Redefining Intelligence: The Role of Emotion and Confidence

We all have a memory of a moment at school when we were confronted to difficulties. At this moment, most of us had the reaction to compare ourselves to a classmate that doesn’t have problem, and we all, at least once, thought “this is not for me”. It is often thought that ability is an inborn gift, but it might be time to change this thinking. To be clearer, the opposite has been found and explained by the role of the emotion and confidence, the malleability of intelligence, and a good reaction toward challenges and errors.

Emotion and confidence furnish positive changes in the process of learning. Sometimes, people don’t measure the importance that emotions have in the learning process. Zull (2004) explained that emotions are needed to create reactions in the brain. The way we perceive gratification or disappointment when doing a task affect the result. The mind’s activity that is created through positive emotions is one of the

In their articles Krakovsky (2007), and Kimball and Smith (2013) revealed that if people believe in what they are doing and are convinced that they are able to achieve it, the result would be more impressive than for those who don’t. A person’s perception of personal capability is directly linked with the success of their learning. That means that if you believe in yourself you will provide more effective work and learn faster.

The mechanism of the brain has been shown to be a flexible system that can be improved by different approaches of learning. The authors Krakovsky (2007), Kimball and Smith (2013), and Zull (2004) described the human’s brain as an extensible area. That is to say that intelligence is not restricted. In fact, intelligence is a “neurological process” Zull (2004) which can be improved by training. By practicing, a “growth mind-set” person Krakovsky (2007) (someone who is ready to provide effort for his or her goals) will create new connections