Emotional inteligence
64/661capacity of attention that holds in mind the facts essentialfor completing a given task or problem, whether itbe the ideal features one seeks in a house while touringseveral prospects, or the elements of a reasoning problemon a test. The prefrontal cortex is the brain regionresponsible for working memory. 17 But circuits from thelimbic brain to the prefrontal lobes mean that the signalsof strong emotion—anxiety, anger, and thelike—can create neural static, sabotaging the ability ofthe prefrontal lobe to maintain working memory. That iswhy when we are emotionally upset we say we "just can'tthink straight"—and why continual emotional distresscan create deficits in a child's intellectual abilities, cripplingthe capacity to learn.These deficits, if more subtle, are not always tappedby IQ testing, though they show up through more targetedneuropsychological measures, as well as in achild's continual agitation and impulsivity. In one study,for example, primary school boys who had above-averageIQ scores but nevertheless were doing poorly inschool were found via these neuropsychological tests tohave impaired frontal cortex functioning. 18 They alsowere impulsive and anxious, often disruptive and introuble—suggesting faulty prefrontal control over theirlimbic urges. Despite their intellectual potential, theseare the children at highest risk for problems like
65/661academic failure, alcoholism, and criminality—not becausetheir intellect is deficient, but because their controlover their emotional life is impaired. The emotionalbrain, quite separate from those cortical areas tapped byIQ tests, controls rage and compassion alike. Theseemotional circuits are sculpted by experiencethroughout childhood—and we leave those experiencesutterly to chance at our peril.Consider, too, the role of emotions in even the most"rational" decision-making. In work with far-reachingimplications for understanding mental life, Dr. AntonioDamasio, a neurologist at the University of Iowa Collegeof Medicine, has made careful studies of just what is impairedin patients with damage to the prefrontal-amygdalacircuit. 19 Their decision-making is terriblyflawed—and yet they show no deterioration at all in IQor any cognitive ability. Despite their intact intelligence,they make disastrous choices in business and their personallives, and can even obsess endlessly over a decisionso simple as when to make an appointment.Dr. Damasio argues that their decisions are so bad becausethey have lost access to their emotional learning.As the meeting point between thought and emotion, theprefrontal-amygdala circuit is a crucial doorway to therepository for the likes and dislikes we acquire over thecourse of a lifetime. Cut off from emotional memory in
- Page 14 and 15: 14/661quantum level in physics, alt
- Page 16 and 17: 16/661the emotional and social skil
- Page 18 and 19: PART ONETHE EMOTIONAL BRAIN
- Page 20 and 21: 20/661species. 2 Seen from the pers
- Page 22 and 23: 22/661But Bobby Crabtree and his wi
- Page 24 and 25: at the Crabtree household. In short
- Page 26 and 27: 26/661the face blanch as blood is s
- Page 28 and 29: 28/661These biological propensities
- Page 30 and 31: 30/661able to ponder and reflect. B
- Page 32 and 33: 32/661To better grasp the potent ho
- Page 34 and 35: 34/661them. Because this part of th
- Page 36 and 37: 36/661the family unit and the long-
- Page 38 and 39: 2Anatomy of an Emotional HijackingL
- Page 40 and 41: moment passes, those so possessed h
- Page 42 and 43: 42/661feeling, as well as any feeli
- Page 44 and 45: 44/661It is in moments such as thes
- Page 46 and 47: 46/661did he realize that the girl
- Page 48 and 49: 48/661LeDoux overturned the prevail
- Page 50 and 51: original signal goes straight from
- Page 52 and 53: messages from the brain to regulate
- Page 54 and 55: 54/661memories date from the first
- Page 56 and 57: 56/661falling—illustrates the pow
- Page 58 and 59: sensory information that have not b
- Page 60 and 61: 60/661to the amygdala, but to the n
- Page 62 and 63: 62/661zones to the emotional urgenc
- Page 66 and 67: 66/661the amygdala, whatever the ne
- Page 68 and 69: PART TWOTHE NATURE OFEMOTIONALINTEL
- Page 70 and 71: 70/661After transferring to a priva
- Page 72 and 73: course it accounts for. But what da
- Page 74 and 75: 74/661level of young people of comp
- Page 76 and 77: 76/661margins of games rather than
- Page 78 and 79: 78/661competencies and gifts, and c
- Page 80 and 81: 80/661varieties of intelligence. In
- Page 82 and 83: 82/661discern and respond appropria
- Page 84 and 85: 84/661Mr. Spock, the archetype of d
- Page 86 and 87: you get that are essential for inte
- Page 88 and 89: 88/661for instance, so highly value
- Page 90 and 91: the subtle social signals that indi
- Page 92 and 93: 92/661adept in the realm of mind bu
- Page 94 and 95: 4Know ThyselfA belligerent samurai,
- Page 96 and 97: 96/661faculty of mind in writing of
- Page 98 and 99: 98/661• Self-aware. Aware of thei
- Page 100 and 101: 100/661Temple University, to assess
- Page 102 and 103: 102/661Gary was emotionally flat, c
- Page 104 and 105: 104/661silent. When her therapist t
- Page 106 and 107: 106/661Elliot's tumor, growing just
- Page 108 and 109: 108/661accepting virtually every po
- Page 110 and 111: 110/661It may be that a talent for
- Page 112 and 113: 112/661just out of his awareness an
65/661
academic failure, alcoholism, and criminality—not because
their intellect is deficient, but because their control
over their emotional life is impaired. The emotional
brain, quite separate from those cortical areas tapped by
IQ tests, controls rage and compassion alike. These
emotional circuits are sculpted by experience
throughout childhood—and we leave those experiences
utterly to chance at our peril.
Consider, too, the role of emotions in even the most
"rational" decision-making. In work with far-reaching
implications for understanding mental life, Dr. Antonio
Damasio, a neurologist at the University of Iowa College
of Medicine, has made careful studies of just what is impaired
in patients with damage to the prefrontal-amygdala
circuit. 19 Their decision-making is terribly
flawed—and yet they show no deterioration at all in IQ
or any cognitive ability. Despite their intact intelligence,
they make disastrous choices in business and their personal
lives, and can even obsess endlessly over a decision
so simple as when to make an appointment.
Dr. Damasio argues that their decisions are so bad because
they have lost access to their emotional learning.
As the meeting point between thought and emotion, the
prefrontal-amygdala circuit is a crucial doorway to the
repository for the likes and dislikes we acquire over the
course of a lifetime. Cut off from emotional memory in
Change language