Janjgava, Mariami
Dissertation topic:
"The relationship between fear and interoception - the role of emotional intelligence."
Contact address at the University of Würzburg:
Lehrstuhl für Psychologie V - Differentielle Psychologie, Persönlichkeitspsychologie und Psychologische Diagnostik
Pleicherwall 1
97070 Würzburg
First supervisor: Prof. Dr Stefan M. Schulz (Univ. Trier)
Second supervisors:
Prof. Khatuna Martskvishvili (Tbilisi State University)
Class in the Graduate School: "Education and Culture"
Doctorate in the Graduate School from SS 2021.
Abstract:
The aim of our study is to investigate whether emotional intelligence moderates the relationship between anxiety and interoception (internal body awareness) in anxiety patients. According to modern views, interoception goes far beyond a physiological, homeostatic control function and influences cognitive and emotional processes (Tsakiris & Critchley 2016, Füstös et al.2012, Wien, 2005, Herbert & Pollatos, 2012, Pollatos and Schandry, 2007, Barret et al.2004; Garfinkel, Critchley et al, 2013; Werner, Peres, Duschek, & Schandry, 2010; Critchley et al, 2001; Damasio et al, 1991; Dunn et al, 2010;). Research into interoceptive processes is therefore of great importance. The perception of processes from within the body (interoception) not only influences behaviour and emotion processing (Herbert, Ulbrich, & Schandry, 2007; Herbert, 2006), but is also an important factor in the development and maintenance of mental disorders, including anxiety disorders (Khalsa, Critchley & Garfinkel 2018; Domschke, K., Stevens, S., Pfleiderer, B. & Gerlach, A. L. 2010).
The aim of this study is therefore to investigate important interoceptive dimensions in connection with emotional intelligence in patients with anxiety disorders that have not yet been researched or have been insufficiently researched. The core of the research question is to uncover whether the extent of emotional intelligence moderates the relationship between anxiety and inner body perception, and to what extent (maladaptive) stress management strategies can explain (mediate) this relationship in patients with anxiety disorders. The study primarily serves to gain scientific knowledge. If the study is successful, the information gained can help to identify unsuccessful stress management in anxiety patients in the future and enable targeted interventions.
