Are More Intelligent People Happier? Emotional Intelligence as Mediator between Need for Relatedness, Happiness and Flourishing

Antonino Callea,Dalila De Rosa,Marco Costanzi,Giovanni Ferri,Francesca Lipari

doi:10.3390/su11041022

Antonino Callea, Dalila De Rosa + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su11041022

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Journal: Sustainability	Publication Date: Feb 16, 2019
Citations: 35	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Libera Università Maria SS. Assunta

Abstract

The psychology of sustainability and sustainable development aims to study the personal characteristics that promote effective and sustainable well-being for individuals and environments from a psychological research perspective. According to the self-determination theory, the psychological need for relatedness is positively associated with happiness and flourishing. In turn, emotional intelligence, i.e., understanding and managing one’s own emotions and recognizing others’ emotions, may play a key role in this association. Therefore, the present study investigates the mediating role of emotional intelligence in the relationship between need for relatedness and both happiness and flourishing. Basic Psychological Needs scales (BPNs), Emotional Intelligence Scale (EIS), Flourishing Scale, and Happiness Scale were administered to 216 Italian participants (age range 15–66 years old). A mediation model via a structural equation model for path analysis was tested. The results showed that the psychological need for relatedness positively associated with both happiness and flourishing and that emotional intelligence mediated these associations. These results suggest that important interventions may be performed to promote flourishing and happiness, enhancing emotional intelligence through specific training differently from need for relatedness that, instead, can be considered substantially stable.

Highlights

In a world where consumption of natural resources is on the rise [1], it is important to identify psychological characteristics that promote positive behaviors towards environment sustainability and individual well-being
In regards to the gender, there were no significant differences between males and females in respect to need for relatedness, emotional intelligence and happiness
To the best of our knowledge, here we show for the first time the specific mediating role of emotional intelligence in the relationship between basic psychological needs and personal well-being, measured as flourishing and happiness

Summary

Introduction

In a world where consumption of natural resources is on the rise [1], it is important to identify psychological characteristics that promote positive behaviors towards environment sustainability and individual well-being. Several studies concur that both positive psychological antecedents (e.g., virtues, emotions, etc.) and consequences (e.g., well-being, happiness, etc.) are significant determinants of pro-social, as well as pro-environmental behaviors [2]. According to Seligman’s view, ‘authentic’ happiness or well-being requires five elements: Positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment [4]. Huppert and colleagues [5] proposed a broader definition of personal well-being that extends to the concept of flourishing (i.e., the experience of life going well) and encompasses three factors: Positive characteristics (emotional stability, vitality, optimism, resilience, and self-esteem), positive functioning (engagement, competence, meaning, and positive relationships), and positive appraisal (life satisfaction and positive emotion) [5,6]

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