Repository of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Osijek
| Title (english) | Emotional intelligence, empathy and altruism in university students |
| Author | Ana Babić Čikeš Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Collaborator | Jasmina Tomašić Humer (Researcher) Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Corporate author (english) | Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline | SOCIAL SCIENCES Psychology General Psychology |
| Abstract (english) | Previous research on the ability emotional intelligence (EI) has shown that EI positively contributes to different positive life outcomes. However, the role of EI abilities in altruistic behaviour has not been sufficiently investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between EI abilities measured by tests and self-reports, empathy and altruism in the student population. A total of N = 331 university students completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, two EI tests, and self-report measures of EI, cognitive empathy, emotional reactivity and altruism. Of all EI measures, only self-reports correlated with altruism. Cognitive and emotional empathy were also related to altruism. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that self-assessed EI, cognitive empathy and emotional reactivity were predictors of altruism. Cognitive empathy and emotional reactivity also mediated the relationship between self-assessed EI and altruism. The results showed that for the prediction of altruistic behaviour, it is important how a person evaluates his emotional abilities, and not what the actual level of these abilities is. Furthermore, people with higher self-estimated EI behave altruistically more often because they experience empathy to a greater extent, both cognitively and emotionally. |
| Methods (english) | A total of N = 331 university students (from different faculties, and different study years) participated in the study. Total of 32 participant were excluded from data analysis due to negligent or incomplete completion of two or more questionnaires required for this research. The final sample consisted of 205 women and 94 men. Average age was 20.91 years (SD = 1.79, range: 19-29). 36.7% of the participants attended the Faculty of Civil Engineering, 35.3% the Faculty of Education and 28% of the participants attended the Faculty of Law. The approval of the Ethics Committee was obtained before conducting the research. The sociodemographic questionnaire was used to examine the sociodemographic characteristics (gender, age and studies) of the participants. To measure EI abilities, we applied two ability tests, one intended to measure the ability to understand emotions (Analysis of Emotions Test; TAE; Kulenović et al., 2000), and another in-tended to measure the ability to manage emotions (Emotion Management Test; TUE; Babić Čikeš et al., 2018). EI questionnaire (ESCQ; Takšić, 2002) was used to measure self-assessed EI. The altruism scale (Raboteg-Šarić, 1993) was used to measure altruistic behaviour. A Croatian short version of the Empathy Quotient (EQ-28; Lawrence et al., 2004; Wertag & Hanzec, 2016) was used to measure empathy. The research was conducted at three different faculties of the J. J. Strossmayer University of Osijek. Prior to data collection, faculties' deans were asked for informed consent for data collection at their respective faculties. The collection data was con-ducted during the class, and filling out the instruments took approximately 45 minutes. The goals and purpose of the research were explained verbally to the participants. It was emphasized that the research is anonymous and voluntary, that participants can withdraw from participation at any time, as well as that obtained results will be used exclusively for research purposes. |
| Keywords (english) | |
| Language | english |
| URN:NBN | urn:nbn:hr:142:950497 |
| Publication | 2023-02-25 |
| Collected | 2018-05 |
| Geolocation | Osijek, Croatia |
| Publisher | Filozofski fakultet Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Access conditions | Open access |
| Terms of use |  |
| Created on | 2023-02-25 16:07:08 |
