their arms so they wouldn't have
to look at the marshmallow, or played games or sang to keep their thoughts 20
off the single marshmallow and waited for the promised double prize.
Others-about a third of the group-simply watched the man leave and ate
the marshmallow within seconds.
Daniel Goleman, best-selling
What is surprising about this test, claims Goleman, is its diagnostic2 power:
author of the book Emotional
A dozen years later the same children were tracked down as adolescents
Intelligence, frequently gives 25
lectures on leadership. and tested again. "The emotional and social difference between the grab-the-
marshmallow preschoolers and their gratification3 -delaying peers was dramatic," Goleman says.
The ones who had resisted eating the marshmallow were clearly more
socially competent than the others. "They were less likely to go to pieces,
30 freeze or regress under stress, or become rattled4 and disorganized when
pressured; they embraced challenges and pursued them instead of giving
up, even in the face of difficulties; they were self-reliant and confident,
trustworthy and dependable."
The third or so who grabbed the marshmallow were "more likely
35 to be seen as shying away from social contacts, to be stubborn and
indecisive, to be easily upset by frustrations, to think of themselves
A group of four-year-old children
as unworthy, to become immobilized5 by stress, to be mistrustful
were given the choice to eat one
or prone to jealousy, or to overreact to certain situations with a marshmallow, or wait for a while in
sharp temper." order to receive two.
1
An errand is a short trip taken to do a specific task, e.g. mailing letters.
2 A diagnosis is an investigation or analysis of the cause or nature of a condition or problem.
3 Gratification refers to a sense of pleasure and satisfaction.
4
If you say something rattles you, it upsets you.
5 Something that is immobilized is unable to move or progress.
Emotional Intelligence 95
40 And all because of a single marshmallow? In fact, Goleman
explains, it's all because of a lone neuron6 in the brain, only
recently discovered, that bypasses the neocortex-the area of
the brain where rational decisions are made-and goes straight
to the amygdala, or emotional center of the brain. It is here that
45 quicker, more primitive "fight or flight"7 responses occur, and are
stored for future use. The more that emotional memories involving
temper, frustration, anxiety, depression, impulse, and fear pile
up in early adolescence, the more the amygdala can "hijack8 the
rest of the brain," Goleman says, "by flooding it with strong and
50 inappropriate emotions, causing us to wonder later, 'Why did I
overreact?'"
But if the emotions stored in the brain are those of restraint, self-awareness, self-regulation,
self-motivation, empathy, hope, and optimism, then we become endowed with an "emotional
intelligence" that serves rather than enslaves us for the rest of our lives.
55 The bad news, says Goleman, is that a widely praised but disturbing study from the University of
Vermont has shown a "decline in emotional aptitude9 among children across the board." Rich or
poor, East Coast or West Coast, inner city or suburb, children today are more vulnerable than ever to
anger, depression, anxiety-what he calls a massive "emotional malaise. 10" The good news, however,
involves another recent discovery-that the amygdala takes a long time to mature, around fifteen or
60 sixteen years, which means to Goleman that "emotional intelligence can be taught, not only in the
home but perhaps, more importantly, in school."
Goleman's own story is as intriguing as his book. The author or co-author of nearly a dozen other
books involving brain research and behavior, he experienced steady but modest sales until Emotional
Intelligence hit the stores. Later came the cover of Time magazine and appearances on television,
65 such as the Oprah Winfrey Show.
"But I think the book also points out the real strength in what has been a feminine preserve in this
culture," claims Goleman. "Girls are raised to be emotionally astute and perceptive, but sons learn
little about emotions except how to control anger. Women are absolutely more empathic than men on
average, but they've felt powerless to bring up the idea of emotions as a serious topic."
?o · The irony, Goleman feels, is that if he had written a book about women and emotions, school reform,
emotion-based leadership in business, or child psychology, "the book wouldn't have gotten much
attention. As it happens this is a book about all those things, but women and children and school
reform are marginalized11 in this society. So I come along with a lot of scientific data that says, 'Hey,
this stuff is consequential' 12; and maybe some doors are opening in our society."
6 A neuron is a nerve cell.
7 T he fight or flight response is a term in psychology used to describe reaction to stress causing one to either be
aggressive or to run away.
8 To hijack something is to take or seize control of it.
9
Aptitude is the talent or ability to do something.
10 Malaise is an old French word referring to the general feeling of uneasiness or discomfort.
11 To
be marginalized is to be placed in a position of low power or influence, or to be made to feel unimportant.
12
Something that is consequential has significant consequences or impact.
96 UNIT 6 Chapter 1
