Emotional Boundaries

I. BACKGROUND OF STUDY

Emotional intelligence was described formally by Salovey and Mayer (1990). It was defined as ‘the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and actions (p. 189). Historically, emotion and intelligence were viewed as being in opposition to one another (Lloyd, 1979). How could one be intelligent about the emotional aspects of life when emotions derail individuals from achieving their goals (Young, 1943)?

The theory of emotional intelligence suggested the opposite: emotions make cognitive processes adaptive and individuals can think rationally about emotions. Emotional intelligence is an outgrowth of two areas of psychological

Mental Boundaries were later conceptualized to help understand dreaming patterns of the unconscious (Hartmann, 1991). These boundaries are psychological constructs relating to individual self-image and how they interact with the world around them. Twelve categories of mental boundaries were identified and measured, each with a wide range of application ranging from dream patterns, interpersonal relationships, opinions about nations and people, to opinions about organizational and groups. The concept of thick and thin boundaries involves the degree of separateness (thick boundaries) versus connectedness (thin boundaries) between a broad range of mental functions and processes (Hartmann, 1989). A thin boundary person will relate well to others’ emotions and generally feel a sense of connectedness. Thin boundary individuals are less structured or categorized, more spontaneous, and more emotional than individuals with thicker boundaries. Thus, a thick boundary person will maintain separation with others, often seeking distinct role definitions, clear expectations, and will typically allow little room for collaboration. Individuals with thick boundaries are more analytical, less spontaneous, and more closure-oriented than individuals with thin

Appraisal and expression of emotions. The first factor of EI is the ability to properly determine and express one’s own emotions as well as to be sympathetic, appraise and express emotions of others. Every individual’s ability varies in precisely identifying, appraising and expressing his own emotions as well as the emotions experienced by others. Some people are attentive of their feelings they experience and can express their emotions whereas, some people cannot express their feelings and emotions or they are unaware of their emotions (Zhou, George, 2003).

The research indicated that there is a positive relationship between job performance and team members having high EI because they are highly proficient at appraising and regulating their own emotions which results in a higher level of faith in themselves and have power over them which lead them to make realistic actions resulting in high performance and less supervisory interference. But where team members have low EI, they are less proficient at appraising and regulating their emotions, so they have to get assistance from their managers in helping them to better manage and control their emotions which lead to teamwork, coordination, creativity and adaptability (Sy, Tram, O’Hara,