Emotional Intelligence, Its Relation with Social Interaction and Perceived Social Support

Abstract

The studty aims to present the Emotional Intelligence construct, and to determine the extent to which Emotional Intelligence influence social interaction and perceived social support. The study reveals important dimensions within the EI construct and emphasizes the relationships between these dimensions and predictive value for social interaction and perceived social support. Studies in the field of Emotional Intelligence, indicate that the this new construct of Intelligence, (EI), operates within the social context, therefore, the examination of socially relevant variables is perceived to be crucial for the results of the study. It has been hypothesised that there is a positive relation between Emotional Intelligence, its dimensions and social interacion and perceived social support. Data were gathered through using a structured questionnaire of Emotional Intelligence ( Schutte, N. S., Malouff, J. M., Hall, L. E., Haggerty, D. J., Cooper, J. T., Golden, C. J., - Dornheim, L. 1998) , Interpersonal Communication Inventory, Millard J. Bienvun, Sr, 1971) for measuring aspects of social interaction, and Multidimensional Scale on Perceived Social Support, (Zimet, Dahlem, Zimet - Farely, 1998). Correlation analysis was used to test the hypothesis of the study. Preliminary results appear to present interesting data and to offer an initial platform for interaction on the importance and relevance of the study and its related variables.