Multiple interpersonal intelligences

Let's imagine that we are with a friend. See him and smile, but we know that something is not doing well. He insists that everything is in order, however, invades us a strange sensation. Something transmits us incoherence. Tells us to believe what he tells us. Despite his smile and his apparent joy, we are convinced that our friend is wrong. Welcome to the Interpersonal intelligence!

As the Beatles sang in the song "I'M Looking this"(I'm looking through you): "You don't seem different, but you've changed, I'm looking through you, you're not the same". Emotional intelligence allows us to approach others more deeply. It enables us to investigate those around us and better know their concerns, emotions and feelings.

Content

• Interpersonal intelligence
• Anatomical correlate
• Empathy
• Cultural variation
  • Bibliography

Interpersonal intelligence

As stated Howard Gardner, Father of multiple intelligences: "Interpersonal intelligence is built from a nuclear capacity to feel distinctions among others: in particular, contrasts in their moods, temperaments, motivations and intentions". The author adds that this type of intelligence in more advanced ways could provide the ability to know the intentions and desires of others even if they try to hide them.

"When people speak, listen completely. Most people never listen to ". -Ernest Hemingway-

Emotional intelligence implies enjoying a certain skill to communicate with others, as well as the correct coping of interactions. Among some of its characteristics, the Sensitivity towards facial expressions, voice, gestures, positions and the ability to respond properly.

Their high ability to relationship and understand others, make them highly trained people to influence others. This capacity for social interaction represents a key factor in professions in which a direct relationship with people is needed. Thus, they stand out in professions such as psychologists, doctors, politicians, religious leaders, etc.

Anatomical correlate

Apparently, the frontal lobes would be involved in interpersonal knowledge. This data has been revealed by buying two diseases that affect these lobes. On the one hand, Alzheimer's disease affects later areas of the brain. And, despite harming the memory, the affected one does not lose their social capacities. On the other hand, pick disease affects the front zone and does imply a decrease in these capacities.

Empathy

Empathy occupies a prominent place in this intelligence. This is the ability to put ourselves in the place of the other, notice its emotional state and share it. López, Filippetti and Richaud (2014) define empathy as "The ability to understand the feelings and emotions of others, based on the recognition of the other as similar".

As Wimmer and Perner (1983) stand out, "The understanding that others have their own mental world that differs from ours is a critical step in the development of human beings, which generally takes place around 4 years". In addition, Preck and Woodruff (1978) point out that this capacity is universal in human beings Adults.

"We have two ears and a mouth to listen twice what we are talking about". -Epithet-

Some authors distinguish two types of empathy. Cognitive and affective empathy. Davis (1996) defines the cognitive empathy as "The ability to represent the thoughts and reasons for the other" and the affective empathy as the "Inference of the emotional states of others".

Steele and Lawrie (2004) They indicate the prefrontal cortex as the main processing area of ​​empathy and regulation of this processing. The authors indicate the dorsolateral frontal region as the most specialized area in the cognitive empathy, and the Orbitofrontal region as the area corresponding to the affective empathy.

Cultural variation

This type of intelligence varies considerably from one culture to another. In a society like the western one where what predominates are their own merits, We are more disconnected from each other. We don't even know ourselves. In this case it could be said that we do not develop our intrapersonal intelligence.

Our objectives are mostly based on getting a list of purposes that society imposes us: studies, work, a lot of money, a good car, a good house .. It is a very individualistic society where group consciousness is not very high.

"The most precious gift we can give others is our presence. When our attention full hugs to those we love, they bloom like flowers ". -Thich Nhat Hanh-

However, in other oriental cultures, either by religion or by tradition, there is a more group conception. For example, Those who follow a Buddhist lifestyle have to worry more about others than those who only look at their own interests. The cultures where forms of thought dumps in others, will enjoy more favorable conditions for the development of this type of interpersonal intelligence.

Buddhist psychology emphasizes the Happiness and compassion. Happiness as the desire and aspiration that others have happiness and their causes. And compassion as the desire and aspiration that others are free of suffering and their causes. Thus, Those who follow a similar way of life will be more sensitized with the emotions and mental states of others.

Bibliography

• Davis, m. H. (nineteen ninety six). A PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACh. WestView Press.
• Gardner, h. (2017). Multiple intelligences. The theory in practice. Barcelona: Paidós.
• Fernández-Pinto, i., López-Pérez, B, and Márquez, M. (2008). Empathy: Measures, theories and applications in review. Annals of Psychology, 24, (2), 284-298.
• López, m., Filippetti, v. and Richaud, M. (2014). Empathy: from automatic perception to controlled processes. Advances in Latin American Psychology, 32 (1), 37-51.
• Present, d. and woodruff, g. (1978). Does The Chimpanzee have a Theory of Mind? The Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 4, 515-526.
• Steele, j. D. And Lawrie, S. M. (2004). Segregation of Cognitive and Emotional Function in the prefrontal cortex: A Stereotactic Meta-Analysis. Neuroimage, 21, 868-875.
• Wimmer, h. And perner, J. (1983). Beliefs About Beliefs: Representation and Constraining Function of Wrong Beliefs in Young Children's Underestanding of Diseption. Cognition, 13 (1), 103-128.