The Need for an Emotional Intelligence Curriculum for People with Social Cognitive Deficits
The Need for an Emotional Intelligence
Curriculum for People with Social
Cognitive Deficits
Erika Lee Peterson
CHHS 302;
Writing for the Health and Human Services Professions
Professor Gayle R. Yamauchi-Gleason
Spring Semester, 2012
The Need for an Emotional Intelligence Curriculum for People with Social Cognitive Deficits
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Page ii
Intro-Social Cognitive Struggling
Page 3
Causes-Social Cognitive Challenges
Page3
Research Note on the Use of Asperger's Syndrome
Page4
Different Names for the Same Thing
Page4
The Twisted Web of Symptoms
Page4
Research History of Asperger's Syndrome
Page4
Portrait of a Social Cognitive Breakdown
Page4
Effects-Real Life Outcomes;
Page5
Unemployment
Page6
Need for Emotional Intelligence Curriculums
Page 7
What is Emotional Intelligence
Page 7
Why is it Especially Important for People with AS
Page 8
Successful Emotional Intelligence Training in Turkey
Page 8
Conclusions
Page 8
References
page 9
Appendix
page 10
The Need for an Emotional Intelligence Curriculum for People with Social Cognitive Deficits
Social Cognitive Struggling
In the last decade, the numbers of people with a diagnosis of High Functioning Autism
have grown one and one half times as reported by the center for disease control (Wallis, 2009).
Social cognitive disorders such as Asperger’s Syndrome (AS), Asperger’s Disorder, High
functioning Autism (HFA), Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), Nonverbal Learning Disorder
(NVLD) are just a few social cognitive information processing disorders that seriously stunt the
lives of the people who have them. Many of these people end up not performing up to the
standards of their potential, falling through the cracks in work and school and other social places
in their lives because most people assume that this population possesses a set of skills that they
do not have. This is a set of skills that most people learn by observation but because of an
information processing disorder, people with social cognitive difficulties must learn this
information in an academic manner in order to succeed.
In order to be competitive in the work place, People with social cognitive deficits must
take academically designed classes to address social and emotional skill deficits so that this
particular population can utilize their unique set of skills and talents to the best of their ability for
the betterment of their lives and for the greater good of society.
Living in the Age of Information
In this day and age, with communication technology so freely available and so easily integrated
as an essential part of most people’s lives, good communication skills become a prerequisite to
any upper level job or type of independent functioning. Most of the people society admires and
respects do not make their living with their hands but with their minds. Although, in the past
two decades, media awareness of individuals who struggle with social cognitive deficits has
increased (as portrayed in movies such as Rain Man or Napoleon Dynamite or Temple Grandin)
services offered to people with social cognitive deficits have not kept up with demand.
According to Valerie Gaus, “the largest body of research regarding cognitive dysfunction
in AS is in the area of social cognition.”(Gaus, 2007, p. 43). This is no accident as one of the life
skills that people with social cognitive deficits struggle with the most is interacting with other
people.
Social Cognitive Challenges
One of the greatest challenges that certain people struggle with is social interaction.
Today, a social communication handicap is one of the less visible, and because of this, more
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devastating handicaps to have. Because there is little common knowledge about social
interaction handicaps and how to deal with them, many people do not immediately recognize
what they are dealing with. Many unpleasant situations involving painful misunderstandings can
result from this lack of information; both on the ends of the person with the social interaction
handicap, and the person who has to deal with them in aspects of social interaction. Although in
the past decade media awareness of high functioning individuals has increased, solutions and
coping methods for dealing with the unique profile of strengths and weaknesses these individuals
possess has not kept up.
Research note on Use of Asperger’s Syndrome
Asperger’s syndrome is used as the primary example disorder in this paper because
people with Asperger’s syndrome stand to benefit from this information foremost with their
unique mind set. out of the groups of people struggling with social cognitive deficits and more
than other groups of individuals, but people who struggle with social skills and socially
expressing themselves in an appropriate way are not just limited to the diagnosis of Asperger’s
syndrome.
Different names for the same thing
Asperger’s syndrome is not the only disorder where social cognitive deficits are an issue.
