Unit 11: Emotional Intelligence
Mini Case Studies
ANGER
1. Anger: A professor has a policy that English papers must be turned in at the beginning
of class, or they will not be accepted and will receive an “F’ grade. A student who has
received A’s and B’s on her previous papers, is on her way to class to turn in a paper, but
due to the snow, she gets into a minor car accident. She leaves a message on the
professor’s voice mail to explain the situation and state that she will be there as soon as
possible. The student finally arrives 10 minutes before the end of class. The professor
refuses to accept the paper and gives her an “F.” How angry would you be?
Unit 11: Emotional Intelligence
Mini Case Studies
OVERWHELM
This is the 6th week of classes, and so far, you have kept up with all classes: Math,
English, and College 101, thanks to the math tutoring. You work 20 hours per week in an
accounting office. At the start of the week, however, things changed. You have car
problems that must be taken care of and will cost a lot of money. Your child’s teacher
called, and she wants to meet with you – the only time is during your weekly math
tutoring appointment. You were asked to stay late at work in anticipation of tax season,
which caused you to be late for the math review class. What would you be thinking?
Unit 11: Emotional Intelligence
Mini Case Studies
ANXIETY
3. Anxiety: You have your first big math test coming up. You’ve never been good at math
tests since elementary school. You do your homework every evening and you think you
know the material, but when it comes time to take a test, you freeze up and can’t remember
a thing. As soon as you walk into the classroom, you know your heart will start beating
faster, you’ll start sweating, and all you’ll be able to think about is that you won’t have
enough time to finish all the questions. How anxious do you feel?
Unit 11: Emotional Intelligence
Mini Case Studies
DEPRESSION
4. Depression: You have been attending college for four semesters now and you realize you
still don’t know what you want to major in. You just can’t seem to find something you’re
really interested in. Your three best friends all went away to college, so you don’t have
anyone to go to the movies with most weekends. You have three big papers due this
semester and you can’t seem to get started on any of them. You find yourself ignoring the
alarm clock and going back to bed more often than not. You’ve missed several classes the
past two weeks. How depressed do you feel?