To start off chapter 10 I decided to take the emotional intelligence quiz. I received a 14 out of 20 on the quiz, which was quite a bit worse than I had expected to receive initially. I usually find that I am able to read other’s moods fairly easily and is why this score came as somewhat of a surprise to me. I believe that the test is fairly credible, but it seems as if the individuals who organized the material for the test tried to purposefully throw some of the test takers off by including several emotions that looked so similar, many individuals would not be able to tell that they were different emotions based solely on the very small differences.
Throughout the test, there were several emotions that stood out compared to the rest which were outlined in the test. Two of the emotions that stood out the most for me were disgust and happiness. However, as I had stated previously there were quite a few pictures that were almost identical which made identifying the emotion they were representing very difficult. These photos were mainly comprised of emotions of affection.
I can use the information I received from this test almost every day whilst I am working. Whilst at work, I converse with numerous customers and being able read someone’s body language and facial expression to gauge what type of mood they are in is crucial. Taking this test has further solidified my ability to read facial expressions and accurately assess what emotions a person, or people are experiencing at a given time.
Noah'sPSY105blog 
I also found identifying facial expressions intriguing. For me, it was hard to depict certain emotions because they can have overlapping components. It was also difficult because nonverbal cues, in this case kinesics, vary among cultures and individuals. The body movement in kinesics determine the emotion that one is feeling. I agree with you because learning nonverbal cues is essential in the workplace. I had some experience in retail, and I can attest to the fact that it is the difference between a sale and no sale. Some customers love when the workers interact with them, and I can tell this by having a pleasant facial expression and carrying a conversation. Usually these customers take the workers’ suggestions, which can lead to a large sale. On the other hand, if a worker asks a customer how the person is doing and the person responds with a quick, “good,” puts the person’s head down, and scurries away, it would not be smart to continue talking to them. Workers should know when to carry a long conversation with customers, based on nonverbal cues. I have observed situations in which the worker keeps asking the customer, who is clearly uncomfortable, questions and the customer leaves the store once the conversation is finished. When workers learn nonverbal cues, they can effectively determine how to approach the customer in a way that makes everyone feel comfortable. Thanks for sharing your ideas, Noah.
LikeLike
The reason the emotions looked so similar is because they are. There are 43 muscles in the face so there’s not as much differentiation between some emotions such as disgust, pain, and anger. I feel like a lot of times people’s emotions are complex where they could be feeling more than one emotion at the same time. If you stub your toe off a piece furniture, you probably feel pain and anger because you knew the piece of furniture was there and still managed to walk into it anyway. This can’t test your ability to read more than 1 emotion at a time.
I agree with you where the test can be misleading because there’s much more to emotional intelligence than just reading micro-expressions. I feel it requires a situational awareness. The test is also misleading because it didn’t show any body language. There were no audio cues either. A lot of times you can tell how someone’s feeling just by listening to the tone of a person’s voice or just by what words they use.
I agree with your ideas to use this knowledge in the workplace because by learning facial-expressions. You can customize how you engage a customer to yield the best outcome.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
LikeLike