Emotional intelligence describes the ability, capacity, skill, or self-perceived ability to identify,

assess, and manage the emotions of one’s self, of others, and of groups. People who possess a
high degree of emotional intelligence know themselves very well and are also able to sense the
emotions of others. They are affable, resilient, and optimistic.

Reasons for the growing interest in EI

Goleman put forward in his 1995 bestseller Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More
than IQ that success at work and in achieving valued life goals was largely due, not to IQ, but to
emotional intelligence—the capacity to recognise and manage one’s own emotions and those of
others in significant interpersonal relationships.

Academic intelligence has little to do with emotional life. Emotional intelligence refers to the
ability to process emotion-laden information competently and to use it to guide cognitive
activities like problem solving and to focus energy on required behaviors.

The term suggested to some that there might be other ways of being intelligent than those
emphasized by standard IQ tests, that one might be able to develop these abilities, and that an
emotional intelligence could be an important predictor of success in personal relationships,
family functioning, and the workplace. The term is one that instills hope and suggests promise, at
least as compared with traditional notions of crystallized intelligence.

There is relative inability of grades, IQ and SAT scores to predict without error who will succeed
in life. There are widespread exception to the rule that the higher your IQ score, the more
successful you will be. IQ contributes about 20% to the factors that determine life success,
leaving 80% to other non-IQ factors.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF INTELLIGENCE

Project Spectrum – A curriculum that intentionally cultivates a variety of kinds of intelligence. It

recognizes the human repertoire of abilities goes far beyond the narrow band of
word-and-number skills that schools traditionally focus on. It acknowledges that capacities such
as social perceptiveness are talents that an education can nurture rather than ignore. By
encouraging children to develop a full range of the abilities that they will actually draw on to
succeed, or use simply to be fulfilled in what they do, school becomes an education in life skills.
The guiding visionary behind this project was Howard Gardner who asserted that “the time
has come to broaden our notion of the spectrum of talents”. The single most important
contribution education can make to a child’s development is to help him toward a field where
his talents best suit him, where he will be satisfied and competent.

History of Emotional Intelligence

In the early 1970s, many scientists began to recognize the limitations of the Intelligence Quotient
(IQ)—the standardized assessment of intelligence. In particular, they noticed its inability to
explain differences among individuals unrelated to just cognitive ability alone. These frustrations
led to the advancement of more inclusive theories of intelligence such as Gardner’s multiple
intelligences theory (1983/1993) and Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence (1985).
Researchers also began to explore the influence of moods and emotions on thought processes,
including judgment (Isen, Shalker, Clark, & Karp, 1978) and memory (Bower, 1981). It was
through these theoretical explorations and empirical studies that the concept of EI began to take
shape.

First, Mowrer (1960) famously concluded that “the emotions . . . do not at all deserve being put
into opposition with ‘intelligence’... they are, it seems, themselves a high order of intelligence”.

Second, Payne (1983/1986) used the term in an unpublished dissertation. A framework for an
emotional intelligence, a formal definition, and suggestions about its measurement were first
described in two articles that we published in 1990 (Mayer, DiPaolo, & Salovey, 1990; Salovey
& Mayer, 1990).

Although narrow, analytically focused definitions of intelligence predominated for much of this
century, following Cronbach’s (1960) often cited conclusion that a social intelligence was
unlikely to be defined and had not been measured, cracks in the analytic intelligence edifice
began to appear in the 1980s. For example, Sternberg (1985) challenged mental abilities
researchers to pay more attention to creative and practical aspects of intelligence, and Gardner
(1983/1993) even defined an intrapersonal intelligence that concerns access to one’s feeling life,
the capacity to represent feelings, and the ability to draw upon them as a means of understanding
and a guide for behavior.

Articles introducing emotional intelligence as the ability to understand feelings in the self and
others, and to use these feelings as informational guides for thinking and action introduced by
Salovey & Mayer (1990). They described three core components of emotional intelligence
appraisal and expression, regulation, and utilization—based on their reading and organizing of
relevant literature. The theory has been refined since to include a fourth component (Mayer &
Salovey, 1997).

