Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 1 RUNNING HEAD: Exploring Emotional Intelligence Exploring Emotional Intelligence as a mediator for coping styles and nicotine dependence Honors Psychology Thesis Alison Wilhelm Vanderbilt University Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 2 Introduction Why do we, as humans, do what we know is bad for us? Even with an American obesity epidemic, McDonald’s remains one of our largest restaurant chains (Food and Drink Weekly, 2006). Recent figures cite 34% of the American population is obese and 32.7% are overweight (Reuters, 2009). Even though a Big Mac alone tacks on 540 calories to your meal, 27 million people dine at McDonald’s daily and this figure increases by 1 million yearly (Business Week, 2007). Motorcyclist accidents account for 11% of all traffic related deaths (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 2007), but some states still refuse to pass universal helmet laws. In fact, Pennsylvania even recently revoked theirs. Most notoriously, however, cigarette smoking will cause 1 in every 5 American deaths, but recent statistics show that 43 million (American Cancer Society) continue to smoke, despite risks for smoking-related illness (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2006). With such a high probability of death, the motivation for smoking in today’s individuals seems questionable. One common theory has been that smoking provides stress-relief in individuals prone to elevated levels of anxiety (Scheitrum and Akillas, 2002). The need for stress-relief connects anxiety to nicotine dependence in several ways. Anxiety can be classified as either state related, meaning that it is context dependent in a distress situation, or trait related, referring to the tendency to respond anxiously in expectation of stressful events. Research indicates that traitanxiety is more commonly associated with nicotine dependence. Audrain et al. (1998) found correlations between trait anxiety and chronic smokers. This study also found a positive correlation between smokers’ levels of anxiety and nicotine dependence. Interestingly, results also showed that the average score on trait anxiety measures was significantly higher in smokers Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 3 v. non-smokers. Audrain’s research illustrates a clear connection between anxiety and smoking, but does little to explain or hypothesize the source of the correlation. Smokers also changed their behavior patterns in response to perceived versus actual stress levels. Anxious individuals are more likely to experience greater perceived stress, suggesting that they may be more likely to smoke as a method of dealing with stress (Patterson et al., 2004). In an interesting correlation, his data also showed that college smokers were more likely to binge drink, suffer from increased rates of depression, and employ emotion-focused coping skills more often than others (Patterson et al., 2004). This data suggests that emotional elicitation responses in smokers may be skewed and promote negative affect, and the mechanisms causing smokers to experience higher levels of perceived stress and a greater intensity of emotions are also unclear. Appraisal Theory and Coping Mechanisms Stress and the emotional causes of anxiety must also be accounted for in terms of their antecedents. Appraisal Theory explains the elicitation of emotions based on the evaluation of surrounding stimuli, or the expectation of stimuli, in reference to the individual’s well-being (Lazarus and Smith, 1990). Theorists believe emotion developed as an adaptive function for selfpreservation. In evolutionary terms, the physiological responses to emotions and the arousal of the autonomic nervous system in emotional states illustrate the importance of emotion. Similarly, emotions benefit individuals as forms of social-communication and self-regulatory tools to convey information about one’s current state. The key aspect of this definition of emotion is the importance of relying on the appraised meaning of a stimulus in relation to well-being of the individual to govern emotional arousal (Lazarus & Smith, 1990). Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 4 One way Appraisal Theory explains emotion elicitation is through the structural model. The structural model includes two stages of appraisal, primary and secondary. Primary appraisal relies on the question of well-being; how relevant is the situation to my personal well-being, and is it beneficial or harmful to my goals? Secondary appraisal deals with resources – toward whom do I need to direct my coping efforts (self vs other), what are my coping resources (tangible and psychological, also called problem-focused and emotion-focused coping potential), and how likely is the situation to change in the future? In both stages of the structural model, the key factor is not the stimuli prompting the appraisal but, rather, how the individual interprets it (Smith and Kirby, 2000). Different patterns of appraisals combine to produce discrete emotional states. Several factors influence an individual’s perception of a circumstance and lead an individual to elicit different emotions. Primary appraisal is attained through assessing the importance of the situation to and individual and desirability of the situation. After taking this assessment of the circumstances into account, secondary appraisal allows an individual to evaluate accountability, emotion-focused coping potential, problem-focused coping potential, and future expectancy of the situation. Any variation of these six components can result in a different emotion. For example, anxiety is elicited in a situation that is (1) important to the individual, (2) undesirable to the individual, and (3) there are not many available resources for emotion-focused coping. Situations falling into the pattern of these circumstances is likely to evoke a sense of an “ambiguous threat” (Smith & Lazarus, 1990) and elicit an anxious reaction. Other emotions are the result of different combinations of importance, desirability, coping resources, and expectancies. Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 5 Negative emotions, or ones which involve a potential harm to the individual and are therefore incongruent with the person’s goals, generally produce feelings of stress. This feeling of stress usually results in one, or both, of two broad categories of coping responses: problemfocused or emotion-focused coping. Problem-focused coping usually involves changing an environment to suit one’s personal goals, whereas emotion-focused coping involves changing oneself in reaction to one’s environment (Lazarus & Smith, 1990). Emotion-focused coping behaviors are classified into avoidant and accommodative coping strategies. Accommodative strategies involve skills like acceptance, positive growth and reappraisal, or social support seeking, which often promote pragmatic resolutions in situational conflicts. On the contrary, avoidant strategies are generally viewed as maladaptive, like self-blame or substance use. When considering substance use in terms of the appraisal theory, it becomes an example of cognitive dissonance. The motives for smoking are not congruent with the goals of personal well-being, and overrides an individual’s primary goal of self-preservation. Even when substance-use is defined as a strategy for avoidant emotion-focused coping, it is not fully understood why we practice behaviors that contradict the primary goals of coping. Emotion-focused Coping and Emotional Awareness In terms of emotions and coping, Sayette (2004) looks at emotion management and behavior. Sayette (2004) theorizes that addiction stems from emotional misregulation, or failure to exert control over one’s responses. In the case of smoking, misregulation may be concerned