Emotional intelligence

What is emotional intelligence?

Emotional intelligence concerns abilities involved in perceiving, using, understanding, and managing emotional information. The term is also used for broader collections of personality traits and competencies, so two “emotional intelligence” scores may measure different things.

Mayer, Salovey, and Caruso (2008) distinguish their ability approach from mixed models that include qualities such as optimism, happiness, and self-esteem. Recognizing an emotion and describing yourself as optimistic are different kinds of information.

Four branches in the ability model

• Perceiving emotions: recognizing emotional information in yourself, other people or expressions.
• Using emotions: drawing on feelings to support thinking.
• Understanding emotions: interpreting their meanings and how they can change.
• Managing emotions: regulating emotion in yourself or in an interaction.

Definitions and scores must be tied to the model being used.

Why it matters

Claims about emotional intelligence often jump from a useful-sounding label to promises of success at work or in relationships. Start with what the test measures. Evidence that a particular score predicts an outcome is useful, but it does not show that a training course can produce the same advantage.

The review of Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence examines why different tests and models support different claims.