Department of Psychology, Université Catholique de Louvain, 10 Place du Cardinal Mercier, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
J Appl Psychol. 2011 Jul;96(4):827-39. doi: 10.1037/a0023047.
This study aimed to investigate (a) whether it is possible to increase emotional competence (EC) in adulthood; (b) whether this improvement results in better mental, physical, and social adjustment; (c) whether this improvement can be maintained 1 year later; and (d) whether these benefits are accompanied by a reduction in stress-hormone secretion (i.e., cortisol). One hundred and thirty-two participants were randomly assigned to an EC-enhancing intervention (in group format) or to a control group. Participants in the intervention group underwent a specifically designed 15-hr intervention targeting the 5 core emotional competencies, complemented with a 4-week e-mail follow-up. Results reveal that the level of emotional competencies increased significantly in the intervention group in contrast with the control group. This increase resulted in lower cortisol secretion, enhanced subjective and physical well-being, as well as improved quality of social and marital relationships in the intervention group. No significant change occurred in the control group. Peer reports on EC and quality of relationships confirmed these results. These data suggest that emotional competencies can be improved, with effective benefits on personal and interpersonal functioning lasting for at least 1 year. The theoretical implications of these results as well as their practical implications for the construction and the development of effective emotional competencies interventions are discussed.
(a) 是否有可能在成年期提高情绪能力；(b) 这种提高是否会带来更好的心理、生理和社会适应；(c) 这种提高是否可以在 1 年后保持；以及 (d) 这些益处是否伴随着应激激素分泌（即皮质醇）的减少。132 名参与者被随机分配到情绪能力增强干预组（以小组形式）或对照组。干预组的参与者接受了一项专门设计的、针对 5 项核心情绪能力的 15 小时干预，辅以 4 周的电子邮件跟进。结果显示，与对照组相比，干预组的情绪能力水平显著提高。这种提高导致皮质醇分泌减少，主观和身体幸福感增强，以及社会和婚姻关系质量的改善。对照组没有发生显著变化。同伴对情绪能力和关系质量的报告证实了这些结果。这些数据表明，情绪能力可以提高，并且对个人和人际功能的有效益处至少可以持续 1 年。讨论了这些结果的理论意义以及它们对有效情绪能力干预的构建和发展的实际意义。
