SELF-AWARENESS, EMPATHY AND EMOTIONAL SELF-REGULATION. FUNDAMENTAL COMPONENTS OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
SELF-AWARENESS, EMPATHY AND EMOTIONAL SELF-REGULATION. FUNDAMENTAL COMPONENTS OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Summary/Abstract: Emotional intelligence has become one of the most productive constructs for understanding how human beings recognise, use and manage their own emotions and those of others. The present article examines three of its core components – self-awareness, empathy and emotional self-regulation – as an interdependent functional unit rather than as separate skills. The present paper proposes an integrative reading of the extant literature on emotional intelligence, with the aim of offering a more nuanced understanding of the factors that contribute to successful emotional regulation and empathic accuracy. To this end, the paper draws upon a range of models of emotional intelligence, including those proposed by Daniel Goleman, Salovey and Mayer, Petrides and Furnham, and Bar-On. The integrative reading proposed by the present paper positions self-awareness as the cognitive-affective foundation that enables both empathic accuracy and self-regulatory capacity. The article combines a conceptual-theoretical analysis with a qualitative synthesis of the relevant literature, with the aim of clarifying the mechanisms through which self-observation of one's own affective states supports the recognition of others' emotional states and the deliberate regulation of one's own emotional reactions. The discussion addresses the educational and professional relevance of these three competencies, arguing that their deliberate cultivation, rather than their innate presence, differentiates successful long-term adaptation from chronic emotional dysregulation. The paper concludes with the proposal of a three-tier integrative model – self-awareness, empathy, and self-regulation – as a practical framework for educational and organisational interventions aimed at developing emotional competence.

• Details
• Contents