Many of the same symptoms and behavior patterns go under several diagnostic names such as
Nonverbal Learning Disorder or High Functioning Autism or Autism Spectrum Disorders. Most
of these disorders are very similar in nature if not name. However most of the research this paper
is based on is specifically geared toward individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome
The twisted web of symptoms
One of the reasons the lack of understanding continues is that Asperger’s syndrome manifests
more as a complex list of symptoms that work together to influence individual processing and
functioning. Asperger’s is a highly idiosyncratic disorder (Gaus, 2007)which means that the
symptoms do not manifest the same way in any person. The variables of personality and
experience work to make each individual’s disorder management and reactions to situations
different. Each individual with this disorder is very different and manifests different symptoms in
different ways.
Research history of Asperger’s syndrome
Although Asperger’s syndrome was added to the DSMIV in 1994 which is almost 20 years ago
most of the research done since then has focused on children and early intervention programs.
(Gaus, 2007) More and more recently attention has been focused on the employment issues
which plague this population. (Allen, Andersen, Bowen, Burke, & Howard, 2010)
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Image courtesy of (Gaus, 2007, p. 64)
Portrait of a social cognitive breakdown
Although there are many theories about what causes social cognitive disorders such as
Asperger’s syndrome, very little is solidly proven. We don’t know what causes social cognitive
deficits most of the time but we can see how they work so to speak or how the typical social
functioning breaks down in a person with a social cognitive disorder in various social situations.
Gaus details the specific downfalls of the socially handicapping mental processes that are
specific to Asperger’s Syndrome in this quote from her book.
“AS is a neurologically based set of information processing problems…
core information processing differences are responsible for the struggles
faced by individuals with AS in their daily lives.
Social cognition is dysfunctional in people with AS in that they demonstrate
impairments in the ability to
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( 1)formulate ideas about what other people are thinking or feeling
( 2) use nonverbal cues to understand social interactions and
(3)make adaptive use of social language (pragmatics)…
Processing about themselves is dysfunctional in terms of the internal feedback loops
involved in self-perception and self-regulation” (Gaus, 2007, p. 39)
Fear and helplessness
Now if a person struggles with one or more of the issues listed above, putting this person in a
social situation is a recipe for failure. If they cannot pick up information about what people are
thinking, feeling or planning, they struggle to figure out why people are upset with them or what
a person is planning on doing next and if they are going to be held responsible for that
information, or how to let others know what they plan on doing or what they need to be
successful. It’s a lot like being dumped in the middle of someone else’s game where you don’t
know what the rules are, what side you are on or what exactly is going on much less why it’s
important. Gaus describes this situation book in the following manner;
“Because these individuals misperceive social situations they do not know how to respond
to others or what others expect from them. Their odd mannerisms poor language
pragmatics and ‘rude behavior’ lead others to become frustrated or angry with them
resulting in negative social consequences. They experience being ignored rejected and
ridiculed without knowing why.” (Gaus, 2007, p. 44)
Not being able to connect cause and effect in certain types of situations leads to a deep sense of
powerlessness and fear and makes it difficult to make effective behavioral changes. This causes
people with social cognitive deficits to learn helplessness in social situations and become unable
to manage this facet of their own lives.
Real Life Outcomes
According to Gaus “Poor social support and chronic stress are known risk factors for mental illness in
the typical population” (Gaus, 2007) It is no wonder that most people with social cognitive
disorders suffer a quality of life impairment. People who are cut off from social support against
their will suffer multiple negative effects. People with Social cognitive disorders are no
exception to this rule.
Gaus explores how these weaknesses play out on a day to day basis in this excerpt;
“These (social cognitive) deficits affect both social and occupational areas because
their behavior interferes with healthy social and sexual relationships and causes them
to be unemployed or working at jobs far below their academic and intellectual level.
The resulting isolation and sense of failure leave them tremendously vulnerable to
anxiety and mood disorders.” (Gaus, 2007).
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Unemployment
Not only are anxiety and depression frequent, for people with social cognitive disorders but this
population is unable to keep jobs that they are academically qualified for because of poor social
interaction skills. This results in them becoming underpaid and under employed, hence not able
to fully function in society. The statistics below show discuss the ratio of employed to
unemployed people with Asperger’s syndrome.
Among employment-age adults with disabilities, some of the lowest employment
rates are for individuals on the autism spectrum. Barnard et al. (2001) analysis of
employment age individuals with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), found that only
6% of adults with ASD were employed full-time and 4% were employed part-time. In
contrast, Benz et al. (2000) study of 709 students with disabilities (the majority of whom
were diagnosed with learning disabilities) indicated that 35% were employed full-time
at 2 years post high school graduation. The gap is even more disparate between
employment age individuals with ASD and their working age peers without disabilities,
70% of whom are employed (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010). (Allen, Andersen,
Bowen, Burke, & Howard, 2010)
These statistics paint a horrifying picture of the painful reality that accompanies a social
cognitive disorder. When people picture a person with a handicap or a disability problem, they
usually think of someone who is blind, or in a wheelchair, or has some kind of physical liability.
