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Emotional Intelligence and the Sustainable Development Goals: Supporting Peaceful, Just, and Inclusive Societies

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Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals ((ENUNSDG))

Definitions

Emotional intelligence (EI) refers to the ability to identify and manage one’s own emotions, as well as the emotions of others (Goleman 1995). The concept comprises four personal and interpersonal capacities or skills: (1) Self-awareness is the capacity to tune into one’s emotions and feelings and recognize how they influence us and others, i.e., our thoughts, bodily sensations, actions, and interactions at any given moment. This domain is the keystone of EI. (2) Self-management includes self-regulation and motivation. Self-regulation is the ability to keep disruptive emotions and associated automatic reactions in check before acting, allowing the construction of trusting environments, resilience, and effectiveness, even under stressful or hostile conditions. Motivation concerns the drive to pursue goals with persistence, not for external rewards but through intrinsic drive. (3) Social awareness is the ability to sense the emotions and perspectives of other individuals and...

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Acknowledgments

This study was conducted in the context of two projects financed by the Swedish Research Council FORMAS: (i) Agents of Change: Mind, Cognitive Bias and Decision-Making in a Context of Social and Climate Change (Mind4Change) (grant number 2019-00390) and (ii) Transition Visions: Coupling Society, Well-being and Energy Systems for Transitioning to a Fossil-free Society (TransVision) (grant number 2019-01969).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies (LUCSUS), Lund, Sweden

    Christine Wamsler

  2. Emotional Intelligence Coach and Educator, Madrid, Spain

    Fernando Restoy

Authors
  1. Christine Wamsler
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  2. Fernando Restoy
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christine Wamsler .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. European School of Sustainability, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

  2. Center for Neuroscience & Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    Anabela Marisa Azul

  3. Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Passo Fundo University Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Passo Fundo, Brazil

    Luciana Brandli

  4. HAW Hamburg, Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Amanda Lange Salvia

  5. Istinye University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Pinar Gökcin Özuyar

  6. International Centre for Thriving, University of Chester, Chester, UK

    Tony Wall

Section Editor information

  1. Department for Water, Environment, Civil Engineering and Safety, Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences, Magdeburg, Germany

    Petra Schneider

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Wamsler, C., Restoy, F. (2020). Emotional Intelligence and the Sustainable Development Goals: Supporting Peaceful, Just, and Inclusive Societies. In: Leal Filho, W., Azul, A., Brandli, L., Lange Salvia, A., Özuyar, P., Wall, T. (eds) Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71066-2_123-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71066-2_123-1

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