EQ and science

Some EQ experts talk about the brain, claiming to draw on research from biology, neuropsychology and other scientific fields to explain people’s behaviour. Be careful of ‘facts’ in the world of pop-psychology. Remember,  that some EQ material is not academic; it is created and used for a different purpose.

One of Goleman’s ideas might be useful – but it is not really very scientific. The idea of an amygdala hijack was coined by Goleman to describe emotional responses from people which are immediate and disproportionate to the actual stimulus. When an emotional response is hugely disproportionate to the stimulus, people might say their amygdala has hijacked them. Goleman says that this part of our brain – an ancient reptilian part of our brain - looks for and reacts to lots of data quickly and sees signs of physical or psychological danger. When the reptilian brain senses a threat, it kicks off the fight or flight response. So when we snap at people (fight) or totally shut down (fright), our amygdala has taken over.  Whatever the cause, such behaviour rarely looks emotionally intelligent, especially in a work place

Some people find it a useful way to think, but it is scientifically questionable. Do parts of the brain work together? If brains react so basically, why don’t we all act in the same way? But the idea of amygdala hijack might be a useful way to think about over-the-top responses. Maybe we can look for patterns so that we recognise when our own personal history is reshaping our emotional responses and reading situations as dangerous?

When thinking about emotional responses, it's useful to remember that scientists advise:

• Amygdala activation is not the same for everyone - people can react to the same thing in different ways.
• The amygdala might evaluate stimuli but also tune a person’s overall cognitive and emotional response.
• Fear, especially learned fear, emanates from the limbic system, which exists only in mammals. Reptiles do no have fear; they rely on habit and instinct.

You can find out more at Brains on Purpose.