Research suggests that higher levels of heart rate variability (HRV) are associated with a greater ability to regulate emotion. Click here to read the article.

Stress. 2007 Nov;10(4):368-74.

Power can literally “go to one’s head,” causing individuals to think they have more personal control over outcomes than they, in fact, do. Click here to read the article.

Psychological Science, March 2009

With age comes the ability to better regulate emotions in order to not disrupt performance on a memory-intensive task. Click here to read the article.

Journal of Psychology and Aging, March 2009.

When we exercise moral judgment, we believe we are making a conscious, rational decision, but research shows that we are subconsciously influenced by how clean or ‘pure’ we feel. Click here to read the article.

Psychological Science, December 2008

New research challenges the notion that it’s important to express one’s thoughts and feelings after experiencing a trauma.

The researchers completed online psychological tests beginning immediately after 9/11 and continuing for the following two years. The respondents were also given the opportunity to express their feelings and thoughts on the terrorist attacks  via  an online form.

The researchers then compared people who chose to express their thoughts and feelings versus those who chose not to express. They found that people who chose to express were psychologically worse off than those who did not express. They also found that the more you expressed, the worse off you were.

The researchers concluded “this perfectly exemplifies the assumption in popular culture, and even in clinical practice, that people need to talk in order to overcome a collective trauma. Instead, we should be telling people there is likely nothing wrong if they do not want to express their thoughts and feelings after experiencing a collective trauma. In fact, they can cope quite successfully and, according to our results, are likely to be better off than someone who does want to express his or her feelings.”

They researchers went on to say that “the results should not be interpreted to mean that expressing one’s thoughts and feelings is harmful or that if someone wants to express their emotions they should not do so. It’s important to remember that not everyone copes with events in the same way, and in the immediate aftermath of a collective trauma, it is perfectly healthy to not want to express one’s thoughts and feelings.”

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2008

One hundred and forty nine individuals in a master’s  level negotiation course were randomly assigned to groups for negotiation exercises (e.g., negotiation about the purchase of a car, the rental of a home, purchase of a health insurance, etc). Results revealed that EI was unrelated to performance in negotiations.

Journal of Research in Personality, 42, 463-1475.

Editors note:

Another article showing that EI is mostly a warnie (”more spin than substance”).

Socially rejected individuals are better at distinguishing fake smiles from real smiles compared to individuals who feel socially accepted. Click here to read the article.

Psychological Science, October 2008.

When you’re upset or depressed, should you analyze your feelings to figure out what’s wrong? Or should you just forget about it and move on? Click here to find out the surprising answer

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, July 2008

Researchers looked at the early career success (salary and performance) based on two year long data from a sample of recent business college graduates.

They found that that gender, extroversion, and agreeableness were the strongest predictors of salary. Emotional stability and proactive personality (e.g., lead and plan more effectively, and adapt more quickly to new situations) predicted perceived job success, while extroversion was significantly related to perceived career success.

Interestingly Emotional Intelligence didn’t predict early career success.

International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 16(3), 292-300.

New brain scanning technologies are revealing that the part of the brain that processes physical pain also deals with emotional pain. Click here to read article.