Mayer, Salovey and Caruso’s work on emotional intelligence was reinforced by neuroscientists’
interest in showing that emotional responses were integral to “rational” decision making (e.g.,
Damasio, 1995).

Characteristics of Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence represents the ability to perceive, appraise, and express emotion
accurately and adaptively; the ability to understand emotion and emotional knowledge; the
ability to access and/or generate feelings when they facilitate cognitive activities and
adaptive action; and the ability to regulate emotions in oneself and others (Mayer &
Salovey, 1997).

●​ It refers to the ability to process emotion-laden information competently and to use it to

guide cognitive activities like problem solving and to focus energy on required behaviors.
 ●​ Emotional intelligence could be an important predictor of success in personal
relationships, family functioning, and the workplace.
●​ Emotional intelligence is an intelligence having to do with discerning and understanding
emotional information. Emotions communicate basic feeling states from one individual to
another.
●​ Emotional information is crucial. It is one of the primary forms of information that
human beings process.
●​ Emotional intelligence is predominantly environmentally determined and can be
improved by training.
●​ Ability tests of emotional intelligence tell us that only the high EI individual understands
the full richness and complexities of these communications.

Emotional Intelligence: Ability or Personality Trait?

In recent research emotional intelligence has been conceptualised in two distinct ways. First, it
has been conceptualised as a set of abilities for processing emotional information. This position
has been championed by Professors Jack Mayer, Peter Salovey and David Caruso at the
University of New Hampshire (Mayer, Caruso and Salovey, 2000). Second, it has been
conceptualised as a set of personality traits. This approach has been taken by Professor Reuven
Bar-On (2000) in Denmark, by Daniel Goleman and colleagues (Goleman, 1995; Boyatzis et al.,
2000), and by Professor Richard Cooper (1996/1997).

Mayer, Salovey and Caruso’s ability model of emotional intelligence (Ability Model)
According to Mayer, Caruso and Salovey’s (2000) ability model, emotional intelligence refers to
the abilities used to process information about one’s own emotions and the emotions of others.
According to this model, individuals vary in their ability to (i) process information of an
emotional nature and (ii) relate emotional processing to a wider cognition (Mangal & Mangal,
2015). Thus the ability model emphasizes on the emotional information - knowing and regulating
the emotions, and at the same time the role of reasoning and other cognitive functioning in the
accurate processing of this emotional information. It is a step- wise developmental model of EI
from childhood to adulthood, proceeding from basic to more complex tasks involving increasing
complex skills. Within the model, there are four branches:

a)​ Emotional Perception: is the ability to register, attend to and decipher emotional
messages as they are expressed in a variety of contexts including facial expressions, tone
of voice and works of art. For example, a person who can sense another person is angry
will be more adept at dealing with a possible conflicting social situation than a person
who does not have the ability to perceive such emotions. Branch 1 of the model
involves skills needed to perceive and express feelings. ​

b)​ Emotional Integration: refers to the ability to access and generate feelings that facilitate
thought. Emotions enter the cognitive system both as cognized feelings, as is the case
when someone thinks, “I am a little sad now,” and as altered cognitions, as when a sad
person thinks, “I am no good.” People who are skilled in this area understand that
some emotional states are more optimal for targeted outcomes than others. ​
​
 Individuals who have developed and practiced this area of EI actively generate emotions
that support certain tasks or objectives. For example, they are more likely to view things
from an optimistic perspective when happy, a pessimistic perspective when sad and a
threat-oriented perspective when anxious or angry. This capacity to shift perspective
depending upon mood state means that people with well-developed emotional integration
skills can see things from multiple perspectives as their mood alters. This capacity to see
things from multiple perspectives may facilitate very creative problem-solving. ​

