Overview of chapters
The book is divided into two parts: Part I is Conceptual and Measurement Issues in Emotional Intelligence and comprises Chapters 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 as these predominantly address issues of theoretical distinction, conceptual clarity and/or measurement issues in ability and trait El. Part II, Applications of Emotional Intelligence, comprises Chapters 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13. These chapters share a common purpose on applying El to various contexts.
Following this introductory chapter, Chapter 2 by Elena A. Sergienko, Elena A. Khlevnaya, Julia P. Migun, and Ekaterina I. Osipenko presents the expansion of El research in Russia and describes the recent development of an ability-based El method - the Emotional Intelligence Test (EIT). These authors present the standardization of a measure based on the MSCEIT test in the Russian language and adapted to the local cultural context. The Russian EIT offers an alternative to American-made MSCEIT test and begins to address an important need in Eastern European countries by creating culture-specific measures rather than adapting and using tools from Western cultures.
In Chapter 3, Ana Altaras Dimitrijevic and Zorana Jolic Marjanovic introduce the geopolitical issues in comparing the evolution of the El construct to a period of immense political changes in Serbia during the years of 1990 up to 2003 when the first El ability test was available. The chapter presents an overview of the first decade of emotional intelligence research in Serbia and their most recent study comparing ability and trait El measures and their demographic correlates.
Chapter 4, by Vladimir Taksic, Tamar Mohoric, and Ana C. Pilepic, outlines both the historical and the current status of El development in Croatia, which is a country at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe. The proliferation of El measures from Croatia address the ongoing need for cross-cultural validation and adaptation in the El field.
The next section covers several studies from authors in the Slovak Republic (Slovakia) where the first regional meeting was held. Researchers from three different universities in the western, central and eastern Slovak regions were invited to present their El research at this meeting. One research group includes Lada Kaliska, Eva Nabelkova, Eva Sollarova, Zuzana Heinzova, and Lucia Paskova, from the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education, Mathias Bel University in Banska Bystrica, who organized the meeting. Their collective work addresses the adaptation of trait El measures in Slovakia (Chapter 5) and its relationship to traditional/g-factor intelligence and multiple intelligence (Chapter 6). There are also studies on the application of El in the career decision-making process (Chapter 9) and achievement motivation (Chapter 10).
The second research group from Slovakia includes Miroslav Frankovsky, Zuzana Birknerova, and Lucia Zbihlejova from the Department of Managerial Psychology, Faculty of Management, University of Presov (Eastern Slovakia). They present El in the context of social intelligence and managers (Chapter 7). The last research group, from western Slovakia, represented by Eubor Pilarik, Veronika Szatmar, and Michaela Hegedusova from the Department of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences and Health, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Slovakia, discuss applications of trait emotional intelligence in career decision-making strategies (Chapter 8).
Irma Liubertiene describes in Chapter 11, the psychosocial conditions that speak to the important need for social-emotional learning in schools to help youth reach more optimal development. There is a description of the efforts promoted by the Lithuanian Social-Emotional Learning Association that are aimed at developing competencies in both students and teachers.
Chapter 12, by Marzena Martyniak and John Pellitteri, summarizes a range of selected studies and El measures that have been developed in Poland. This chapter presents the preliminary findings of a research study on the effectiveness of short-term El training for improving El abilities in preschool and nursery teachers.
In Chapter 13, Antonina Kardasheva presents a study using the Bulgarian translation of the TEIQue, describing differences in El based on family status, child-birth order, and family development. This study examines the importance of El for the family context in Bulgaria and offers suggestions for psychotherapists and parents on the role of El in creating optimal family dynamics.
Chapter 14 provides a summary of the studies and presents future directions for El research.