People assume if you are smart enough to get through school the rest of life isn’t a problem, so
most of the issues that go hand in hand with social cognitive disorders remain untreated. These
people are then unable to fulfill the basic life goals such as having a family or a job that lines up
with their training. They are unable to take full advantage of their cultural heritage. They
frustrate easily over tasks that are tedious or are pulled apart by breaks in the routine. As a result
of these deficits a stunning amount of people with Asperger's syndrome remain unemployed.
Need for Emotional Intelligence Curriculum
The only solution is for people with social cognitive disorders to take academic classes on social
skills. There are already classes out there for people with Asperger’s syndrome that address AS
specific idiosyncrasies or attempt to help people with AS camouflage into society. Some
examples of these are The Grey Center or The Center for Social Thinking. Many schools also
have speech and language psychologists that may practice basic social skills training. However,
these classes are just strict behavior modification or playing games. They don’t support selfesteem or help define an emotional self-concept. They help solidify the perspective of a person
with a social cognitive disorder being a dysfunctional person that needs to be fixed even if that is
not the intention of the behavior therapy clinics. Also these clinics are more geared towards
helping children not supporting independent functioning for adults. These classes are intensive
and can take years to work.
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There are also classes that teach EI seminars and workshops for business professionals such as
the workshops by Talent Smart or any of hundreds of other trainers you can look up at random
on the internet, and as well as more generalized social skills training for other kinds of disorders
such as alcohol addiction and shyness. There are also self-help books and books that give advice
on dealing with Asperger's syndrome as well as kits such as Tony Attwood’s social skills
training detectives. The business seminars are geared for a specific audience which makes them
unsuitable for people engaged in life skills training or daily living scenarios. All supplemental
materials are great except fort the fact that in order to practice social interaction you need other
people and supplemental materials often don’t come with other people attached.
Because people on the autism spectrum struggle with understanding their emotions (Capps &
Losh, 2006) emotional intelligence training may have a more positive effect then is normally
seen in most people undertaking emotional intelligence tasks. According to a meta-analysis of
emotional intelligence measuring (Crede & Hams, 2010), trait based measure of emotional
intelligence are more statistically reliable then ability based measures meaning that Emotional
intelligence may have more to do with personality then something one can learn. This is not
applicable to persons with social cognitive disorders of the Asperger's Syndrome variety because
they must learn their social skills in an academic manner to begin with. People with Social
Cognitive disorders must use their thinking skills to inform their social skills. Researchers
Capps and Losh give a better description in their report on emotional processing in people with
Asperger’s Syndrome;
“Intriguingly, reports of their laborious, computational approaches to social– emotional
tasks and interactions suggest that in lieu of the intuitive processes guiding typically
developing individuals, persons with autism recruit their cognitive resources to develop
compensatory techniques for contending with emotional stimuli (Frith, Morton, &
Leslie, 1991; Grandin, 1995; Hermelin &O’Connor, 1985; Leslie & Roth, 1993). As
cited in (Capps & Losh, 2006)
What is emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence was first talked about by Daniel Goleman in his book, as a continuation
of Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory in the eighties and nineties. However this book
is considered pseudo-science by academics and the first research done on the topic in a scientific
setting was done by Salvoey and Mayer. Teachings similar to emotional intelligence have been
found in many different fields and disciplines and these have evolved independently. (Rudy,
2007)
Emotional Intelligence, is summarized in the forward of the book emotional intelligence 2.0 by
Patrick Lencioni as “Gaining a full understanding of our emotions, not to mention the emotions
of others and an understanding of how our emotions influence our lives so fundamentally every
day.” (Bradbery & Greaves, 2009) The book goes on to talk about the link between our
emotional selves and our logical rational functioning. The emotional intelligence book takes the
skills learned in social therapy clinics for dealing with specific Asperger’s related social
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malfunctions and promoted them to the next adult level of self-responsibility. They describe
abilities not from a clinical perspective of a mentally disordered individual to that of a more
relatable mainstream perspective an ordinary person struggling with balancing social interaction
and meeting their own needs through the fog of their emotions
Why it’s especially important for people with AS
For these people Emotional intelligence training could be a good answer. By harnessing their
emotional maturity, a person can learn to become a better people person and more resilient to
situations of stress and crisis. A lot of those skills line right up with the strengths and weaknesses
of Asperger’s syndrome and the dilemma of being, on one hand, logically and rationally
sophisticated, and on the other hand, emotionally immature. This is fairly typical for people with
Asperger’s syndrome (and other similar conditions) as they are described by Valerie Gaus as
“Generally bright and often successful with academic pursuits, they fail in the interpersonal
domain of functioning. [Chronic stress comes with their dramatically uneven profile of strengths
and deficits.]” (Gaus, 2007, p. 3) .There are reasons to believe that emotional intelligence
training could alleviate some of the social cognitive deficit weaknesses and help individuals
focus on their strengths.
