Wayne Payne's 1985
Doctoral Paper on
Emotions and Emotional Intelligence
My notes and selected quotes from the abstract
In 1985 Wayne Payne published a doctoral thesis titled, A STUDY OF EMOTION: DEVELOPING EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE.
I am not sure when I first heard of Wayne's thesis, but it was either in one of the Mayer-Salovey articles, or when I talked with Jack Mayer in his office. But one thing I am sure of is that Jack told me he had contacted the school Wayne went to and ordered a copy of the entire dissertation. I believe Jack did this around 1998 or 1999. Jack told me he also tried to get in touch with Wayne but he learned that Wayne had died. The school where Payne wrote this paper has now been renamed The Union Institute. I believe you can get a copy of the dissertation from them. Here is the contact information.
After I spoke with Jack I found an online copy of the abstract from Wayne's dissertation. At that time I read it a little quickly and then put a copy of it on my site without much comment. Today I read it again and found new interest in it. The abstract clearly suggests that Wayne had done a lot of thinking, and a lot of original thinking, about emotions and what he called "emotional intelligence" at least five years before Salovey and Mayer published their first paper, in 1990, using the term.
Wayne was obviously concerned about how society has historically suppressed emotions. This is something that Salovey and Mayer also seemed to be concerned about in their original 1990 paper on EI, though less so than Wayne. In comparison, Dan Goleman seems never to have been very concerned about the suppression of emotion. Instead, he gives the impression he believes we need to control and "regulate" our emotions even more than we are already taught to do. His early, and apparent continued, interest in meditation is one indication of this. And his frequent use of the words "regulate" and "appropriate" is another indication. Goleman also said in his 1995 book that the ability to "follow directions" is an "element of emotional intelligence" (p 193) And in his 1995 book he made it clear that he thought the ability to "control impulse" and "delay gratification" was a main part of emotional intelligence. In contrast, Mayer and Salovey have never included the ability to delay gratification in their definition of EI.
Something else interesting to me is how Wayne talked about "emotional ignorance." He said that it causes social problems such as depression, addiction, illness, religious conflict, violence and war. I agree, but would add that our problems are not just from emotional ignorance, but are from what I call emotional poison. Parents, teachers and other adults are not just ignoring emotions when they teach and train children and teens; They are teaching emotionally unhealthy lessons and giving them emotionally toxic role models to follow. Frankly put, I believe many children and teens would be better off without the adults who they are being raised, and often brainwashed, by. Just one example is how a 13 year old female in England was urged to learn to shoot a gun as part of her school training when her own emotions were telling her to stay away from deadly weapons. The same teen has been told "there is nothing to be afraid of" when she has told the adults and even older students that she is afraid of going to the medical center at the school. In other words, this teen, like so many around the world is being systematically invalidated and taught to discount the importance of her own feelings. When her innate feelings tell her she does not want to do something, she is called a "wimp" among other toxic labels. (See Education in England)
When I read what Wayne wrote in 1985 I have a sense that he was on the right track. A sense that he understood the idea of emotional intelligence perhaps better than Mayer, Salovey or Caruso. And definitely better than the people I call "fakes" in the field of EI today. I feel sad that Wayne is no longer here to offer us his ideas. And I feel very curious to know what is in the rest of his dissertation. I would like to read it one day myself. If anyone ever gets a copy of it, please let me know.
I may also try to contact some people at The Union Institute in Ohio where he went to school. Maybe some student would be interested in his work and could help us all out by telling us more about it.
Steve Hein
May 31, 2005
My notes and selected quotes from the abstract
The abstract starts with this:
"This dissertation introduces the concept of emotional intelligence... " (note)
He then says a "theoretical and philosophical framework is developed" to help us understand the "nature and characteristics of emotion and emotional intelligence" and to guide us ways of "developing emotional intelligence--in self and, by way of education, in others."
It is interesting to compare this with what Salovey and Mayer wrote in 1990 in their first paper on EI. They said:
"This article presents a framework for emotional intelligence..."
With other authors I might feel skeptical that they copied the idea of emotional intelligence from Wayne Payne without giving him credit, but knowing Jack Mayer, this seems unlikely. So my next thought was that in 1990 Salovey and Mayer did not know of the existence of Wayne´s paper . My next thought was "Why didn't they? Didn't they do a research check to see if any one else had used the term "emotional intelligence" before them? My next thought was "Maybe they did, but the abstract hadn't been available in any electronic form in 1990 so they didn't know it ever existed, but maybe later, around 1999, when Jack Mayer was looking for the first use of the term "emotional intelligence", it had been added to an online database, and Jack found it. As I recall, Jack told me he and his research assistants were looking for earlier uses of the term emotional intelligence because he and Peter Salovey never wanted to be given credit for being the first to use the term.
