Ability of university-level education to prevent age-related decline in emotional intelligence
Numerous studies have suggested that educational history, as a proxy measure of active cognitive reserve, protects against age-related cognitive decline and risk of dementia. Whether educational history also protects against age-related decline in emotional intelligence (EI) is unclear. The present...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2014-03-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnagi.2014.00037/full |
| _version_ | 1818254390186737664 |
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| author | Rosario eCabello Beatriz eNavarro Jose Miguel eLatorre Pablo eFernández-Berrocal |
| author_facet | Rosario eCabello Beatriz eNavarro Jose Miguel eLatorre Pablo eFernández-Berrocal |
| author_sort | Rosario eCabello |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Numerous studies have suggested that educational history, as a proxy measure of active cognitive reserve, protects against age-related cognitive decline and risk of dementia. Whether educational history also protects against age-related decline in emotional intelligence (EI) is unclear. The present study examined ability EI in 310 healthy adults ranging in age from 18 to 76 years using the Mayer–Salovey–Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT). We found that older people had lower scores than younger people for total EI and for the EI branches of perceiving, facilitating and understanding emotions, whereas age was not associated with the EI branch of managing emotions. We also found that educational history protects against this age-related EI decline by mediating the relationship between age and EI. In particular, the EI scores of older adults with a university education were higher than those of older adults with primary or secondary education, and similar to those of younger adults of any education level. These findings suggest that the cognitive reserve hypothesis, which states that individual differences in cognitive processes as a function of lifetime intellectual activities explain differential susceptibility to functional impairment in the presence of age-related changes and brain pathology, applies also to EI, and that education can help preserve cognitive-emotional structures during aging. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T16:55:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b07f55b9476c4ce4a233fc7bd06bc11f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1663-4365 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T16:55:12Z |
| publishDate | 2014-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-b07f55b9476c4ce4a233fc7bd06bc11f2022-12-22T00:18:14ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience1663-43652014-03-01610.3389/fnagi.2014.0003778735Ability of university-level education to prevent age-related decline in emotional intelligenceRosario eCabello0Beatriz eNavarro1Jose Miguel eLatorre2Pablo eFernández-Berrocal3University of HuelvaUniversity of Castilla la ManchaUniversity of Castilla la ManchaUniversity of MálagaNumerous studies have suggested that educational history, as a proxy measure of active cognitive reserve, protects against age-related cognitive decline and risk of dementia. Whether educational history also protects against age-related decline in emotional intelligence (EI) is unclear. The present study examined ability EI in 310 healthy adults ranging in age from 18 to 76 years using the Mayer–Salovey–Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT). We found that older people had lower scores than younger people for total EI and for the EI branches of perceiving, facilitating and understanding emotions, whereas age was not associated with the EI branch of managing emotions. We also found that educational history protects against this age-related EI decline by mediating the relationship between age and EI. In particular, the EI scores of older adults with a university education were higher than those of older adults with primary or secondary education, and similar to those of younger adults of any education level. These findings suggest that the cognitive reserve hypothesis, which states that individual differences in cognitive processes as a function of lifetime intellectual activities explain differential susceptibility to functional impairment in the presence of age-related changes and brain pathology, applies also to EI, and that education can help preserve cognitive-emotional structures during aging.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnagi.2014.00037/fullAgingEmotional IntelligenceElderlymoderateActive ReserveEducational Level |
| spellingShingle | Rosario eCabello Beatriz eNavarro Jose Miguel eLatorre Pablo eFernández-Berrocal Ability of university-level education to prevent age-related decline in emotional intelligence Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience Aging Emotional Intelligence Elderly moderate Active Reserve Educational Level |
| title | Ability of university-level education to prevent age-related decline in emotional intelligence |
| title_full | Ability of university-level education to prevent age-related decline in emotional intelligence |
| title_fullStr | Ability of university-level education to prevent age-related decline in emotional intelligence |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ability of university-level education to prevent age-related decline in emotional intelligence |
| title_short | Ability of university-level education to prevent age-related decline in emotional intelligence |
| title_sort | ability of university level education to prevent age related decline in emotional intelligence |
| topic | Aging Emotional Intelligence Elderly moderate Active Reserve Educational Level |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnagi.2014.00037/full |
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