c)​ Emotional Understanding: the ability to comprehend the implications of emotions. People
with well-developed emotional understanding can understand how one emotion leads to
another, how emotions change over time, and how the temporal patterning of emotions
can affect relationships. For example, a person who knows that being angry at someone
will lead them to do something they might regret will handle the situation better than a
person who is not aware of the temporal emotional sequence. Branch 3 of the model
highlights the skills needed to foster an understanding of complex emotions,
relationships among emotions, and relationships between emotions and behavioral
consequences such as knowing that hope is the antidote to fear. People skilled in this
area are aware of this emotional trajectory and also have a strong sense of how
multiple emotions can work together to produce another.​

d)​ Emotional Management: the ability to regulate emotions, to choose to be open to

experiencing emotions, and to control the way in which these are expressed. People with
well-developed emotional management abilities are able to choose the degree to which
they are open to experiencing emotions and expressing them. Branch 4 of the model
involves numerous mood regulation skills–balancing. Coming up with strategies,
such as taking a deep breath and waiting until you feel calm before letting the group
ahead of you know they cut in line, will allow you to regulate your anger and
prevent the situation from escalating. Using this strategy may even let you gain
insight into other perspectives—perhaps you learn they had already purchased their
tickets and were merely accompanying their friends.
Criticism:

(i) The model has been criticized for lacking face and predictive validity in the workplace
(Bradberry, 2003).
(ii) Moreover, facilitating thought using emotions (Branch 2) did not emerge as a separate factor
and was found to be empirically redundant with the other branches (Fan, Jackson, Yang, Tang, &
Zhang, 2010), leading scholars to adopt a revised three-branch model of ability EI, comprised of
emotion recognition, emotion understanding, and emotion management (Joseph & Newman,
2010).

Nevertheless, the four branches remain the foundation for current ability EI models, and their
description aids in the theoretical understanding of the content domains covered by ability-based
perspectives on EI (Mayer et al., 2016).
Measuring Emotional Intelligence – both MEIS and MSCEIT

The abilities to perceive, integrate, understand and manage emotions may be measured by the
Multifactor Emotional Intelligence Scale (MEIS), (Mayer et al., 1997) or the Mayer, Salovey and
Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT), (Mayer et al., 1999).

Both the MEIS and MSCEIT include items which require complex judgements to be made about
emotions and to which there are right and wrong answers. For emotional perception,
respondents are asked to identify dominant emotions shown or evoked by a series of faces,
landscapes and designs. For emotional integration, participants are asked to judge the similarity
between an emotional feeling like love and other internal experiences such as temperatures and
tastes. This is a synesthesia task. Emotional understanding is evaluated with a range of items
such as defining emotions, defining complex emotional transitions as in how does one go from
sad to depressed, defining emotional transitions and defining emotional perspectives. An
example for an item of emotional understanding would be Jamie felt happier and happier, joyful
and excited. If this feeling intensified it would be closest to (a) challenge, (b) admiration, (c)
pride, (d) peacefulness, (e) ecstasy’. Emotional management is evaluated by items such as ‘If a
sad person wanted to cheer up which would be the best course of action to take? (a) talking to
friends, (b) seeing a violent movie, (c), eating a big meal, (d) taking a walk alone’--the item has
sub-tests for managing own and others’ emotions.

Lopes et al., (2004) while examining the relationship between self-reported emotional
intelligence using the MSCEIT found that abilities to manage emotions were positively
associated with the quality of social interaction in college students. The strengths of emotional
regulation skills were associated positively with interpersonal sensitivity (self-reports and peer
nominations), prosocial tendencies, and with the proportion of positive vs negative peer
nominations (Lopes et al., 2005). These relationships remained meaningful after controlling for
the Big Five personality traits as well as verbal and fluid intelligence.

The MEIS and MSCEIT have good reliability and validity (Mayer, Caruso and Salovey, 2000).
Factor analyses show that there is a single underlying factor and also that the four subfactors in
the model are hierarchically beneath the single general factor. These tests correlate about 0.4
with vocabulary scores but not with non-verbal measures of intelligence. On these tests, adults
show greater emotional intelligence than children.

