The Study of Emotional Health

Early civilizations recognized the centrality of emotions in human life. The biblical Book of Proverbs warns of falling prey to anger and jealousy (Prov. 27:4), while Greek and Latin philosophers wrote essays full of prescriptions for achieving worldly success by controlling one’s emotions.

But it was only in the 20th century, after Sigmund Freud’s investigations into the nature of the psyche, that researchers began to grapple with the complex underpinnings of emo­tions. In 1944, neuroscientist V.H. Mottram became the first to explain how physical differ­ences in human brains contributed to individuals’ unique personalities. This was followed by the discovery that traumatic experiences could fundamentally change a person’s mental and physical functioning, a condition that became known as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Another breakthrough came in 1974. Through experiments with laboratory rats, psycholo­gist Robert Ader of the University of Rochester determined that the nervous system and the immune system were in constant interaction via biochemical messengers. Until then, scientists had always believed the two systems operated independently.

Ader’s discovery suggested that neurological processes like emotional responses could not be separated from the immunological process of warding off infection and disease. Armed with this new information, researchers began examining the effect of emotions upon lym­phocytes, the antibody-producing white blood cells that protect the body from viral and bacterial invasion. One study of men whose wives had terminal breast cancer recorded “a highly significant” drop in their lymphocyte levels once they became widowers and in the months of grieving that followed. Another study, which tracked dental students during a school year, found their secretion of the antibody immunoglobin ‘A’ plummeted during the stress of exam time.

A new wave of researchers then dug deeper into the origins of emotions and their role in our social and physical well-being. Some, like neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux, explored how the brain processes emotions. Others, like psychologists C. R. Cloninger and Barbara Betz, devised classification systems for personality types using emotional tendencies as a barom­eter. Betz found a correlation between different personality types and life expectancy, with those tending to be loving, optimistic and happy faring much better than those tending to be angry, pessimistic and depressed.

In the mid-1980s, psychologist Reuven Bar-On developed the concept of an “emotional quotient,” a counterpart to the standard intelligence quotient (IQ), based on his insight that people with high IQs often had less success in life than people with superior emotion­al skills. Building on his work, psychology professors Peter Salovey and John Mayer coined the phrase “emotional intelligence” to describe a set of competencies enabling people to understand their emotions, as well as those of the people around them, and to use that information to guide their thought processes and behaviors.

Five years later, in 1995, New York Times reporter Daniel Goleman turned the concept into a cultural phenomenon with his book Emotional Intelligence. Arguing that the way people handle their emotions is a more important factor in life than traditional intelligence, it sold more than five million copies worldwide, its thesis applied to everything from education to business. The intense interest generated by Goleman and other popular authors has given new impetus to the study of emotional health at the start of the 21st century.