Title

Emotional intelligence and gender role conflict: Co-contributors in personal effectiveness

Date of Completion

January 2005

Keywords

Education, Educational Psychology

Degree

Ph.D.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence as measured by the Mayer, Salovey, Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT 2002), and gender role conflict as measured by the Gender Role Conflict Scale (O'Neil 1986). This study took place during the Fall of 2004 utilizing the entire Executive Masters of Business Administration program participants at the University of Connecticut School of Business. The relationship between total and selected subscale scores of these instruments was analyzed. The Marlowe-Crowne 2(10) social desirability scale was used to determine any biased self-presentation or dissimulation among this student population. The goal of this study is to expand recent findings that emotional intelligence and gender role conflict impact interpersonal relationships and life/career success, as well as to identify further research opportunities that may be suggested by the research findings of this study. ^ A multivariate analysis of co-variance was conducted to test the relationship between the covariate variable gender and all of the seven dependent variables used in the analysis of this study using Wilk's Λ as the criterion. The covariate gender was found to be significantly related to the dependent variable Gender Role Conflict at the .001 level of significance. ^ Application of a Pearson Product Moment Correlation Analysis to test relationships between the three instruments' total scores and selected subscales revealed a small but significant negative relationship of (r = -.295) between the managing emotions subscale of the Mayer Salovey Emotional Intelligence Test and the restrictive emotions subscale of the Gender Role Conflict scale at the .05 level of significance. When split by gender, there were no statistically significant correlations for gender role conflict scores with MSCEIT scores, nor were there statistically significant correlations for gender role conflict scores with scores on the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Profile. ^

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