Only moderate correlations of about 0.4 have been found between the MSCEIT (an ability
measure of emotional intelligence) and the BarOn EQi (a personality trait measure of emotional
intelligence).

Description of MEIS: The first comprehensive, theory-based battery for assessing emotional
intelligence as a set of abilities was the Multifactor Emotional Intelligence Scale (MEIS), which
can be administered through interaction with a computer program or via pencil and paper
(Mayer, Caruso, & Salovey, 1998, 1999).

The MEIS comprises 12 ability measures that are divided into four branches, reflecting the
model of emotional intelligence presented earlier:
(a) perceiving and expressing emotions;
(b) using emotions to facilitate thought and other cognitive activities;
(c) understanding emotion; and
(d) managing emotion in self and others (Mayer & Salovey, 1997).

Branch 1 tasks measure emotional perception in Faces, Music, Designs, and Stories. Branch 2
measures Synesthesia Judgments (e.g., “How hot is anger?”) and Feeling Biases (translating felt
emotions into judgments about people). Branch 3’s four tasks examine the understanding of
emotion. Sample questions include “Optimism most closely combines which two emotions?” A
participant should choose “pleasure and anticipation” over less specific alternatives such as
“pleasure and joy.” Branch 4’s two tests measure Emotion Management in the Self and in Others.
These tasks ask participants to read scenarios and then rate four reactions to them according to
how effective they are as emotion management strategies focused on the self or on others.

The internal consistency of the MEIS is reasonably high: Using consensus scoring, most of the
12 subscales had Cronbach alphas in the .70 to .94 range. The MEIS as a whole correlates
positively with verbal intelligence (but only in the r .35 to .45 range), self-reported empathy, and
parental warmth and negatively with social anxiety and depression (Mayer et al., 1999). Finally,
and consistent with the idea that emotional intelligence is a set of abilities that are developed
through learning and experience, scores on the MEIS improve with age (Mayer et al., 1999).

The MSCEIT is a direct successor of MEIS. Structured much like the MEIS, the MSCEIT also is
based on the four-branch model of emotional intelligence, but it allows for the assessment of
emotional intelligence in less time than the MEIS. Poorly worded items have been eliminated,
and extensive normative data will be available.

Description of MSCEIT: The Mayer, Salovey, Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT)
is one such test embodying the ability model. It was initially normed on a sample of 5000 men
and women and is designed for persons aged 17 years and above. The MSCEIT has 141 items
and eight tasks; two each for every branch in this model.

To assess one’s ability on Branch 1, sample tasks include examining facial expressions to
identify emotions or in a more abstract task, identifying the emotions conveyed by images such
as landscapes and designs. Branch 2 would be assessed by identifying sensations and associating
emotions with particular types of tasks such as planning a birthday party. One’s ability on Branch
3 is evaluated by tasks that encourage an individual to know about increasing or decreasing
intensity of emotions or transformation of one emotion into another such as frustration into
anger. Lastly, performance Branch 4 is gauged by having an individual respond to scenarios with
how they would regulate emotions in a particular context.

The sub scales of MSCEIT are detailed below:

1. Emotional Perception (Faces & Pictures tests): These measure the ability to perceive
emotions in oneself and others as well as in objects, art, stories and the like.
2. Emotional Facilitation (Facilitation & Synesthesia tests): Assess the ability to generate, use,
and feel emotion as necessary to communicate feelings, or employ them in other mental
processes.
3. Understanding Emotion (Changes & Blends tests): Measures the ability to understand
emotional information, how emotions combine and progress through relationship transitions, and
to reason about such meanings.
4. Managing Emotion (Management & Relationships tests): Assess the ability to be open to
feelings, to modulate them in oneself and others so as to promote personal understanding and
growth.

The tool takes approximately 30- 45 minutes to complete. Like in IQ tests, questions have a right
or wrong answer and are scored accordingly to differentiate between individuals who have a
particular ability and those who do not. MSCEIT provides 15 main scores: Total EI score, two
Area scores, four Branch scores, and eight Task scores. In addition to these 15 scores, there are
three Supplemental scores (Mayer, Salovey, & Caruso, 2002). The findings can then be used to
predict an individuals’ emotional and psychological well- being, satisfaction and quality of
interpersonal relationships.

