Trait emotional intelligence and preference for intuition and deliberation: Respective influence on academic performance

Abstract

This study was aimed to explore the influence of trait emotional intelligence (Trait EI) and of preference for intuition (PID-I) and deliberation (PID-D) on short-term academic performance (i.e. an experimental task involving learning and decision-making). We recruited 219 sport science freshman students (168 males and 51 females). They had to watch a 45 min videotaped lecture followed by a multiple choice questionnaire (MCQ), which was aimed to assess their comprehension. Moreover, they had to fill out the PANAS (before and after the lecture), the TEIQue and the PID. We found that: (1) trait EI predicted significantly positively the MCQ-Score; (2) PID-D predicted significantly positively positive affect (PA) before and after the exam; (3) trait EI predicted significantly negatively negative affect (NA) before and after the exam; (4) PID-I predicted significantly positively NA before and after the exam. Findings supported the idea that trait EI plays a role in academic performance, certainly with stress appraisal, but the influence of intuition on the MCQ-Score was not confirmed. Interesting findings about the links between the PID and affect are discussed.