with the individual’s failure to regulate their responses to negative stress, stimuli, or mood. Sayette (2004) found that negative affect induction led subjects to impulsive actions when they believed they had control over their mood. Other significant findings suggest that secondary Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 6 appraisal correlates to smoking behaviors as a method for mood adjustment. Smoking has shown both sedative and stimulant effects in users (Patterson et al., 2004), and smokers rely on this form of substance abuse as coping behavior to alter affect. Impulsive behaviors, like smoking, may be attempts at emotion-focused coping to alter one’s personal state. Since other research has connected craving and nicotine dependence to trait-anxiety, one can hypothesize that anxiety interferes with the process of self-monitoring, and standards may not always reflect the basic goals of primary appraisal, health and well-being. Emotional Intelligence Emotional intelligence offers an explanation as to the influence of self-monitoring in emotion-focused coping behaviors. When considering Appraisal Theory, emotional intelligence may also account for how emotions appear in each individual. Mayer et al. (2004) defines emotional intelligence as: The capacity to reason about emotions, and of emotions to enhance thinking. It includes our abilities to accurately perceive emotions, to access and generate emotions… to understand emotions and emotional knowledge, and to reflectively regulate emotions” Like the appraisal theory, emotional intelligence theories attempt to explain the balance between cognition and emotion in human thought. Emotional intelligence informs the individual about the body’s state of well-being when exposed to certain stimuli. From this response, individuals decide which coping skills (problem or emotion focused) to use based on the information associated with the elicited emotion (Mayer et al., 2004). Emotional Intelligence theory centers on a four basic abilities of individuals to: (1) perceive emotion, (2) incorporate emotion into thought, (3) develop their knowledge of emotion across their lifespan, and (4) manage and control emotion (Mayer et al., 2004). Part 1 of the Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 7 definition focuses on one’s ability to interpret verbal and nonverbal communication. Part 2 reflects the connection between emotions and problem-solving; this branch refers to how emotional appraisal affects one’s planning and coping behaviors. The third component, involves the learned changes in emotional control over time, and the evolution of our intelligence over one’s lifespan. The final aspect of emotional intelligence, managing emotions, relates most closely to the processes used for self-regulation. Part 4 covers how emotions are controlled in the context of goals or standards. Just as emotions play an important part in prompting both proactive and reactive behaviors, an individual’s emotional intelligence mediates how one interprets and applies emotion to actions. Appraisal Theory and Emotional Intelligence in the context of trait-anxiety and Nicotine dependence Between Appraisal Theory and Emotional Intelligence Theory, many key components of each overlap in the contexts of addiction and anxiety. Mayer et al. (2004) describes the archetypal high EI individual as one who is an active, efficient problem-solver and less likely to engage in maladaptive coping behaviors, such as drinking, smoking, or drug abuse. These traits almost exactly oppose those that characterize the trait- anxiety smokers described in Patterson et al. (2004). Patterson et al. (2004) describes trait anxiety smokers as more likely to engage in emotion-focused coping behaviors, like binge-drinking, and shows higher rates of depression. Theoretically, trait anxiety and emotional awareness could influence one’s choice of coping behavior selected in secondary appraisal. Trait anxiety in these individuals may influence emotion-focused coping potential, and lead to maladaptive behaviors like smoking as a selfmedication strategy. Smoking cigarettes provides an example of cognitive incongruence, as it is Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 8 not compatible with the standards of health and personal well-being, but may act as an emotionfocused coping behavior to adjust an individual’s response to a given situation. From the perspective of emotional intelligence, one can hypothesize that individuals suffer from traitanxiety because they cannot properly manage their emotions or use them to facilitate rational thought. As a trait-anxious individual with low emotional-intelligence begins to experience the negative emotions associated with anxiety, their ability to recognize these emotions may be impaired and may result in the use of smoking as a form of emotion-focused coping behavior. By changing themselves (through smoking), individuals treat they symptoms of their anxiety rather than address the cause of their negative emotions. However, in overall respect to emotional intelligence, the literature is inconclusive as to how emotional intelligence interacts with selfregulation in anxious individuals. Research Aims and Goals During secondary appraisal, it seems that Emotional Intelligence would play a significant role in the appraising emotion-focused coping potential. In an instant, individuals are forced to identify and interpret arousal, while identifying the best course of action to adjust an emotion. What drives the appraisal of coping potential? How does an individual discern what resources are best to accommodate for a given emotions? Based on these limitations in current research, this research hopes to explore how Emotional Intelligence factors into the process of selecting a coping behavior. Beyond simply investigating coping behaviors, we will investigate the use of maladaptive coping strategies and aim to establish correlations between Emotional Intelligence, Emotion-Focused Coping, and Trait-anxiety in smoking versus non-smoking adults. The key aims for this study are to: (1) investigate a possible correlation between low EI and trait-anxiety, Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 9 (2) test for a positive correlation between high levels of EI and more frequent usage of emotionfocused coping strategies, and (3) evaluate the levels of nicotine dependence in participants with a coincidence of trait-anxiety and low EI, which are assumed to be higher based on theoretical implications. Study One Procedure As a preliminary study for the overall aims of this project, analyses were conducted on an archival dataset consisting of a series of studies, each of which included a broad personality assessment that shared a common core of key dispositional variables . The dataset included 1385 participants. A subset of participants (n = 107) completed both the Trait-Meta Mood scale (Salovey et al., 1995) and the COPE (David, Kirby, & Smith, 2007), which were used in this study. Measures The Trait-Meta Mood Scale (TMMS) (see Appendix A) will be used to operationalize emotional intelligence (EI) in participants. Emotional intelligence reflects on an individuals’ ability to moderate affect across situations. Measures of participants EI will be necessary to search for correlations between levels of EI in respect to participants’ responses to anxiety and their use of emotion-focused coping skills. In order to construct an evaluation of EI, the TMMS measures three factors: attention to, clarity of, and the mood repair of emotions (Salovey et al., 1991). The original assessment includes 48-items to which participants respond on a 1-to-5 Likert Scale, but for this research will use the shortened 30-item scale. Computation of internal Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 10 consistency found the 30-item TMMS to have high alpha levels on Cronbach’s scale for each factor: α = 0.86 for attention, α = 0. 