A Feasibility Study on an Ultra-Brief Intervention for Improving Freshmen’s Emotional Intelligence

Abstract

In 1990, Salovey and Mayer introduced emotional intelligence (EI). Thirty-one years later, a proliferation of interventions to improve people’s EI has taken place. A literature review of studies focused on enhancing the EI of college students revealed a notable gap. When educational material for training sessions included all of the skills in an EI model, researchers usually utilized lengthy durations (i.e., 11–56 h). Few successful investigations employed an ultra-brief (i.e., ≤1 h) approach. The present study examined the feasibility of training using a minimalistic timeframe and a sample of freshmen; their transitional challenges from high school to college mark them as an appropriate target population. Employing a quasi-experimental one-group pretest–posttest design, the recruited participants (n = 75) experienced an ultra-brief intervention highlighting the complete skill-set in the Ability Emotional Intelligence model. Findings from a one-way repeated measures MANOVA indicated improvement transpired in two of four MSCEIT scores (i.e., perception and facilitation). The merit of the present study is delineated using Orsmond and Cohn’s five objectives for feasibility investigations. In addition, implications of the results and possible applications are proposed.