Navigating the Emotional Landscape: An Exploratory Study of Emotional Intelligence Factors on Brazilian Undergrad Students

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationships between the five dimensions of Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence (EI) on business undergrad students, using a scale to tap the construct. The methodology is divided into 3 stages: confirmatory analysis to validate the questionnaire, the core of the research which is the exploratory analysis of emotional intelligence factors on Brazilian undergrad students, and closing with a proposal of classification model to identify the EI profile of individuals according to the EI sub-factors found in the previous stage of the research. A convenience sample of 129 cases from a population of 250 was collected from the population of business undergrad students at a university located in São Paulo State, Brazil. The research identified that each of the five EI factors proposed by Goleman was empirically segmented into significative sub-factors without losing the original roots. Moreover, the building of a classification model according to the EI sub-factors can be used to evaluate the student’s profile from time to time, during their school journey. Besides recognizing the significance of EI in business education, it provides a reference point for more in-depth analyses of EI factors. With the proper knowledge of the students’ emotional traits, the teachers can better understand their behavior profile and thus, will be able to get the most of them in the classes.