The reliability of the MSCEIT is very high (JD Mayer et al., 2003). However, the validity is well
discussed, as there are researchers (e.g. Antonakis et al., 2009) who doubt its praised validity.
They especially question the construct, discriminant, and predictive validity of the test
(Roberts et al., 2006) and showed that EI can be almost completely predicted by IQ, personality
measures like ‘The Big Five’, and gender (Schulte, Ree, & Carretta, 2004). Other concerns
include the inability to measure certain skills like the proper expression of emotions or the ability
to behave according to them, as well as the limited appraisal of non-verbal abilities (Brackett,
Rivers, & Salovey, 2011; O’Sullivan & Ekman, 2008). The main problem of self-assessment
methods is, that they assume that people are conscious of their EI and its inner processes
and are therefore able to rate and report on it (Brackett et al., 2011; Matthews et al., 2006).

Bar-On’s personality model of social and emotional intelligence

In Professor Reuven Bar-On’s (2000) personality-trait model of emotional intelligence,
distinctions are made between five domains: the intrapersonal, the interpersonal, adaptability,
stress management and mood. In each of these domains there are specific skills which
collectively constitute what he refers to as emotional and social intelligence. Bar-On defined
emotional intelligence as ―an array of noncognitive capabilities, competencies, and skills that
influence one‘s ability to succeed in coping with environmental demands and pressures (Bar-On,
1997)

The intrapersonal domain includes skills like emotional self-awareness, assertiveness,

independence, self-regard, and self-actualization. Here, emotional self-awareness is the ability to
recognize and understand one’s own emotions. Assertiveness is the ability to express one’s
thoughts, beliefs, and feelings in a non-aggressive way so as to defend one’s rights.
Independence is the ability to be self-directed and self-controlled in one’s thinking and actions
and to be free of emotional dependency. Self-regard refers to the ability to understand, accept
and respect oneself. Self-actualization is the ability to realise one’s potential and to achieve goals
that one wants to attain.

In the interpersonal domain empathy is the ability to be aware of, understand, and appreciate the
feelings of others. Social responsibility is the ability to co-operate and contribute constructively
to one’s social group. Maintaining interpersonal relationships refers to the capacity to make and
maintain friendships characterized by emotional closeness and psychological intimacy.

In the adaptability domain, problem-solving is the ability to identify social and interpersonal
problems, define them in solvable terms and generate and implement effective solutions. Reality
testing is the ability to evaluate the correspondence between subjective experiences and external
objective situations. Flexibility is the ability to modify one’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior to
fit with changing situations.

In the stress management domain stress tolerance refers to the capacity to withstand the build-up
of adversity, challenges, stresses, and strong emotions without decompensating or emotionally
‘falling apart’. Impulse control refers to the capacity to resist or delay acting on an impulse and
to control one’s emotions.

In the mood domain maintaining happiness is the ability to enjoy oneself and others, to have fun,
to express positive feelings, and to be satisfied with life. Optimism is the ability to look on the
bright side of things even in the face of adversity.

Bar-On (2000) has shown that people of different ages and genders have differing EQs or EQ
profiles. Emotional intelligence increases with age at least until middle life. People in their 40s
and 50s have higher EQs than younger or older people. Males and females have similar overall
EQs but males score higher in the intrapersonal, adaptability and stress management domains
while females score higher in the interpersonal domain. Women are more aware of their
emotions, demonstrate more empathy, relate better interpersonally and act more socially
responsibly than men. Men, in contrast, have better self-regard, are more independent, cope
better with stress (in the short term), are more flexible, solve problems better and are more
optimistic than women. There is also considerable evidence that high EQ scores are associated
with better mental health and low EQ scores with more mental health difficulties.
Criticism:

(i) The theory is relatively a new one and a lot of research has not been done on it, other than its
strengths in the multiple applications in the workplace, home, school, well-being among other
things.
(ii) Moreover, there are cultural limits placed on it. Most of the research on the model has been
carried out in North America which limits the reach of the model. The studies done need to be
replicated in more diverse settings.
(iii) All studies mentioned under the model are cross-sectional which is why longitudinal ones
need to be carried out and its ability to describe emotional social intelligence (ESI) and predict
human performance over time.