Successful Emotional Intelligence training in Turkey
A study was done in turkey by I˙lkay Ulutas¸ and Esra Ömerog˘lu, where emotional intelligence
skills were taught to young children in school where Emotional intelligence was prioritized along
with the cognitive faculties that are usually emphasized in mainstream education. Their
experimental curriculum resulted in a significant difference in the social and emotional skills of
the children involved not just during the treatment but for the time after also. (Omerog & Ulutas,
2007). If this type of training could work for small children in turkey there is no reason that it
could not work for adults or people of any age with Asperger’s syndrome.
Conclusion
In order to contribute to whatever social situation they are placed in, people with social cognitive
deficits must take academically designed classes to address social and emotional skill deficits so
that this particular section of people can utilize their unique set of skills and talents to the best of
their ability. Because people with social cognitive deficits must use their logical reasoning skills
to process a social world that they don’t understand intuitively like most people do, Academic
based emotional intelligence training classes are an appropriate and ideal solution to help this
population avoid falling through social cracks and avoiding situations like the under hiring of
people with Asperger's or the life challenges people with Asperger’s face.
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References
Allen, K. D., Andersen, M. N., Bowen, S. L., Burke, R. V., & Howard, M. R. (2010). Evaluation of Two
Instruction Methods to Increase Employment Options for Young Adults with Autism Specturm
Disorders. Reasearch in Developmental Disabilities, 1223-1233.
Bradberry, T. S. (2006). Ability versus Skill Based Assesment of Emotional Intelligence. Psicothema, 5966.
Bradbery, T., & Greaves, J. (2009). Emotional Intelligence 2.0. San Diego, California: Talent Smart.
Capps, L., & Losh, M. (2006). Understanding of Emotional Experience in Autism; Insights from the
Personal Accounts of High Functioning Children with Autism. Developmental Psychology, 809818.
Crede, M., & Hams, P. D. (2010). Emotional Intelligence and Transformational and Transactional
Leadership: a Meta- Analysis. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 5-17.
Gaus, V. L. (2007). Cognitive Behavioral Thearapy for Adult Asperger Syndrome. New York, New York:
The Guilford Press.
Koenigsberg, J. P. (n.d.). In Social Skills Training. Retrieved 17 2012, 5, from Encyclopedia of Mental
Disorders: http://www.minddisorders.com/Py-Z/Social-skills-training.html.
Omerog, E., & Ulutas, I. (2007). The Effects of an Emotional Intelligence Education Program on the
Emotional Intelligence of Children. Social Behavior and Personality, 1365-1372.
Rudy, L. J. (2007, August 18). In Social Skills Training and the basics. Retrieved May 17, 2012, from About
.com Autism Spectrum Disorders:
http://autism.about.com/od/autismtherapy101/a/socskillbasics.htm
Wallis, C. (2009, October 5). Higher rate of autism in children. Time .
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Appendix
An excerpt from (Gaus, 2007)- on social inference and cognitive deficits
Because social processes themselves are so complex lots of things can go wrong very quickly
and it can be very hard to pinpoint exactly where a communication breakdown has occurred
exactly in any given situation. The process that normal people go through to make social
judgments is described as social inference in Fiske and Taylor as cited by Gaus in the excerpt as
follows:
Fiske and Taylor (1984) define social inference as a process by which typical people in
social situations;
1 decide what information to gather
2 collect that information
3 combine it in some form (interpret) and
4 make a judgment about how to behave.
The product is the judgment made at the end of the process and leads to the action taken
by the individual. As cited in (Gaus, 2007, p. 44)
A person who has a social cognitive deficit can fail on any or all of these steps. Because people
with social cognitive deficits struggle to process this type of information, Asperger’s syndrome is
thought of as an information processing disorder.