Marjorie J. Hogan’s research while affiliated with University of Toronto and other places

Examined the relationship between emotional intelligence and academic retention. Participants were selected from a sample of 1270 young adults (368 men and 902 women) making the transition from high-school to university. Participants were recruited during the first week of classes in their first year at the university and completed a measure of emotional intelligence. Participants’ academic progress was tracked over the course of the year and students were divided into two groups. The first group consisted of students who withdrew from the university before their second year of study (N = 213); the second group consisted of a matched sample (on the basis of age, gender and ethnicity) of students who remained at the university for a second year of study (N = 213). Results revealed that students who persisted in their studies were significantly higher than those who withdrew on a broad range of emotional and social competencies.

The present study used the major life transition of going off to university as the context for examining the relationship between alexithymia and academic achievement. During the first month of post-secondary classes 707 first-year full-time students completed the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). At the end of the academic year alexithymia data was matched with students’ academic records. Consistent with previous research on personality and achievement, results were dependent on how academic achievement and alexithymia was operationalized. When alexithymia variables were compared in groups who had achieved very different levels of academic achievement, success was moderately associated with alexithymia. Results are discussed in the context of the importance of affect regulation abilities during a stressful life transition.

This study examined the impact of emotional intelligence (EI) on the successful transition from high school to university. The short form of the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i) was completed by 1,426 first-year students attending four different universities within the first week of classes (September).

The relationship between emotional intelligence and academic achievement in high school was examined. Students (N=667) attending a high school in Huntsville, Alabama completed the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i:YV). At the end of the academic year the EQ-i:YV data was matched with students’ academic records for the year. When EQ-i:YV variables were compared in groups who had achieved very different levels of academic success (highly successful students, moderately successful, and less successful based on grade-point-average for the year), academic success was strongly associated with several dimensions of emotional intelligence. Results are discussed in the context of the importance of emotional and social competency on academic achievement.

The transition from high school to university was used as the context for examining the relationship between emotional intelligence and academic achievement. During the first month of classes 372 first-year full-time students at a small Ontario university completed the short form of the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i:Short). At the end of the academic year the EQ-i:Short data was matched with the student's academic record. Predicting academic success from emotional intelligence variables produced divergent results depending on how the former variable was operationalized. When EQ-i:Short variables were compared in groups who had achieved very different levels of academic success (highly successful students who achieved a first-year university GPA of 80% or better versus relatively unsuccessful students who received a first-year GPA of 59% or less) academic success was strongly associated with several dimensions of emotional intelligence. Results are discussed in the context of the importance of emotional and social competency during the transition from high school to university.