Goleman Lauds Empathy, Control

The capacity for empathy and the ability to control one's emotions are more important than cognitive intelligence, best-selling author Daniel Goleman said before an overflowing crowd at the Graduate School of Education last night.

Goleman, a psychologist and science writer for the New York Times, is best known for his ground-breaking synthesis of psychological and neurological research, Emotional Intelligence.

Goleman structured his lecture around what he defined as the five basic components of emotional intelligence: self-awareness, the ability to handle emotions, motivation, empathy and social skills.

Goleman argued that people who have a moderate IQs are often more successful in life than those who receive perfect SAT scores because they have emotional intelligence, or "brilliance of the human heart."

Emotionally intelligent people are best equipped to deal with setbacks, Goleman said, because they can interact with co-workers and formulate manageable goals.

He labeled both of these skills indispensable in the workplace.

"Many people of high IQ work for people with moderate IQ, because people with moderate IQ have intelligence in this other domain [emotional intelligence]," Goleman said.

Despite acknowledging that he is not a neuroscientist, Goleman presented a detailed overview of anatomical basis of emotional intelligence in order to support his thesis that emotional intelligence is more deeply ingrained in our consciousness than cognitive intelligence.

Goleman drew from a wealth of research in psychology and other social sciences to show that children who exhibit restraint and empathy are most successful in high school, college and the workplace.

Goleman closed with a moving anecdote about how an old man on a subway prevented an aggressive bully from harassing fellow passengers by engaging him in friendly conversation.

Goleman described this Japanese man as the epitome of "emotional brilliance."

As the crowd of 800, composed mostly of educators, filed out of the lecture hall and the three rooms of overflow seating, reactions were mostly positive.

"It was spectacular," said psychology concentrator Lana Israel '97. "His idea of legitimizing emotion as an intelligence really rings true."