88 for clarity, and α = 0.82 for repair (Salovey et al., 1991). The scale is equally divided to address the three-components of emotional intelligence, and it includes reversed scored items to prevent an acquisition set (Salovey et al., 1991). The TMMS will provide insight into individuals’ strategies for dealing with emotion post-appraisal, as well as their abilities to self-regulate their emotions. The COPE (Carver et al., 1983) (Appendix B) asks participants to evaluate how their usual response during stressful events. Participants rank the frequency they act in accordance with the “I”-statement listed per each of the 42-items. Responses are noted using a 4-point scale; a score of 1 indicates a minimal occurrence of a behavior, and a 4 indicates a general reliance on that item as a coping strategy. The frequency scale is described as 1= I usually don’t do this at all, 2= I usually do this a little bit, 3= I usually do this a medium amount, 4= I usually do this a lot. The COPE classifies participants into the following coping-style groups: (1) Active Coping/Planning, (2) Positive Reinterpretation & Growth, (3) Denial, (4) Behavioral Disengagement, (5) Acceptance, (6) Use of Alcohol, (7) Seeking Social Support, (8) Focus on Venting Emotions, (9) Use of Humor, (10) Trusting in God, and (11) Mental Disengagement. Results Pearson correlation coefficients were derived from subscales of the TMMS and COPE. Attention to emotion, clarity of emotion, and mood repair subscales were evaluated from correlations with the 20 coping styles listed in the COPE. Attention to emotion showed to highest positive correlation to social support seeking, r = .405 p < .001, and the highest negative correlation with stoicism, r = .279 p < .01. For emotional clarity, positive reappraisal r = .310 p Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 11 < .001 and catastrophizing, r = -.422 p < .001 showed significant correlation. Like clarity, Mood repair correlated highly with positive reappraisal, r = .698 p < .001, and catastrophizing, r = -.464 p <.001. For the purpose of study two, it is worthwhile to note that subscales of mood repair showed a slight negative correlation with substance abuse, r = -.167 p < .01. Similarly, both clarity and mood repair show inverse correlations with behavioral disengagement, r = -.353 and r = -.375 p < .001. Significance values vary based on the sample available for comparison. For a complete list of correlational values, see Table 1.1. Wilhelm TABLE 1.1 Two-Tail Exploring Emotional Intelligence Correlations between COPE and TMMS subscales 12 N= 107 Attention Subscale Clarity Subscale Mood Repair Subscale Emotional Social Support (.405) Catastrophizing (-.422) Positive Growth/ Reappraisal (.698) Venting (.371) Isolation (-.404) Active Coping (.526) Behavioral Disengagement (-.353) Planning (.521) Signficance P < .001 Catastrophizing (-.464) Behavioral Disengagement (-. 375) Isolation (-.361) P < .01 P < .05 Instrumental Social Support (.303) Planning (.332) Prayer (.333) Active Coping (.291) Denial (-.323) Restraint (.288) Stoicism (-.279) Active Coping (.269) Denial (-.262) Planning (.243) Mental Disengagement (-.237) Instrumental Social Support (.236) Positive Growth/Reappraisal Stoicism (-.237) Humor (.200) (.213) Acceptance (.214) Mental Disengagement (-.199) Self-Blame (-.203) Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 13 Discussion Correlations shown in this data set are valuable for characterizing the differences in coping across the subscales in emotional intelligence. Based on the values in Table 1.1, Mood repair seems to be the most important factor in using positive emotion-focused coping strategies. It shows both a high positive correlation with accommodative coping skills and inverse correlations with avoidant mechanisms. These values can be used to hypothetically construct prototypes, using coping styles, of “high” and “low” emotional intelligence individuals. A high EI individual is likely to select accommodative coping strategies like positive reappraisal, active coping, and emotional social support seeking, as shown in Table 1.1. On the other hand, a low EI individual will use avoidant emotion-focused coping behaviors, like catastrophizing, isolation, or denial. Additionally, low EI individuals in this study tend to rely on behavioral disengagement, and choose to withdraw completely from a situation rather than adapt to the emotion elicited by a negative situation. For the research aims of this thesis, Study One offers several findings that would support the hypotheses of Study Two. Because the low EI individual constructed above demonstrates the tendency to choose avoidant coping behaviors, like isolation and denial, one might infer that have difficulty directly interacting with their environment. Whereas someone with high EI, is more likely to either directly address the state of their environment with a problem-focused coping behavior, like Active Coping, or choose a accommodative emotion-focused coping behavior, like positive reappraisal, and directly engage with current circumstances. Study Two will evaluate why low EI individuals dissociate from their environment, and if this causes them to experience trait, rather than situation specific state, anxiety. Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 14 The data in Study One also shows that emotional intelligence subscales correlate positively with a tendency to use emotion-focused coping. This implies individuals with high levels of emotional clarity and mood repair will have an “appraisal style” of emotion-focused coping or an increased tendency to use emotion-focused coping strategies. Hopefully, Study Two will replicate this finding in a concentrated sample. In Study Two, it will be useful to note that in Table 1.1 Mood Repair correlates negatively with substance abuse. Because Study Two explores the implications of emotional intelligence on nicotine dependence, this finding bolsters the claim that individuals who frequently rely on substance abuse as an avoidant coping mechanism are more likely to be low EI individuals. However, in order to observe the effect of emotional intelligence and trait-anxiety on nicotine dependence additional data is needed. Study Two Participants Undergraduate participants (n=195) were recruited from Vanderbilt University subject pool. The sample ranged in ages from 18-22 and the male to female ratio was 71: 127. Participants were asked to identify as Smokers or Non-smokers on an item that asked whether or not participants had smoked cigarettes within the past year. Those who responded “yes” completed the “Hooked on Nicotine Checklist” (Di Franza et. al., 2002) to gauge their levels of nicotine dependence. 50 participants identified themselves as having smoked cigarettes within the past year, 145 did not. Self-report statistics rather than physiological testing classified participants’ dependence based on their perception of their smoking habits. Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 15 Procedure All measures of this study were self-report analyses and all data was collected online via a Survey Monkey site <http:/www.surveymonkey.com>. Participants registered with an anonymous participant ID to log into the assessment. Participants then completed several selfreport measures on anxiety, nicotine dependence, and coping style. Measures The Hooked on Nicotine Checklist (HONC) is a 10-item questionnaire intended to evaluate the level of dependence experienced by each individual smoker (see Appendix C). The HONC relies on a comparative scale of need, rather than statistical assessment of the quantity of cigarettes smoked. Each questionnaire consists of 10 “yes or no” items that differentiate smokers who have lost autonomy versus those who have not (Wellman et al., 2005). Participants’ positive responses are summed and two or more agreements with the statements indicate a loss of autonomy. Because the checklist focuses on the individual’s cravings for cigarettes, it has shown high validity across groups of long and short-term smokers (Sledjeski et al., 2007). Reliability scores, comparatively, have an α= 0.877 on Cronbach’s scale. In addition, additional context-specific items (Appendix C.1) will be used in conjunction with the HONC. Items indicating the number of cigarettes smoked daily, concerning “social smoking” or the joint usage of alcohol and tobacco in peer contexts, and how current state (tiredness, stress, etc.) influences smoking behavior will be added to the HONC. In addition to the HONC, all participants will also be administered the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The STAI (see Appendix D) assessed stress-reactions and manifestations of anxiety in participants. The STAI is a 20 item list, in which participants rank Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 16 how often the experience certain emotional states. Twenty items are self-report items that are phrased as “I” statements and each is then evaluated on a four-point Likert scale. Internal consistency is αs > .89, and test-retest reliability is r = .88. The trait-focused version will be used in this study, as it has shown consistent reliability and validity within the across samples (Grös et. al., 2007). As another assessment of stress responses, participants will also complete a perceived stress measure. The Cohen Perceived Stress Scale gauges an individual’s current stress relative to objective situations. There are 14- items rated on a self-response scale from 1 to 5, and the responses gauge frequency of occurrence. Since it’s development in 1983, the PSS has shown reliability and validity consistently ( r = . 85) (Cohen, Kamarck, & Mermelstein, 1983). Scoring from these items will reflect STAI measures and contribute descriptive statistics to the characterization of the sample. Like Study One, Study Two will also employ the Trait-Meta Mood Scale (TMMS) (see Appendix A) to gauge emotional intelligence (EI) in participants. The TMMS demonstrates significant reliability and internal consistency (Salovey et al., 1991) and will be reused in Study Two. As a comparison measure for the TMMS responses, participants’ coping skills will also be evaluated by a self-report questionnaire. In order to collect data for aim 2 of this study, the Abbreviated form of the COPE will be used. The shortened COPE measure does not include measures of Catastrophizing, Stoicism, Isolation, Restraint, and Mental Disengagement. “Positive Reframing” also replaces the measure for Positive Growth/ Reappraisal in this measure; likewise, “Distraction” is introduced as a comparable measure to mental disengagement. Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 17 Similar to the modified HONC, participants will complete a modified COPE that contains items specifically related to smoking. For example, “I smoke when…” to indicate smoking as a coping behavior rather than simply a substance-abuse coping style. Participant’s general emotional disposition will also be evaluated through the Appraisal Style Inventory (David, Kirby, & Smith, 2007). Participants are asked to predict how they would react in twelve hypothetical situations and respond on a 9-point scale. Situations present positive and negative scenarios in order to gauge a trend in appraisals, and the questionnaire ask participants to respond on their perceptions of accountability, importance, and fluidity of the situation. Six situations are positive, six are negative, six are affiliative, and six are achievement related. The reliability of across all twelve measures of disposition are (1) motivational relevance = .83, (2) motivational congruence = .80, (3) Emotion-Focused Coping Potential = .87, (4) Problem-Focused Coping Potential = .78, (5) Self-Accountability = .64, (6) OtherAccountability = .77, and (6) Future Expectancy = .74 (David, Kirby, & Smith) (Appendix E). Anticipated Results The anticipated results for this study are expected to show: (1) a significant inverse correlation between each of the TMMS subscales and trait-anxiety. Aim (2) will show a replication of Study One’s data with a positive correlation between high TMMS subscales and the use of Emotion-focused coping behaviors. Aim (2) will also look to establish a positive correlation between TMMS subscales and appraisal style. Finally, Aim (3) should detect a significant difference in levels of nicotine dependence in the target group of individuals with comorbid trait-anxiety and low EI. Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 18 Results Aim (1) Significant correlations were found between “Trait Only” measures of the STAI, and the Clarity and Mood Repair subscales of the TMMS. Pearson Correlation coefficient with the Clarity subscale was equal to r = -.470 p< .01. Mood Repair showed a correlation of r = -.636 p< .01. Analysis of the Attention to emotion subscale versus the STAI showed a non-significant correlation. Table 2.1 STAI – Trait Only Significance STAI and TMMS Measures, N = 196 Attention Subscale of TMMS r = -. 120 Clarity Subscale of TMMS r = -.470 Mood Repair Subscale of TMMS r = -. 636 p> .05 (Non-Significant) p< .001 p< .001 Cohen’s Perceived Stress Scale also showed an inverse relationship with the Clarity and Mood Repair subscales. Correlation co-efficients are listed in Table 2.2. Table 2.2 Perceived Stress Scale Significance Aim (2) Perceived Stress Scale and TMMS Measures, N = 196 Attention Subscale of TMMS r=.064 Clarity Subscale of TMMS r = -.403 Mood Repair Subscale of TMMS r = -. 468 P > .05 (Non-Significant) P < .001 P < .001 Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 19 For the results in Aim 2, we sought to replicate the trends shown in Study One. In the new sample, there are some changes in statistical significance of correlations as well as strength of correlation when compared to Study One. Correlations for the new data set are listed in Table 2.3. In the Attention subscale, Denial ( r = -.157) and Behavioral Disengagement ( r = -.247) show inverse correlations that were not observed in Study One. The magnitude of correlation between Venting and Attention decreased significantly ( r1= .371 r2 =,.171) but Positive Reframing and Emotional Social Support showed comparable recreations in this data. Planning and Active Coping showed no correlation. For the Clarity Subscale, Behavioral Disengagement, Self-Blame, and Acceptance illustrated similar magnitudes of correlation, but the figures for Self-Blame and Acceptance were more significant, p < .01 versus p < .05 in Study One. Mediation, Emotional Social Support, and Acceptance were found to be significant in this trial, but findings for Humor and Prayer were not replicated. Behavioral Disengagement and Positive Reframing measures remained strong correlations in both sets, and Self-Blame increased in both r and p- values. Table 2.3 provides the figures for significant correlations found in the data. Aim (3) Data showed no significant difference in levels of nicotine dependence across the different levels of EI in those who completed smoking measures. Smoking rates amongst this population were uncharacteristically low, mean response on the HONC was Xavg= 1.48 with a SD= 2.41. Scores within this range would indicate low levels of dependence. However, analysis of smoking behavior revealed three, as opposed to the expected two, levels of variance in nicotine use. From this finding, a new class of participants offered significant findings on measures of appraisal style, coping strategies, and TMMS subscales. Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 20 Participants were divided into three-groups to explore between-group comparisons in the other measures; groups were constructed as: (1) self-reported smokers, n = 50, (2) Non-smokers, n = 137, and (3) discrepant smokers, n = 9, who did not self-identify as smokers but reported smoking behaviors. Data from the COPE showed significant variances across the groups in use of several different coping strategies. Table 2.4 lists the means of the likelihood of relying on that coping mechanism per participant level. Wilhelm Table 2.3 Two-Tail Exploring Emotional Intelligence 21 Correlations between TMMS and Abbreviated COPE1 in Study Two Sample, N = 196 Attention Subscale Clarity Subscale Mood Repair Subscale Instrumental Social Support (.278) Behavioral Disengagement (-.326) Positive Reframing (.386) Signficance P < .001 Emotional Social Support (.251) Behavioral Disengagement (-. 382) Behavioral Disengagement (-.247) Self-Blame (-.318) Denial (-.249) P < .01 Denial (-.231) Acceptance (.243) Self-Blame (-.222) Instrumental Social Support (.235) Acceptance (.185) Active Coping (.199) Planning (.198) P < .05 Venting (.171) Active Coping (.182) Meditation (.173) Positive Reframing (.159) Planning (.148) Distraction (.143) Denial (-.157) 2 Emotional Social Support (.142) 1 As noted in Methods: This COPE measure used in this study was the abbreviated format, thus measures of Catastrophizing, Stoicism, Isolation, Restraint, and Mental Disengagement were not included. “Positive Reframing” also replaces the measure for Positive Growth/ Reappraisal in this measure; likewise, “Distraction” is introduced as a comparable measure to mental disengagement 2 Italics indicate the presence of a coping strategy that was not significantly correlated with that TMMS measure in the Study One data Wilhelm Table 2.4 Coping Strategies Exploring Emotional Intelligence 22 Mean Frequency of Use of Specific Coping Mechanisms Across Levels, N = 197 Self-Reported Non-Smokers Discrepant SD from Smokers n = 138 Smokers Mean n = 50 F-Test Value Degrees of P-value Freedom n=9 Use of Smoking Xavg= 1.800 Xavg= 1.00 Xavg= 1.944 SD= .661 f = 47.200 df = 2 p < .001 Use of Alcohol Xavg= 1.940 Xavg= 1.289 Xavg= 1.777 SD= .768 f = 15.990 df = 2 p < .001 Use of Perscription/ Illicit Drugs Xavg= 1.400 Xavg= 1.061 Xavg= 1.611 SD= .503 f = 13.381 df = 2 p < .001 Denial Xavg= 1.410 Xavg= 1.300 Xavg= 1.777 SD= .547 f = 3.701 df = 2 p < . 05 Behavioral Disengagement Xavg= 1.560 Xavg= 1.481 Xavg= 2.277 SD= .601 f = 7.964 df = 2 p < .001 Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 23 Measures of Appraisal Style also showed significant differences between groups in measures of situational importance, congruence, self v. other responsibility, and overall emotionfocused coping. Overall, Discrepant Smokers scored noticeably lower on measures than NonSmokers or Smokers. Table 2.5 compares the differences between smoking levels on reports of Appraisal Style. Although all scores are comparable, Non-Smokers and Smokers often scored items more closely than Discrepant Smokers. The values for the Discrepant group are bolded to highlight the deviation from the other scores. Table 2.5 Average Scores on Appraisal Styles Across Smoking Levels, N = 196 Standard Smokers Non-Smokers Discrepant Smokers SD= .071 Xavg= 7.02 Xavg= 7.51 Xavg= 6.21 SD= .074 Xavg= 7.51 Xavg= 7.95 Xavg= 6.44 SD= .908 Xavg= 6.67 Xavg= 6.72 Xavg= 5.96 SD= .956 Xavg= 6.62 Xavg= 6.84 Xavg= 5.57 SD= 1.05 Xavg= 7.56 Xavg= 8.02 Xavg= 6.72 Deviation Importance across all Situations Congruence across all Situations Self-responsibility in Positive Situations Other-responsibility in Affiliative Situations EFCP Positive Situations Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 24 Discussion Study Two was constructed to address 3 key aims over the course of study. Through this sample, Aim (1) ‘results will show a correlation between low EI and trait anxiety’ was confirmed by our data. From the data in this sample, for the Clarity and Mood Repair dimensions of the TMMS, trait anxiety and perceived stress are inversely correlated with these scales of Emotional Intelligence. Skills associated with clarity of emotion and mood repair characterize the “high EI” individual. On the contrary, the figures in Table 2.1 illustrate that those with poor clarity and mood repair are more likely to also be trait-anxious individuals. It may be that these individuals experience anxiety without direct stimuli because they cannot efficiently discern and react to their emotional appraisal. Likewise the poor levels of self-awareness characterized in lower levels of emotional clarity, may lead individuals to experience anxiety at the expectation of events, rather than the event itself, which is the key difference in State v. Trait Anxiety. In support of Patterson’s (2004) data, both the STAI and PSS measures show similar inverse trends with TMMS measures. Therefore, these trends characterize the typical low-EI individual as someone who is susceptible to elevated levels of stress-related arousal. One could postulate the failures in Mood Repair abilities prolong and intensify the experience of anxiety for low-EI individuals when it is trait-related, as opposed to the event specific state-related anxiety. Individuals who are adept at Mood Repair may score higher on state-anxiety items because they are able to recover quickly from stressful stimuli in a situation. The steep inverse correlation between state-related anxiety and Mood Repair once again emphasizes the importance of Mood Repair in effective Emotion-focused coping. Trait-Anxiety was inversely correlated with important elements of emotional intelligence, and results unexpectedly showed a correlation with perceived stress as well. Aim (1) was Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 25 intended to characterize trait-anxious individual as one who also exhibits low levels of EI and is therefore less likely to be adept at emotion-focused coping. Scores on the Clarity and Mood Repair subscales of the TMMS, suggest that these individuals do struggle with accommodative emotion-focused coping. In comparison AIM (2) evaluates the coping skills and Appraisal styles of individuals who would be considered high EI, or score highly on measures of the TMMS. Across both studies, several coping mechanisms showed strong replications of correlation and significance. For the Attention subscale, Emotional Social Support Seeking was the strongest in both. Awareness of one’s emotions may prompt these individuals to seek social support as the first method of emotion-focused coping. Clarity subscales showed an almost identical correlation with Behavioral Disengagement in both samples, r1= -. 353 and r 2 = -.326 both p < . 001. If an individual can discern clearly one’s emotional state, it may facilitate a more pragmatic approach to coping and leave individuals less likely to draw away from a situation. Likewise, Mood Repair remained inversely correlated with Behavioral Disengagement and positively correlated with Positive Reappraisal/ Reframing. These coping skills may be closely related in the context that reframing a situation to reduce distress may deter an individual from withdrawing for the situation. Positive Reappraisal reduces levels of distress and makes a situation appear more manageable, and functions as instantaneous Mood Repair. Individuals who have high levels of emotional clarity and mood repair have reliably shown in both samples that they are more likely to engage in positive emotion-focused coping practices and unlikely to use maladaptive emotionfocused coping practices or exhibit negative problem-focused coping behaviors, i.e. behavioral disengagement. Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 26 On measures of Appraisal Style, some interesting correlations surfaced in support of the hypothesis that high EI individuals rely more consistently on emotion-focused coping strategies. The Attention subscale of the TMMS showed a significant positive correlation with situational importance, r = .301 p < .001. Under Appraisal Theory, attention plays an important part of helping discern the appropriate reaction to take to a situation. Individuals with keen emotionalself-awareness may use this appraisal style to efficient assess their emotional arousal before coping with it. The Clarity and Mood Repair scales also showed associations with general use of Problem (PFCP) vs. Emotion-focused coping potential (EFCP). Clarity was correlated to PFCP, r = .280, p < .001, and Mood Repair correlated to PFCP as well, but at a lower level of significance, r = .245 p < .01. However, the result that most supports Aim (2) is that both Clarity and Mood Repair are linked to EFCP across all situations. Correlation values for Clarity are r= .374 p < .001, and values for Mood Repair are r= .352 p < .001. Correlations with EFCP show a greater magnitude and significance than the findings for PFCP and other Appraisal Styles. As expected, this data seems to confirm that higher levels of EI, especially Clarity and Mood Repair, correlate with increased frequency using emotion focused coping strategies. An appraisal style of EFCP characterizes an individual with a predisposition to rely on emotion-focused coping strategies; therefore, the correlation between TMMS subscales and ASI data supports this claim. Both studies showed emotional clarity and mood repair to be important factors in effective coping. High levels of Clarity and Mood Repair reliably illustrate positive correlations with positive emotion-focused coping behaviors and inverse functions with maladaptive emotion and problem-focused coping strategies. Measures on Appraisal Style corroborate these findings by reporting significant correlations for Clarity and Mood Repair with Emotion-Focused Coping Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 27 Potential and Problem-Focused Coping Potential in all situations, negative and positive. Implying that Emotional Intelligence does directly impact Appraisal Style and coping strategies. Unlike the first two hypotheses in this study, Aim (3) was rejected by the data from this sample. Originally, Aim (3) hoped to establish a correlation between levels of EI and nicotine dependence; however, no significant associations were found in the data. Further analysis of the data, though, revealed an additional level for analysis. The new category of Discrepant Smokers show markedly different responses from Smokers and Non-Smokers on several measures. For example, there are significant differences in the coping practices between Smokers, Non-Smokers, and Discrepant Smokers. Smokers reported low rates of reliance on smoking as a coping strategy (Xavg= 1.80), but reported that they rely more on alcohol as a coping strategy (Xavg= 1.94). Although the increase is slight, many Smoker’s smoking behaviors could be classified as social-smokers and the coincidence of alcohol and nicotine use supports this. For the measure of smoking as a coping mechanism, Discrepant Smokers exhibited the highest rates of usage (Xavg= 1.9) even though they did not self-report as smokers. This presents an interesting finding that seems to corroborate the data showing Discrepant Smokers as having the highest rates of use for denial as a coping mechanism. Essentially, these Discrepant Smokers are actively practicing denial as they report themselves as non-smokers, but report nicotine use. Discrepant Smokers also interestingly show the highest rates of coping through illicit drugs; They score +1 standard deviation above Non-smokers on this item. Likewise, Discrepant Smokers most frequently rely on behavioral disengagement as a coping mechanism. With an average of Xavg= 2.27, it is the highest rate figure on the table, and scores +1 standard deviation over the average use rates for both Smokers and Non-Smokers. Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 28 Similarly, to the COPE measure, Discrepant Smokers illustrated interesting patterns of scores on Appraisal Style. In many items, Discrepant Smokers scores diverge from the range established by Smokers and Non-Smokers. On measures of congruence, importance, and otherresponsibility, the average score varies by more than at least one standard deviation in comparison with one of the other two groups. For overall importance of situation, Discrepant Smokers scored a full standard deviation below both other groups. This finding resonates with their elevated use of behavioral disengagement as a coping strategy. If Discrepant Smokers feel no sense of motivation in a stress-inducing situation, it seems plausible that taking no action would be a common response. Discrepant Smokers also scored 1 SD below the means for Smokers and Non-Smokers on the Congruence in all situations measure. Based on the developing prototype of the Discrepant Smoker, this individual is incapable of appraising desirability in a situation because he cannot clearly discern how he is affected by his emotions, a failure in clarity. Although the EFCP score for Discrepant Smokers is not a full SD below nonsmokers, it is worthwhile to note the range between Non-Smokers and Discrepant Smokers on this measure. It seems that Non-Smokers more effectively use emotion-focused coping skills in positive situations ( Xavg= 8.02) , whereas Discrepant Smokers score much lower on EFCP (Xavg= 6.72) in this scenario. Between the COPE and ASI measures, the Discrepant Smokers group appears to be functioning at the lowest level of emotional intelligence with the poorest coping skills. From this data, we are able to construct the Discrepant Smoker as a caricature of low-EI infused with maladaptive coping styles. In contrast this data exonerates the typical smoker, to a degree, and reveals that some individuals employ substance abuse as an effectual type of emotion-focused coping despite its health risks. Essentially, the individuals represented in the Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 29 Smoker’s category combine presumably average to high levels of emotional intelligence with a tendency to rely on a maladaptive emotion-focused coping strategy, despite its behavioral incongruence. Limitations and Areas for Future Study One key factor that may have contributed to the rejection of Aim (3) and limited the generalizability of the analyses in this study is the composition of our sample. Participant selection for this study may have also affected the outcome of nicotine dependence measures. Overall, our sample population is very homogenous, which is a function of using university subject pools. The smoking habits of college students are not representative of the general public; as so, social smokers are overrepresented in the data. Because smoking is becoming a stigmatized behavior among youths, students may have also felt the need to adhere to social norms by: underreporting, failing to self-report, or downplaying their smoking behaviors as the more acceptable “social smoking”. Likewise, these issues are a consequence of relying on selfreport measures as well. If further study on were to continue on this theory, more concrete measures of nicotine use would have to be administered. For future study, it may be worthwhile to explore the implications of this data under other circumstances. One interesting avenue might be pursuing further analysis of the Discrepant Smoker population. Although the Discrepant Smoking is irrelevant, the underlying behavioral patterns are interesting. The failure of emotional self-awareness seems to influence incongruent goals and behaviors in these individuals. Based on the Appraisal styles and trends in coping mechanisms exhibited by these individuals, investigating ways to