Reuven Bar-On (1997) has developed a questionnaire—The Emotional Quotient Inventory

(EQi)—to evaluate emotional intelligence. The questionnaire contains 133 items and takes
approximately 30 minutes to fill out. . It is normed for individuals aged 17 and older and
comprises descriptive sentences that an individual rates on a 5 point scale ranging from “very
seldom or not true of me” (1) to “very often true of me or true of me” (5). The Emotional
Quotient Inventory yields an overall emotional quotient score and scores for the domains and
specific abilities listed in Bar-On’s theory. Different versions of the Emotional Quotient
Inventory have been developed for adults, adolescents and children. Standardisation data have
been collected from thousands of people in more than fifteen countries. So it is possible to say
when somebody fills in the questionnaire where their scores stand with respect to those of other
people.

Average to above-average scores on the EQ-i suggest that the respondent is likely to be effective
in emotional and social functioning. On the other hand, low scores indicate an inability to be
effective in performing well and the possible existence of emotional, social and/or behavioral
problems. Significantly low scores on stress tolerance, impulse control, social responsibility,
reality testing, and problem-solving scales indicate serious challenges in coping and possible
maladaptive behavior.

The Emotional Quotient Inventory has been shown in numerous studies to be reliable and to
have some degree of validity. It reliably gives approximately the same score when fllled in twice
in the same six-week period. It validly yields similar ratings to those of expert judges and
partially predicts the type of people who will excel in particular work situations. It is also distinct
from cognitive intelligence assessed by routine intelligence tests. It is computer scored in such a
way that compensations in scoring are made if the person’s patterns of responses suggest that he
or she is trying to describe themselves in an exceptionally positive or negative way.

Goleman’s model of Emotional Intelligence (Mixed Model)

Goleman’s model of Emotional Intelligence was initially articulated in his two bestselling books
and later operationalised in the Emotional Competence Inventory (Boyatzis et al., 1999). Its aim
is to evaluate emotional intelligence competencies important for outstanding performance in
commercial business.

Within the inventory distinctions are made between the competencies necessary for
self-awareness, social awareness, self-management and social skills.

●​ Self-awareness competencies include emotional self-awareness, accurate self-assessment

and self-confidence.
●​ Social awareness competencies include empathy, organisational awareness and having a
service orientation.
●​ Competencies essential for self-management are self-control, trustworthiness,
conscientiousness, adaptability, achievement orientation and initiative.
●​ Social skills competencies include developing others, leadership, influence,
communication, change catalyst, conflict management, building bonds and teamwork.

Having these capacities, however, does not necessarily mean that all competencies or skills that
these underlie, are also possessed by us. These need to be acquired. For example, having social
awareness means that one has the underlying capacity to recognise emotions in others. This does
not, however, automatically mean that a person also has empathy or organisational awareness.
These are emotional competencies that need to be acquired through additional experience or
training, although having social awareness does mean that skill acquisition in this area will be
easier. In this way, each of the domains of self- awareness, social awareness, self- regulation and
relationship management serve as the foundations for the specific competencies contained in
each of the quadrants, that have to be learned (Goleman, 2001). Mastering these is thought to
result in improved performance at work.

