A Guide to the Scientific Career. Группа авторов
or break a submission or proposal. Although there are usually multiple reviewers for say a journal article, a single reviewer can do much damage to a submission and the authors' feelings. Most authors believe that their academic submission is the best the world has ever seen. Therefore, there are often statements in the paper that may come across as grandiose. I think that a good reviewer will ignore such statements and simply and courteously mention that the authors might want to tone down their paper in this regard. Alternatively, the reviewer can just inform the editor that some of the comments are too bold and take themselves out of the “bad guy” role. Earlier in this chapter, I mentioned that author's should never take what a reviewer says about their paper personally. The reverse is also true. The reviewer should not take anything that the authors say to heart. There are often cultural or other idiosyncrasies that authors come to the table with. As a reviewer, one should try to overlook these and focus on the essence of the submission. For example, many papers will come to reviewers in English that is very poor. Instead of holding this against the authors, I always consider how my paper would read if I tried to write an academic paper in for example, Romanian. Another perspective is to view the submission by a non‐native speaker as courageous. This technique, I think, helps look beyond the construction of the paper and focus on the content. This being said, the reviewer's comments can often come across as too professorial or harsh. A good review will provide the authors with a constructive criticism and should always strive to guide the authors to a better submission. Even when a paper or book proposal is so bad that it will be rejected no matter what the authors do, e.g. flawed methodology, a good reviewer will try to point out the major problems. Making inflammatory comments or attacking an author's ability to write in your language never leads to anything positive. Always remember when you first began writing and publishing and put yourself in the place of the authors.
10.3 Conclusions
Manners in academic writing are real and can have a real influence on your work as an author. Although there are no go‐to guidelines for authors to follow, common sense and manners that you would follow in person should be used in academic writing. In the end, an academically well‐mannered author will be much more likely to have their work “facilitated” through the peer review process than an author who lacks basic good manners.
Manners should permeate your academics and interactions with others. However, most would agree that manners in academics are simply a bridge of manner practiced in one's daily life. In other words, such considerations do not exist merely in a professional world and not in one's private life. Therefore, I think that one of the first steps of practicing good manners in academics is to take a up close and personal look at your daily life and appreciate whether you would be considered a well‐mannered person by your friends and peers. This step is critical in the process of establishing good manners in academics!
11 Emotional Intelligence: Its Place in Your Professional and Academic Careers
Sandra Buerger and Gernot Buerger
Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Boston University, College of General Studies, Boston, MA, USA
11.1 Background
There has been considerable interest in measuring intelligence for a long time. However, there has been debate over what exactly constitutes intelligence and how this might contribute to overall success. The Intelligence Quotient (IQ) test, developed in the early twentieth century sought to measure and quantify these mental abilities with respect to age. Initially, IQ tests that measured analytical ability were embraced as predictors of overall intelligence and potential future success (Salovey and Mayer 1990; Davis 2004). These models, however, have some major limitations. While they may (or may not) provide an accurate analysis of a certain type of intelligence, they ignore many so‐called “soft skills,” such as interpersonal relationships, maturity, empathy, and ability to deal with setbacks and challenges (Salovey and Mayer 1990; Mayer and Salovey 1995; Goleman 1995).
These limitations were recognized early on, but a comprehensive and cohesive definition of these other aspects of intelligence did not emerge until the late twentieth century. Before that, literature addressing these issues remained scattered and largely ignored by the popular press. This was due in large part to the myriad of challenges that are present in accurately measuring and analyzing such skills (Sayer and Mayer 1990). The first definition of emotional intelligence (EQ) was provided in a seminal 1990 paper written by Salovey and Mayer. In this paper, they gathered together ideas from the literature, provided distinct categories, analyzed contemporary methods of measuring aspects of EQ, and, importantly, provided a definition for the term they coined EQ. This original definition of EQ was stated as the “ability to monitor one's own and others' feelings and emotions to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one's thinking and actions.” One important aspect of this quote is the definition of EQ as not only an awareness of these emotions but an ability to apply these skills to solve problems and regulate behavior both in oneself and in others (Salovey and Mayer 1990; Goleman 1995).
Since the original paper by Salovey and Mayer, two distinct models of EQ – the ability model and the trait model – have been developed. Stated simply, the ability model proposes a viewpoint that the skills that comprise EQ can be learned and developed, while the trait model states that EQ is largely personality based and unchangeable (Fox 2013; Monroe and English 2013). In this chapter, we will focus on the ability model, based on the original paper by Salovey and Mayer and popularized by the work of Daniel Goleman.
11.2 The Importance of EQ in Academia and on the Job
The idea of EQ grew substantially in popularity with the publication of Daniel Goleman's 1995 book Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More than IQ. Goleman expanded upon the ideas presented by Salovey and Mayer and brought them to a wider audience. His ideas are represented by broader definitions and notably by the applicability of the “soft skills” in the classroom and the workplace. The idea that the ability‐based model of EQ is applicable and scientifically valid has been widely accepted in the popular press, academic psychological field, and in the field of organizational behavior (Daus and Ashkanasy 2005).
Various publications have shown that EQ constitutes a significant, and at times even a majority, predictor of success in the workplace (Goleman 1995; Davis 2004). While this appears to be true at all levels of careers, EQ seems to play an even greater role at higher levels, e.g. in leadership positions.
Interestingly, some studies have indicated that EQ may be less important in the more technical fields (e.g. in the sciences). Some have even suggested that EQ may be a liability (Grant 2014). However, while technical positions may be less focused on these skills initially, movement to higher levels in the workplace, including management, requires development of these skills. Further, patient‐physician interaction in medicine and communication of results in research (all vital parts of the career of a medical student, clinician, or scientist) rely heavily on the skills discussed in this chapter.
11.3 Major Aspects of Emotional Intelligence
Salovey and Mayer (1990) first identified four major components of EQ. They included: recognizing emotions, understanding emotions, regulating emotions, and employing emotions. Later, through the popularization of the idea of EQ, Goleman broke EQ into more general domains, some major categories of which are listed in this section. We will provide here general definitions and descriptions for each category.
11.3.1 Self‐Awareness
Awareness of the self is vital to understanding, identifying, and changing nonoptimal behaviors. Understanding how you are feeling about a situation is important. It is a good idea to pause during stressful situations or before making a big decision and access your own state of mind.
Many successful people report being guided by gut‐feelings when making