enhance emotional intelligence, Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 30 especially clarity and mood repair, may have important implications in the treatment of addictive populations. General Discussion Studies One and Two have shown Clarity and Mood Repair to be the most important indicators for adaptive coping. Study One and Aim (2) data show that these strengths in these two areas are more positively associated with the use of positive coping behaviors and rejecting negative coping behaviors. From these findings, we have developed prototypical models of coping behaviors and appraisal styles of High EI and Low EI individuals. Additionally, the findings on Discrepant Smokers have helped construct another model in this study, Very Low EI individuals. The characteristic differences between these groups strongly suggests that EI somehow mediates the appraisal of coping potential and influences the selection of coping behaviors. In general, these findings are beneficial in understanding the subconscious processes of the structural model of Appraisal Theory. By understanding the role of EI in an individual’s selection of coping behaviors, we may be able to more fully understand our emotional reactions. Some have a tendency to view emotion-focused coping as a negative attribute; many falsely assume that it is maladaptive. However, as this study has shown, emotion-focused coping behaviors can be effective when used appropriately. Although differences in levels of EI will not explain away maladaptive coping or behavioral incongruence, analysis of EI does offer insight to why individuals have a tendency to rely on different appraisal styles across situations. Having a High EI may not stop you from lighting up a cigarette, but at least it will help you cope more efficiently with your inability to quit. Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 31 References American Cancer Society. Questions about Smoking, Tobacco, and Health. November 2008. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_10_2x_Questions_About_Smoking_ Tobacco_and_Health.asp. Arndt, M. “McDonald’s 24 / 7”. Business Week. Published 5 February 2007. http:// www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_06/b4020001.htm. Audrain, J., Lerman, C., Gomez, C., Boyd, N. R., & Orleans, C. T. (1998). The role of trait anxiety in nicotine dependence. Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research, 3, 29-42. Carver, C. S., Scheier, M. F., & Weintraub, J. K. (1989). Assessing coping strategies: A theoretically based approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 267-283. Clark, D. B., Wood, D. S., Martin, C. S., Cornelius, J. R., Lynch, K. G. & Shiffman, S. (2005). 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Psychometric Properties of State-Trait Inventory for Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety (STICSA): Comparison to the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Psychological Assessment, 19(4), 369-381. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Popularity of high performance motorcycles help push rider deaths to near-record high. 11 Septemeber 2007. http: //www. Iihs.org/ news/rss/pr091107.html. Lazarus, R. S. (1993). Coping theory and research: Past, present, and future. Psychosomatic Medicine, 55, 234-245. Mayer, J. D, Salovey, P. & Caruso, D. R. (2004). Emotional intelligence: Theory, findings, implications. Psychological Inquiry, 15, 197-215. Metzger. (1976). Reliability and Validity Study of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 32 (2), 276-278. Patterson, F., Lerman, C., Kaufman, V. G., Neuner, G. A., & Audrain-McGovern, J. (2004). Cigarette smoking practices among American college students: Review and future directions. 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The Nicotine Dependence Syndrome Scale (NDSS): a multidimensional measure of nicotine dependence. Nicotine and Tobacco Research, 6, 327-348. Sledjeski, E. M., Dierker, L. C., Costello, D., Shiffman, S., Donny, E., & Flay, B. R. (2007). Predictive validity in four nicotine dependence measures in a college sample. Journal of Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 87, 10-19. Smith, C. A. & Kirby, L. D. (2001). Toward delivering on the promise of appraisal theory. In K. R. Scherer, A. Schorr, & T. Johnstone (Eds.). Appraisal processes in emotion: Theory, Methods, Research (pp. 121-138). New York: Oxford University Press. Smith, C. A. & Lazarus, R. S. (1990). Emotion and adaptation. In L. A. Pervin (Ed.). Handbook of Personality: Theory and Research (pp. 609- 637). New York: Guilford. Wellman, R. J., DiFranza, J. R., Savageau, J. A., Godiwala, S., Friedman, K. & Hazelton, J. (2005). Measuring adults’ loss of autonomy over nicotine use: The Hooked on Nicotine Checklist. Nicotine and Tobacco Research, 7(1), 157-161. Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 34 APPENDIX A Trait Meta Mood Scale Items are rated across a Likert scale: 1=strongly disagree, 2= somewhat disagree, 3= neither agree no disagree, 4= somewhat agree, 5= strongly agree. Directions: Please read each statement and decide whether or not you agree with it. 1. The variety of human feelings makes life more interesting. 2. I try to think good thoughts no matter how badly I feel. 3. I don’t have much energy when I am happy. 4. People would be better off it they felt less and thought more. 5. I usually don’t have much energy when I’m sad. 6. When I’m angry, I usually let myself feel that way. 7. I don’t think it’s worth paying attention to your emotions or moods. 8. I don’t usually care much about what I’m feeling. 9. Sometimes I can’t tell what my feelings are. 10. If I find myself getting mad, I try to calm myself down. 11. I have lots of energy when I feel sad. 12. I am rarely confused about how I feel. 13. I think about my mood constantly. 14. I don’t let my feelings interfere with what I am thinking. 15. Feelings give direction to life. 16. Although I am sometimes sad, I have a mostly optimistic outlook. 17.When I am upset I realize that the “good things in life” are illusions. 18. I believe in acting from the heart. 19. I can never tell how I feel. 20. When I am happy I realize how foolish most of my worries are. 21. I believe it’s healthy to feel whatever emotion you feel. 22. The best way for me to handle my feelings is to experience them to the fullest. 23. When I become upset I remind myself of all the pleasures in life. 24. My beliefs and opinions always seem to change depending on how I feel. Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 25. I usually have lots of energy when I’m happy. 26. I am often aware of my feelings on a matter. 27. When I’m depressed. I can’t help but think of bad thoughts. 28. I am usually confused about how I feel. 29. One should never be guided by emotions. 30. If I’m in too good mood, I remind myself of reality to bring myself down. 31. I never give in to my emotions. 32. Although I am sometimes happy, I have a mostly pessimistic outlook. 33. I feel at ease about my emotions. 34. It’s important to block out some feelings in order to preserve your sanity. 35. I pay a lot of attention to how I feel. 36. When I’m in a good mood, I’m optimistic about the future. 37. I can’t make sense of my feelings. 38. I don’t pay much attention to my feelings. 39. Whenever I’m in a bad mood, I’m pessimistic about the future. 40. I never worry about being in too good a mood. 41. I often think about my feelings. 42. I am usually very clear about my feelings. 43. No matter how badly I feel, I try to think about pleasant things. 44.Feelings are a weakness humans have. 45. I usually know my feelings about a matter. 46. It is usually a waste of time to think about your emotions. 47. When I am happy I sometimes remind myself of everything that could go wrong. 48. I almost always know exactly how I am feeling. 