Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/733

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    Emotional intelligence, safety behavior, and peer-assessed pilot performance
    (Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Engineering, 2021) Dugger, Zachary Taylor; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Bernadette J. McCrory; This is a manuscript style paper that includes co-authored chapters.
    Flying is a stressful and demanding profession that requires both technical and nontechnical skills. Traditionally, technical skills such as aircraft knowledge and flight control-handling took precedence over nontechnical skills such as interpersonal skills, stress management, and leadership. However, over the past four decades increased emphasis has been placed on pilots' abilities to work together as a cohesive team. The purpose of this thesis was to explore the relationship between trait emotional intelligence, safety attitude, and safety citizenship to identify which constructs play the most prominent role in affecting peer-assessed pilot crew resource management. Using a web-based survey composed of validated instruments, information was gathered from pilots (n=44) from both military and civilian backgrounds. Results indicated a significant association between safety citizenship and trait emotional intelligence and between safety citizenship and peer assessed crew resource management performance. Only a marginal association was identified between trait emotional intelligence and safety attitude. Additionally, comparison of the trait emotional intelligence profiles of the pilots with the general population indicated that pilots have muted emotion-related tendencies with lower scores than their non-pilot peers. Finally, research was conducted to evaluate principal component analysis, a statistical method, as a pilot selection tool using pilot trait emotional intelligence and safety tendencies as selection criteria. Results demonstrated strong potential for the implementation of principal component analysis as a less-subjective method to select pilots during the hiring or crew-matching process. Pilots, therefore, seem to differ from the general population with unique trait emotional intelligence profiles. When assessing peer performance, pilots tend to most value peers with high safety citizenship tendencies, which also closely associates with high trait emotional intelligence.
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    Emotional intelligence and dangerous driving behaviors
    (Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Engineering, 2022) Ahmed, Jubaer; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Nicholas Ward; Nicholas Ward, Jay Otto and Annmarie McMahill were co-authors of the article, 'How does emotional intelligence predict driving behaviors among non-commercial drivers?' in the journal 'Journal of transportation research part F: psychology and behaviour' which is contained within this dissertation.; Nicholas Ward, Jay Otto and Annmarie McMahill were co-authors of the article, 'The influence of emotional intelligence on dangerous driving: a comparison between commercial and non-commercial drivers' submitted to the journal 'Journal of safety science' which is contained within this dissertation.; Nicholas Ward, Jay Otto and Annmarie McMahill were co-authors of the article, 'Developing a scale to assess emotional intelligence in the context of driving' submitted to the journal 'Journal of personality assessment' which is contained within this dissertation.
    Dangerous driving behaviors are the leading cause of road crashes and fatalities. Many factors contribute to dangerous driving behaviors including drivers' beliefs, attitudes, personalities, and emotions. Of these, the role of emotions has received less attention. Emotional Intelligence theory provides a framework for understanding how individuals' emotional factors influence their behaviors and interactions with others. Therefore, this research aims to understand how emotional intelligence can be used to investigate and alleviate dangerous driving behaviors. The research aims of this dissertation include 1. Identify the most appropriate measure of emotional intelligence that is currently available for the driving context; 2. Examine the correlations between emotional intelligence and dangerous driving behaviors in different risk exposure groups (commercial and non-commercial drivers); 3. Develop an emotional intelligence measure specific to the context of driving. This research dissertation comprised four survey studies conducted between November 2019 to July 2021 among commercial and non-commercial drivers across the United States. The results further revealed higher emotional intelligence scores related to less dangerous driving behaviors for both commercial and non-commercial drivers. However, the relationship between emotional intelligence and dangerous driving was significantly stronger among commercial drivers than their non-commercial counterparts. In the final study, this research developed a new Drivers' Emotional Intelligence Scale (DEIS) specific to driving. Factor analysis revealed a three-factor structure for DEIS labeled as emotionality, self-control, and anxiety. The results showed that the DEIS subscales were stronger predictors of dangerous driving behaviors compared to the previously used emotional intelligence scales. This research concludes that improving emotional intelligence will be useful to reduce dangerous driving behaviors and suggests incorporating emotional intelligence to design interventions to reduce fatal road crashes. This research acknowledges some limitations such as the use of self-reported surveys and convenience quota samples, which may have limited the generalizability of these results. Future research should continue to gather evidence about the association between emotional intelligence and traffic safety through different experimental designs and longitudinal studies.
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    Principals' levels of emotional intelligence as an influence on school culture
    (Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2005) Barent, Jeanie Marie; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Boyd Dressler
    It is not fully known what assumptions can be made, if any, regarding the emotional intelligence (EI) of a school principal and the influence that has on a schoolαs culture. This study measured the EI of 15 principals willing to participate from randomly selected school districts in Wyoming, using the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso EI Test (MSCEIT), which measures four categories of EI: (1) Managing Emotions, assessed using the Emotional Management task and the Social Management task, (2) Understanding Emotions, assessed using the Blends task and the Changes task, (3) Using Emotions, assessed using the Sensations task and the Facilitation task, and (4) Perceiving Emotions, assessed using the Faces task and the Pictures task. All teachers from the participating schools were questioned using the David C. Anchin School Culture Quality Survey. This survey measures teachersα perceptions of (1) Having a shared vision, (2) Facilitative leadership, (3) Teamwork and cooperation of staff, and (4) Nurturing a learning community. This instrument is designed specifically to measure the work culture of teachers, which enables them to do their job well. Data analysis included a hierarchical linear model of the current status of teachersα perceptions of the school cultureαs four categories (shared vision, facilitative leadership, teamwork and cooperation, and nurturing a learning community) and the current status of the four categories of emotional intelligence of the principal (managing emotions, using emotions, understanding emotions, and perceiving emotions).
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    Effects of emotional intelligence on principals' leadership performance
    (Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2006) Cook, Charles Roy; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Joanne Erickson
    A study of school principals in Montana was conducted to determine the effects of emotional intelligence on elementary principals' leadership performance. The problem addressed in this study was that the effect of emotional intelligence on leadership performance is not known. This study measured the emotional intelligence of elementary principals in Montana using the Emotional Intelligence Appraisal: There Is More Than IQ (Bradberry, & Greaves, 2003), which measures the following five categories of emotional intelligence: (1) self-awareness, (2) self-management, (3) social awareness, (4) relationship management, and (5) overall emotional intelligence. The principals' leadership performance was measured using the Educational Leadership Improvement Tool (DeFranco & Golden, 2003), which assesses a principal's leadership performance in the following 9 areas: (1) leadership attributes, (2) visionary leadership, (3) community leadership, (4) instructional leadership, (5) data-driven improvement, (6) organization to improve student learning, (7) organization to improve staff efficacy, (8) cultural competence, and (9) educational management. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to determine the relationship between emotional intelligence and elementary principals' leadership performance. A factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine the influence of gender, age, and years of experience on emotional intelligence. Analysis of the data indicated that emotional intelligence, as defined by Goleman (1998), had a strong effect on the nine standards of leadership as defined by DeFranco & Golden (2003). Gender, age, and years of experience had no significant effects on emotional intelligence. The results of this research indicated that emotional intelligence has a positive effect on principals' leadership performance. This supports the body of research that emotional intelligence has a positive effect on leadership performance. Effective leadership requires a wide range of skills. Emotional intelligence is one skill that may assist principals as they strive to more effectively meet the needs of students.
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