In any case, later Payne says in his abstract:
"Evidence is presented that the mass suppression of emotion throughout the civilized world has stifled our growth emotionally, leading us down a path of emotional ignorance.
Then he says that many social problems are the "direct result of emotional ignorance". He lists as examples depression, addiction, illness, religious conflict, violence and war. I agree, but I would add suicide, especially teen suicide to this list.
He then says that "perhaps we humans have tried too hard to "civilize" ourselves, trying to deny our true animal nature--our emotional nature--along the way." He suggests that we have done this "because we have had the wrong idea altogether about the nature of emotion and the important function it serves in our lives."
I agree with him on this.
He goes on to say, "This work is intended to be a prototype of a guidebook on developing emotional intelligence." He next lists three ways his paper offers this guidance.
1. By raising important issues and questions about emotion
2. By providing a language and framework we can use to talk about emotion, emotional intelligence and the related issues
3. By providing concepts, methods and tools for developing emotional intelligence
Then in the final line of the abstract Wayne says emotional intelligence "involves relating creatively to fear, pain and desire" and says his dissertation offers guidance on "how to relate to them in emotionally intelligent ways."
His choice of the word "creatively" is interesting to me. I can't think of many authors on EI who have said something like this. They usually say something more like "intelligently" but not "creatively." To say "creatively" suggest that Wayne had the idea that to be emotionally intelligent meant having the ability to create new ways of responding to emotional situations, as opposed to just repeating patterns that you have seen modeled by those around you.
And this, is a very interesting and, I believe, profound thought.
A STUDY OF EMOTION: DEVELOPING EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE;
SELF-INTEGRATION; RELATING
TO FEAR, PAIN AND DESIRE (THEORY, STRUCTURE
OF REALITY, PROBLEM-SOLVING, CONTRACTION/EXPANSION,
TUNING IN/COMINGOUT/LETTING GO)
Wayne Leon Payne
Degree: PH.D.
Year: 1985
Institution: THE UNION FOR EXPERIMENTING COLLEGES AND
UNIVERSITIES; 0557
Source: DAI, 47, no. 01A, (1985): 0203
Abstract:
This paper 1 introduces the concept of emotional intelligence, a
faculty of consciousness heretofore overlooked. A rigorous
theoretical and philosophical framework is developed to throw
light on the nature and characteristics of emotion and emotional
intelligence and to enable us to explore how one actually goes
about developing emotional intelligence--in self and, by way of
education, in others.
Evidence is presented that the mass suppression of emotion
throughout the civilized world has stifled our growth
emotionally, leading us down a path of emotional ignorance.
Indeed, many of the problems facing society today are the direct
result of emotional ignorance: depression, addiction, illness,
religious conflict, violence and war. Perhaps we humans have
tried too hard to "civilize" ourselves, trying to deny
our true animal nature--our emotional nature--along the way.
Whatever our motivation, however, we have not done this out of
any inherent evil nature. We've done this because we have had the
wrong idea altogether about the nature of emotion and the
important function it serves in our lives.
This work is intended to be a prototype of a guidebook on
developing emotional intelligence. It offers guidance in three
ways: (1) by raising important issues and questions about
emotion; (2) by providing a language and framework to enable us
to examine and talk about the issues and questions raised; and
(3) by providing concepts, methods and tools for developing
emotional intelligence.
Since emotional intelligence involves relating creatively to
fear, pain and desire, these states are explored in detail and
guidance is offered on how to relate to them in emotionally
intelligent ways.
SUBJECT(S)
Descriptor: PHILOSOPHY
Accession No: AAG8605928
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright FirstSearch
The Union Insitute
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Cincinnati, OH 45206-1925
(800) 486-3116 voice
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(513) 861-3238 fax
http://www.tui.edu/TUIhome.html
ksmith@tui.edu (This is an old email address - I don't know if it still works.)
Notes
Note on the word "dissertation" - The original abstract read "Project Demonstrating Excellence" which I am sure the grad students all called PDE and I assume is pretty much the same as a dissertation. When I went to the University of Texas we had to do a paper the school called a "Professional Report" or "PR" as all the students called it. This was like a mini dissertation. I still have a bound copy of mine somewhere and so does the U of Texas. Mine was on Organization Development consulting.