ECI:

The primary tool for assessing emotional competencies under this model is the Emotional
Competence Inventory (ECI) developed by Daniel Goleman and Richard Boyatzis. The current
version of the tool is ECI- 2.0. The tool assesses 18 competencies, organized into the four
quadrants outlined by the performance model described above: self-awareness, social awareness,
self-management, and relationship management. While the original ECI had a 7 point scale, the
current version- ECI 2.0 has a new 6 point scale, behaviorally anchored as: 1=Never, 2=Rarely,
3=Sometimes, 4=Often, 5=Consistently, and 6=Don’t know; depending on one’s observation of
the frequency with which the person being assessed demonstrates the behavior or nature of the
item. The score reported for a competency indicates ‘the competency level that is most
characteristic of the participant’s day-to-day work behaviors based on the feedback of others’.
Feedback from the report may be used for developing the desired competencies through training,
mentoring and feedback.

Research on experienced partners in a consulting firm showed that more partners with more
scores above a tipping point or cut-off score on the dimensions of the ECI contributed more to
the profits of the organisation (Boyatzis et al., 2000).

Criticism:

Goleman’s (1995) book on emotional intelligence attracted attention of many critics claiming
that the provided arguments in favor of emotional intelligence are too broad and thus, non-
scientific, having any empirical support (Locke 2005; Eysenck, 2000).

Like many other academics, Elder (1996) finds Goleman’s book being written by a
popularizer, but not by a theoretician. As a master of word, by mixing results of other studies
and own interpretations Goleman practices pop psychology approach and thus, achieves a huge
success among his readers. It is important to note, that even though Elder rejects Goleman’s
theory as scientifically credible, she supports the significant role of emotions playing in human
life and that emotional factors have their own contribution to general intelligence.

Locke (2005) considers the concept of emotional intelligence developed by Goleman as a

misunderstanding of general intelligence and suggests that emotional intelligence is basically the
same type of general intelligence (a skill to think abstractly) used in an emotional sphere of
life.

Eysenck (2000) supports the argument that Goleman’s theory is lacking statistical evidence; he
argues that the components of emotional intelligence proposed by Goleman have no scientific
proof and do not show a relationship with each other so, the model does not have any utility to an
academic sphere.

Cooper’s EQ Map

Dr Richard Cooper (1996/1997) developed an instrument called the Emotional Quotient Map or
EQ Map which evaluates the respondent’s current environment, emotional literacy, EQ
competencies, EQ values and attitudes and EQ outcomes. The current environment domain
includes both life pressures and life satisfactions dimensions. The emotional literacy domain
includes the dimensions of emotional self-awareness, emotional expression and emotional
awareness of others. Intentionality, creativity, resilience, interpersonal connections and
constructive discontent fall into the EQ competencies domain. In the EQ values and attitudes
domain dimensions, which evaluate outlook, compassion, intuition, trust radius, personal power
and integrated self are included. General health, quality of life, relationship quotient and optimal
performance are the dimensions which constitute the EQ outcomes domain. The EQ map
evaluates a very broad interpretation of the emotional intelligence construct, along with a variety
of related dimensions such as current environment and EQ outcomes which are not strictly part
of the EQ construct as interpreted by other researchers who take a personality trait approach to
emotional intelligence, such as Reuven Bar-On or Daniel Goleman.

Because validation studies of ability and personality trait measures of emotional intelligence are
in their infancy, the debate about which approach is the most useful, under which circumstances
remains unresolved.

Neurological Basis for Emotional Intelligence

Professor Antonio Damasio at the University of Iowa has studied decision-making errors of
patients who suffer bilateral lesions of the ventromedial, pre-frontal cortex (Damasio, 1994;
Bechara et al., 2000). The impetus for doing so came from the clinical observation that
previously well-adjusted patients who suffer bilateral lesions of the ventromedial, pre-frontal
cortex show no significant deterioration in IQ, but major deterioration in planning work-related
activities and relationships. Their actions lead to losses including financial losses, losses in social
standing, and loss of friendship.

Damasio conducted experiments wherein the performance on decision-making tasks of patients

with these neurological lesions is compared with that of controls who have similar IQs but no
brain damage. Thus, differences in performance may be attributed to functions subserved by the
ventromedial, pre-frontal cortex.

