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Gender differences in the relationship between emotional intelligence and right hemisphere lateralization for facial
Laura Castro-Schilo1, Daniel W Kee
1Psychology Department, University of California, One Shields Ave, Davis, CA 95616, USA. castro@ucdavis.edu
Brain and Cognition
|March 31, 2010
Summary
Emotional intelligence (EI) influences facial emotion processing. Men with higher EI showed greater right hemisphere dominance, unlike women, suggesting a gender-specific link in brain function.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
Background:
- Emotional intelligence (EI) is crucial for social cognition.
- Right hemisphere (RH) is often associated with facial emotion processing.
- Previous research has not fully explored the interaction between EI, gender, and RH dominance in facial emotion perception.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between EI and RH dominance in processing facial emotions.
- To examine if gender moderates the association between EI and RH dominance for facial emotion perception.
Main Methods:
- 122 ethnically diverse college students completed online Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) and a free vision chimeric face test.
- Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the interaction between gender and EI on RH bias scores.
Main Results:
- No significant main effects for gender or total EI score were found.
- A significant interaction between gender and EI explained an additional 4.5% of the variance in RH dominance.
- Men with higher EI exhibited greater RH dominance in facial emotion processing, while women did not show this association.
Conclusions:
- Gender and EI interact to influence right hemisphere dominance in facial emotion processing.
- This finding highlights a potential sex difference in the neural underpinnings of emotional intelligence and facial perception.
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