Investigating the relationship between emotional intelligence and moral intelligence with the quality of life, the mediating role of empathy

Master's Thesis in the field of

Educational Psychology

Abstract

Investigating the relationship between emotional intelligence and moral intelligence with quality of life: the mediating role of empathy

The present study aims to investigate the mediating role of empathy in the relationship between emotional intelligence and moral intelligence with quality of life in Shiraz University students. who were studying in the academic year 1992-1993, it took place at the undergraduate level. This research included 298 undergraduate students of Shiraz University who were selected based on the multi-stage cluster sampling method. In order to examine the variables of the research, each of the participants completed the quality of life questionnaire (World Health Organization, 1998), the shortened form of emotional intelligence (Petrides and Farnham, 2001), the main empathy scale (Jolliffe and Farnington, 2006) and the moral intelligence questionnaire (Lenick and Keel, 2005). The reliability of research tools was determined by Cronbach's alpha coefficient and their validity was determined by internal correlation. . The results indicated the acceptable validity and reliability of the tests. The results showed that forgiveness from the dimensions of moral intelligence has a positive and significant relationship with all dimensions of quality of life. In addition, the results of the path analysis showed that empathy plays a mediating role in the relationship between forgiveness, understanding one's own and others' emotions, and quality of life.

Key words: emotional intelligence, moral intelligence, empathy, quality of life. How to establish more effective relationships with others? Man has always sought such a goal. The main challenge of psychology in the past was "survival" and psychologists paid more attention to illness than fully understanding all human dimensions (Trejsen, Jakovski, Fero and Dijesop [1], 2004), but today, due to the increase in life expectancy index, life expectancy and the emergence of a new approach called positive psychology, a more important issue has been raised as better quality and how to spend life, in other words, quality of life. More attention has been paid to the positive characteristics of humans (Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi[2], 2000). What is the goal of this approach is the problem of prevention and emphasis on qualification and moving towards optimizing life. Another goal of this approach is to identify and define concepts that facilitate this movement towards a healthy life. Therefore, the identification of the factors that lead to a better life and greater adaptation of human beings to the needs and threats of life, has turned the minds of experts and is considered one of the most important research structures of the positive psychology approach (Campill, Sayles, Kohan and Austin[3], 2006).

The study of quality of life[4] started in the 1960s (McCall[5], 1997) and a lot of effort has been made to define and measure it objectively (Haggerty, Cummins, Ferris, Lund and Mikalus[6], 2001), but a single definition of quality of life that is agreed upon by everyone has not yet been provided (Skington, 2002).

Reviewing the many concepts of quality of life has led to the presentation of a definition by the World Health Organization Quality of Life Group. In this definition, quality of life is a comprehensive concept that includes physical health, personal growth, psychological states, degree of independence, social relations and connection with the environment and is based on the individual's perception of these dimensions. In general, research on quality of life has been based on two approaches: the objective approach[7] and the subjective approach.

In the subjective approach, quality of life is considered synonymous with a person's happiness or satisfaction and emphasizes cognitive factors, including emotional intelligence, in evaluating the quality of life (Schalke, 1996). But the objective approach considers the quality of life as obvious and related to living standards. These standards include physical health, personal factors (wealth, etc.), social relationships, employment, and other social and economic factors (Williams [8], 1985). In the fluctuation between two subjective and objective approaches, a new approach called holistic emerged (Renwick and Brown, 1996). In this view, quality of life is a multidimensional phenomenon that includes both subjective and objective components.

In terms of the pervasive importance of quality of life and its significant effects, this variable has always been considered and investigated, and attempts have been made to identify factors affecting it. In this regard, researches have generally referred to two categories of social and individual factors.

Among the social factors affecting the quality of life is empathy[9]. Visher [10] (1995, quoted by Heratian, 2011) used this term to refer to an aspect of aesthetic feeling. Empathy is the fundamental capacity of people in regulating relationships, supporting joint activities and group cohesion and human resources. This ability plays a fundamental role in social life (Reif, Kettler, & Weifring, 2010), motivating social behaviors and behaviors that lead to group cohesion (Joliff & Farrington [11], 2004; Reif et al., 2010). Empathy is considered an essential element for successful interpersonal functions (Sosa[12], 2009) and is the emotional response of a person to the emotional reactions of others (Ali, Amorim and Chamorro Primozik[13], 2010).

Researchers showed that during an emotional and empathetic relationship, a person can control his relationships and emotions and adjust his behavior with society and experience a better quality of life. slow In a research, Kaliopska [14] (2007) has found that students with a high sense of empathy, compared to students who have the lowest level of empathy, have more positive attitudes towards health-creating behaviors and their behavioral style is healthier. Health is one of the components of the quality of life.

Among other effective individual factors is emotional intelligence. The relationship between quality of life and emotional intelligence has been mentioned in several studies (Mayer [15], 2004). The theorists have defined emotional intelligence in different ways according to their accepted point of view. Salovey and Mayer [16] (1997), believe that emotional intelligence is a set of major mental abilities, in the realm of active processing of emotional information, which includes four dimensions of sensory perception and expression of emotions, emotional facilitation of thinking, understanding and analysis of emotional information, and the application of emotional knowledge and finally managing emotions (Mayer and Salovey, 1997; Taylor and Bagby [17], 2000).

      According to Bar-Ann [18] (1997), emotional intelligence is a set of non-cognitive abilities and skills that affect a person's successful adaptation to the pressures and demands of the environment. This ability includes non-cognitive elements such as optimism, happiness, social competence, self-fulfillment and self-esteem (Yousfi and Safari, 2018). In a research, it has been determined that there is a positive relationship between emotional intelligence and people's quality of life (Yousfi and Safari, 2008).

One of the other factors affecting the quality of life is moral intelligence[19]. Moral intelligence is the boundary between altruism and selfishness and it means the capacity and ability to understand right from wrong, attention to human life and nature and economic and social welfare, free and honest communication and citizenship rights (Borba [20], 2005).    Moral intelligence refers to the fact that we are not born inherently moral or immoral; Rather, we learn how to be good. Learning to be good involves communication, feedback, socialization and training that never ends. What we need to do the right thing is the moral intelligence that we use to learn to act intelligently and achieve the best good action (Borba, 2005). This structure includes four dimensions: honesty, responsibility, forgiveness and compassion (Lenik and Keel, 2005). The aim of the current research is to examine the relationship between effective individual factors (emotional and moral intelligence) with the quality of life, considering the mediating role of the social factor of empathy. 1-2- Statement of the problem.

Every person seeks to live a life with health, happiness, spirituality, love and hope. In addition, all societies want the happiness and prosperity of their people, including their students. The guideline that psychologists can expand their activities for students is to help understand and determine the structural factors and determinants that lead to a healthy life with happiness and spirituality, so that based on those factors, they can help students who are the building blocks of society to have a suitable job and marriage, social relations and better health, hence the study of the factors that lead to better life and human adaptation to life's needs and threats is one of the most important The constructs under research (Kampill, Sayles, Kohan and Austin [21], 2006), this construct is the quality of life.

Researches have indicated the impact of many variables on the quality of life.