Dan Goleman's Social Intelligence Book Review

After observing my mother in at the emergency room where she works, I finally understand the difficulty of being a doctor. Doctors constantly having to take care of anyone who walks through the door on a stretcher. Doctors have to try their best to feel empathetic towards everyone, putting themselves in other people’s shoes and trying to understand their situation. Whether they are good or bad, it doesn’t matter, the main goal is to stabilize the patients and make sure they receive the help they need. For example, last night walked in a psychopath who had killed 3 people, who also stabbed himself in attempt at suicide. By some miraculous move by God he didn’t die, only required immediate medical attention. As I watched my mother operate

Prominently featured in the mission statements of virtually of every medical school and medical institution in the world is the call for empathetic doctors. These institutions wish to train medical professionals that possess qualities of sympathy and compassion, and hospitals wish to employ health professionals that showcase similar qualities. The reality, however, is starkly different, as physicians, jaded by what they have seen in the medical world, lose the qualities that drove them to medicine in the first place. In Frank Huyler’s “The Blood of Strangers,” a collection of short stories from his time as a physician in the emergency room, Huyler uses the literary techniques of irony and imagery to depict the reality of the world of a medical professional. While Huyler provides several examples of both techniques in his accounts, moments from “A Difference of Opinion” and “The Secret” in particular stand out. Huyler uses irony and imagery in these two pieces to describe how medical professionals have lost their sense of compassion and empathy due to being jaded and desensitized by the awful incidents they have witnessed during their careers.

Interpersonal Intelligence is the ability to interact with others and comprehend ideas effectively (Gardener 1). This communication with others had occurred

10. Empathy means trying to see things from another persons point of view and not judging them from your own set of morals.

It includes the idea of being able to reevaluate a person by considering their perspective. Being empathetic can be a skill. It shows understanding and a willingness to be open minded. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird shows empathy is a powerful force that changes people’s views.

A doctor’s mind and heart are very much involved in the patient’s road to recovery. Evidence in support of this statement is shown in William Carlos William poem “ The Red Wheelbarrow, and his essay “The Practice.” Also, in Jack Coulehan poems “The Man with Stars Inside Him, The Six Hundred Pound Man,” and the article “What’s a good doctor and how do you make one?” Individually, each reading and poem has expressed doctor’s emotions with their patients, and what characteristics have guided them into becoming a good doctor. The readings are a representation of how doctors are in fact remorseful when it comes to their patients. While reading these articles, I realize that doctors have been restricted to how much emotion they are allowed to show. All doctors have their weaknesses and their strengths, and they should be vocal about them especially when it comes to treating their patients.

In today’s modern world, recent scientific research has been conducted, which reveals that world-wide IQ test scores have risen, and continue to rise every year. In Alison Gopnik’s article, “Smarter Every Year? Mystery of the Rising IQs,” she discussed how these recent scientific discoveries relate to our society throughout the last century. It is evident that in our society a person’s level of intelligence is extremely important in our culture which is obsessed with being knowledgable. In her article, Gopnik addresses the historical evidence that supports the conclusion that people are getting smarter as the years go on because of today’s society. Gopnik effectively explains the fact that people’s IQs are rising every year, by using the results

life. Empathy consists in the capacity to understand what another person is going through from their

• Empathy: Empathy is someone who is able to feel what others feel and see things in other people’s point of view.

Sternberg, R. J., & Grigorenko, E. L. (2004). Intelligence and culture: How culture shapes what intelligence means, and the implications for a science of well–being. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 359(1449), 1427-1434. doi:10.1098/rstb.2004.1514

3. Understanding Emotions. This is the ability to determine if regarding another person, their emotions are about themselves or directed to you or in response to particular occurrence. Also means you have the ability to be aware that you’re upset at someone because you got a speeding ticket on your way to

Growing up, I had a strong sense of empathy, being able to make connections with my

The third strength listed by Strengths Finder 2.0 is Empathy. Empathy is defined by thefreedictionary.com as the identification with and understanding of another’s feelings, and motives (Dictionary, 2009). Strengths Finder 2.0 describes Empathy: you can sense the emotions of those around you, you feel what they are feeling, you don’t necessarily agree with their perspective, and you don’t feel pity for the person’s perspective (Rath, Strengths Finder 2.0, 2007). Empathy is a good strength to have it makes you as an individual to be more open to what others are feeling, but with this their feelings can’t be a cause of conflict within the workplace.

“Goleman persuasively argues for a new social model of intelligence drawn from the emerging field of social neuroscience. Describing what happens to our brains when we connect with others, Goleman demonstrates how relationships have the power to mold not only human experience but also human biology. In lucid prose he describes from a neurobiological perspective sexual attraction, marriage, parenting, psychopathic behaviors and the group dynamics of teachers and workers. Goleman frames his discussion in a critique of society 's creeping disconnection in the age of the iPod, constant digital connectivity and multitasking. Vividly evoking the power of social interaction to influence mood and brain chemistry, Goleman discusses the "toxicity" of insult and unpleasant social experience as he warns of the dangers of self-absorption and poor attention and reveals the positive effects of feel-good neurochemicals that are released in loving relationships and in caregiving. Drawing on numerous studies, Goleman illuminates new theories about attachment, bonding, and the making and remaking of memory as he examines how our brains are wired for altruism,

Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence, discusses the idea of intelligence being more than a matter of cognitive ability. In part one and two of the book, Goleman discusses how the brain processes emotions. In these chapters the author describes the cortex and the limbic system. Rationality is job of the cortex while the limbic system processes your emotions. He suggests that the emotional intelligence can be a learned skill. In the next chapter Daniel Goleman uses studies to show that many high IQ scoring students have underperformed in their lives while many average people have become huge successes. Goleman stated that if the IQ scoring has little to do with success and that your 80% success is based on your emotional intelligence.