The influence of working memory and emotional intelligence on emotional expression in Spanish as a second language

Abstract

The current study intended to examine the influence of working memory capacity and emotional intelligence on emotional expression in Spanish as a second language (SSL). Forty-one learners of SSL (A2 and B1 levels) carried out a writing task about an emotional topic. The global quality of their texts was assessed by means of an analytical scale, and the web-based search engine emoFinder was used in order to measure the number and valence of emotional words produced by the participants. Moreover, participants completed a self-report measure of emotional intelligence and performed three working memory tasks. The results showed an influence of emotional intelligence on written expression in SSL, a positive correlation between the quality of written expression and the number of emotional words, as well as a greater use of positive words compared to the negative ones.