Emotional Intelligence

Goleman is the writer of Emotional Intelligence, a great book about emotional intelligence (情商) or EQ is more important than IQ in one’s success in life. One of the highlights of the book is a test that Goleman calls “The Marshmallow (棉花糖) Challenge.”

In this experiment, four-year-old children were separately called into a room. A kind man gave a marshmallow to each of them and said they could eat the marshmallow right away, or wait for him to come back to get two marshmallows.

Some of the children covered their eyes or played games to keep their thoughts off the single marshmallow and waited for the promised double prize. Others-about a third of the group-simply watched the man leave and grabbed (抓) the marshmallow and ate it right away.

Twelve years later, the same children were teenagers and they were tested again. “The emotional and social difference between the grab-the-marshmallow kids and the satisfaction-delaying kids was interesting,” Goleman says.

The ones who had resisted eating the marshmallow right away were clearly more socially capable than the others. “They were less likely to become nervous and disorganized when stressed; they welcomed challenges and followed them instead of giving up; they were independent and confident.”

The third or so who grabbed the marshmallow were more likely to be seen as shying away from social contacts, to be easily upset by stress, to think of themselves as unworthy, or to overreact to certain situations.

And all because of a single marshmallow? In fact, Goleman explains, it’s all because of a lone neuron (孤神经元) in the brain, that bypasses the neocortex-the area of the brain where reasonable decisions are made-and goes straight to the amygdala (大脑杏仁核), the emotional center of the brain. Here, the more that emotional memories involving disappointment, worry, and fear are stored in early teenage time, the more the amygdala can “control the rest of the brain,” Goleman says, “by flooding it with strong and improper emotions.’”

But if the emotions stored in the brain are those of self-managing, self-motivation and hope, then we are given a gift of an “emotional intelligence” that serves instead of controlling us for the rest of our lives.

However, amygdala takes a long time to grow, around fifteen or sixteen years, which means to Goleman that “emotional intelligence can be taught, not only in the home but perhaps, more importantly, in school.”

Studying music in high school is good for young people. Unfortunately, students do not think of music studies as a useful subject in high schools. They always learn other subjects or sleep in music classes. However, educators have seen the great difference studying music has made in the minds and lives of their students.

Some studies find that children who study music have better grades. According to Robert A. Cutietta and Harvey Mercadoocasio, writing of ＂Raising Musical Kids: A Guide for Parents＂, ＂Students who study music in high school, as a group, have higher scores than those not in bands.＂

Studying music may not immediately lead to higher grades. It does, however, make students gain skills that can lead to success in tests.

Through listening to music, one can enjoy the joy which music may bring into his life. Performing as a musician increases this joy, while developing self-confidence. According to Cutietta and Mercadoocasio, ＂Listening to music will add greatly to the quality of your child’s life. It is good for the brain along the way.＂

Studying music as a high school student allows teenagers to develop many healthy habits that will carry over into their adult lives, pushing them towards a successful life. And studying music really changes the brain in some way, as well.

＂Kids who receive music training often make great progress in math studies.＂ According psychologist, Martin Gardiner. ＂they just improve greatly in math. This can’t be explained by attention alone. There is something specific between music and math.＂ He said.