An Immersive and Interactive Setting to Practice Emotional Intelligence

Abstract

Emotions are an essential part of being human. Whether we experience them deeply, overcontrol them, or let them overwhelm us, emotions have a big influence on our experiences, our performance, and our quality of life. Bing emotional intelligent helps us make better decisions, forge stronger relationships, and overcome challenging situations. To improve emotional intelligence,we designed an immersive setting where participants interact with a variety ofsituations digitally displayed with fully cognitive and emotional involvementpracticing empathy, self-awareness, and self-regulation. We work at the inter-section of  thinking  and  feeling,  increasing  participants’ awareness about  theway the mind works, experimenting the intensity of the emotions in the bodyand the impact on the behavior. Scientific evidence from neuroscience showsthat as human beings, we are not passive receivers of sensory input, but ourbrain constructs meaning actively from sensory input, beliefs, past experiences,and culture. In our brains, thoughts and feelings are highly interconnected: wefeel what our brain believes, so reflection on emotion is crucial to make senseof our experiences and regulate our feelings. It’s not about controlling emo-tions, but rather about connecting with our emotional life.