THE INFLUENCE OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND ETHICAL IDEOLOGIES ON ETHICAL JUDGEMENTS: A STUDY OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

EI capability has been demonstrated to enhance an employee's ethical perception (Emmerling and Goleman, 2003). In his study, Yousef (2001) demonstrated that employees' work ethics positively and directly influence their attitudes towards changes in the organization and their organizational commitment. Ethical judgment is defined as an individual's capacity to discern between right and wrong in accordance with value systems, social norms and cultural influences. In this process, not only cognitive factors but also emotional factors have a great impact. University students shape their ethical decision-making mechanisms by encountering the interaction of these two dimensions in their social environment and academic life. Therefore, the reflection of emotional intelligence on ethical judgment processes is an important research topic in today's educational system (Mayer, et al., 2004). Emotional intelligence can be defined as the ability of individuals to understand, express and self-regulate their own emotions and those those around them. This concept, first defined by Salovey and Mayer (1990), has become an indispensable element of both individual and social life today. The effects of emotional intelligence in education, the business world and social relations are being discussed more and more. In the aforementioned context, the interaction of emotional intelligence and ethical judgments in the development processes of university students is important both theoretically and practically (Goleman, 1995). Emotional intelligence has been demonstrated to facilitate effective management of environmental demands and the navigation of challenges encountered in daily and professional contexts (Büyükbayram and Gürkan, 2014). Consequently, it has been demonstrated that individuals who possess a high degree of emotional intelligence are more capable of providing realistic, effective solutions and flexible to problematic situations by leveraging the competencies acquired in managing processes. The ability to communicate in a healthy way, characterized by the ability to control emotions and exhibit appropriate behaviors, is a hallmark of individuals with developed emotional intelligence (Reisoğlu, et al., 2013; Diken and Aydoğdu 2018). Consequently, it is asserted that such individuals tend to demonstrate heightened levels of success in both professional and social domains, accompanied by a heightened sense of contentment in life (Büyükbayram and Gürkan 2014). Turkish authors have also conducted studies to examine the relationship between 142 emotional intelligence and ethical values and contributed to the international literature with the results they obtained in this area. For example, Kaya and Eren's (2011) study sought to explore the relationship between emotional intelligence and ethical behaviour in a university setting, with the aim of providing valuable insights into the dynamics between these two significant aspects of student life, while Yıldız (2012) revealed the relationships between leadership and ethical values