35 Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 36 APPENDIX B Brief COPE We are interested in how people respond when they confront difficult or stressful events in their lives. There are many ways to try to deal with stress. These items ask what you generally feel and do when you experience stressful events. Obviously, different events bring out somewhat different responses, but think about what you usually do when you are under a lot of stress. Each item says something about a particular way of coping. We want to know to what extent you generally do what the item says - how much or how frequently. Don't answer on the basis of whether it seems to work or not, just whether or not you do it. Use these response choices. Try to rate each item separately in your mind from the others. Make your answers as true FOR YOU as you can. There are no "right" or "wrong" answers, so choose the most accurate answer for you - not what you think most people would or should say or do. 1 = I usually don't do this at all 2 = I usually do this a little bit 3 = I usually do this a medium amount 4 = I usually do this a lot 1) I turn to work or other activities to take my mind off things. _______ 2) I concentrate my efforts on doing something about the situation I'm in. _______ 3) I say to myself "this isn't real". _______ 4) I use alcohol or other drugs to make myself feel better. _______ 5) I get emotional support from others. _______ 6) I give up trying to deal with it. _______ 7) I take action to try to make the situation better. _______ 8) I refuse to believe that it has happened. _______ 9) I say things to let my unpleasant feelings escape. _______ 10) I get help and advice from other people. _______ 11) I use alcohol or other drugs to help me get through it. _______ 12) I try to see it in a different light, to make it seem more positive. _______ 13) I criticize myself. _______ 14) I try to come up with a strategy about what to do. _______ Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 15) I get comfort and understanding from someone. _______ 16) I give up the attempt to cope. _______ 17) I look for something good in what is happening. _______ 18) I make jokes about it. _______ 19) I do something to think about it less, such as going to movies, watching TV, reading, daydreaming, sleeping, or shopping. _______ 20) I accept the reality of the fact that it has happened. _______ 21) I express my negative feelings. _______ 22) I try to find comfort in my religion or spiritual beliefs. _______ 23) I try to get advice or help from other people about what to do. _______ 24) I learn to live with it. _______ 25) I think hard about what steps to take. _______ 26) I blame myself for things that happen. _______ 27) I praying or meditate. _______ 28) I make fun of the situation. _______ 37 Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence APPENDIX C Hooked on Nicotine Checklist 1. Have you ever tried to quit smoking, but couldn’t? 2. Do you smoke now because it is really hard to quit? 3. Have you ever felt like you were addicted to tobacco? 4. Do you ever have strong craving to smoke? 5. Have you ever felt like you really needed a cigarette? 6. Is it hard to keep from smoking in places where you are not supposed to? When you tried to quit smoking… 7. Did you find it hard to concentrate because you couldn’t smoke? 8. Did you feel more irritable because you couldn’t smoke? 9. Did you feel a strong need or urge to smoke? 10. Did you feel nervous, restless, or anxious because you couldn’t smoke? C.1 Additional Measures added to evaluate smoking behaviors 1. How many days out of the past 30 have you smoked? 2. How many cigarettes do you smoke, on average, per week? 3. When you smoke, do you smoke alone or with others? 4. Do you usually smoke when consuming alcohol? 5. When smoking, do you smoke the whole cigarette? 38 Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 39 APPENDIX D STATE-TRAIT ANXIETY INVENTORY A number of statements which people have used to describe themselves are given below. Choose the response that indicates how you generally feel and place an "X" in the appropriate column.. There are no right or wrong answers. Do not spend too much time on any one statement but give the answer which seems to describe how you generally feel. Almost Almost Sometimes Often 1. 2. 3. 4. I feel pleasant I feel nervous and restless I feel satisfied with myself I wish I could be as happy as others 5. 6. 7. 8. seems to be I feel like a failure I feel rested I am "calm, cool and collected" I feel that difficulties are piling up so that I cannot overcome them 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. Never _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ Always _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ I worry too much over something that really doesn't matter I am happy I have disturbing thoughts I lack self-confidence I feel secure I make decisions easily I feel inadequate I am content Some unimportant thought runs through my mind and bothers me 18. I take disappointments so keenly that 19. 20. I can't put them out of my mind I am a steady person I get in a state of tension or turmoil as I think over my recent concerns and interest _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 40 APPENDIX E APPRAISAL STYLE INVENTORY For the final set of questions, you will see brief descriptions of 12 hypothetical situations. Each situation is followed by a series of questions. For each situation please try to imagine yourself in the situation as vividly as you can. If such a situation happened to you, what do you think would have caused it or brought it about? What would it mean to you to be in this situation? When you are imagining yourself in the situation as vividly as you can, please answer the questions that follow the description. First you will be asked to briefly describe what you think caused this situation (that is, what do you imagine the cause to be), and then you will be asked some specific questions about what you are thinking within this imaginary situation. You should use a 9-point scale (1-9) to answer these specific questions. For some of the questions specific end-points will be provided in parentheses to help you define the scale for that question. If there are no end-points provided you should use the following scale. 1-------2-------3-------4-------5-------6-------7-------8-------9 not at all ---------------- moderately ------------------ extremely So for each specific question you should answer by listing a number between 1 and 9. When you have answered all the questions for one situation you should go on to the next situation, until you have imagined yourself in all 12 situations. There are no right or wrong answers. Please try to answer every question as best you can, and make it true for you Think about what you want and don't want in this situation. Answer the following questions as if you were actually experiencing the situation. [Questions continue on following page] Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 41 1. How certain are you that you will be able to influence things to make (or keep) the situation the way you want it? 2. How important is what is happening in this situation to you? 3. Think about what you do and do not want in this situation. How consistent is the situation with what you want? 4. To what extent do you consider YOURSELF responsible for this situation? 5. To what extent do you consider SOMEONE ELSE responsible for this situation? 6. Think about how you would like this situation to turn out. For any reason, how consistent with these wishes do you expect this situation to become (or stay)? 7. How certain are you that you will, or will not, be able to deal emotionally with what is happening in this situation however it turns out? Wilhelm Exploring Emotional Intelligence 42