Damasio (1994) has shown that the ventromedial, pre-frontal cortex is part of a neural network
involving neural projections from the sensory sense organs; the amygdala; and the
somatosensory and insular cortices. In a series of studies Damasio and his team compared the
responses of three groups of patients each with different brain lesions to identify the effects of:
(1) bilateral lesions of the ventromedial, pre-frontal cortex; (2) bilateral lesions of the amygdala;
and (3) lesions of the right somatosensory/insular cortices. He found that damage to all three
centers resulted in failure to generate anticipatory SCRs (Skin Conductance Responses) and
failure to learn how to make safe decisions on the gambling task. Bilateral lesions of the
amygdala and lesions of the right somatosensory/insular cortices led to errors in judging the
intensity of emotions conveyed by facial expression. Only patients with bilateral lesions of the
amygdala failed to develop a conditioned emotional response (SCRs) when a blue screen (UCS)
was presented alone after repeated pairing with a startling sound (UCS). Only patients with
lesions of the right somatosensory/ insular cortices failed to re-experience emotions when
thinking about memories of happy, sad, frightening or anger-provoking situations.

Formative experiences and trauma may compromise the efficiency with which this neural
network operates. Joseph LeDoux (1996) has produced evidence that the amygdala can operate
independently of the pre-frontal cortex, and memories of the emotional significance of events
stored in the amygdala can guide decision-making without the involvement of the pre-frontal
cortex. Rats in whom the auditory cortex was ablated learned to fear a tone (CS) that was
previously paired with an electric shock (UCS). LeDoux (1996) argues that while factual
memory is subserved by the hippocampus, memory of the emotional significance of events is
subserved by the amygdala. The hippocampus allows us to remember where the university exam
hall is, but the amygdala permits us to remember how anxiety-provoking exams can be. In
emergency situations or under stress, our perception and reactions are governed not by the
hippocampus but by the amygdala.

Description of the High EI Individual

Generally speaking, emotional intelligence improves an individual's social effectiveness. The

higher the emotional intelligence, the better the social relations.

The high El individual, most centrally, can better perceive emotions, use them in thought,
understand their meaning, and manage emotions, than others. Solving emotional problems likely
requires less cognitive effort for this individual. The person also tends to be somewhat higher in
verbal, social, and other intelligences, particularly if the individual scored higher in the
understanding emotions portion of El. The individual tends to be more open and agreeable than
others. The high El person is drawn to occupations involving social interactions such as teaching
and counseling more so than to occupations involving clerical or administrative tasks.

The high El individual, relative to others, is less apt to engage in problem behaviors and avoids
self-destructive, negative behaviors such as smoking, excessive drinking, drug abuse, or violent
episodes with others. The high El person is more likely to have possessions of sentimental
attachment around the home and to have more positive social interactions, particularly if the
individual scored highly on emotional management. Such individuals may also be more adept at
describing motivational goals, aims, and missions (Mayer, Salovey, & Caruso, 2004).

Note that the specific kind of boost that emotional intelligence gives the individual will be subtle,
and as a consequence, require some effort to identity. It will not be exhibited in all social
circumstances.

What is it that people high in EI can see that so many others are blind to?

They're particularly good at establishing positive social relationships with others and
avoiding conflicts, fights, and other social altercations. They're particularly good at
understanding psychologically healthy living and avoiding such problems as drugs and
drug abuse.

Such individuals, by providing coaching advice to others and by directly involving themselves in
certain situations, might assist other individuals and groups of people to live together with
greater harmony and satisfaction.

Strategies for Enhancing EI

Domain Strategy

Self-monitoring • Keep a diary of mood-change episodes and state the Activity that led to
the change in mood, the Beliefs that led to the change in mood and the
Consequent mood change on a 10-point scale

Self-regulation • For depression, avoid distressing situations, focus on non-distressing

aspects of difficult situations, assertively challenge distressing people,
challenge pessimistic and perfectionistic thinking, be active and get
support
• For anxiety, challenge threat oriented thinking and practice courage by
entering threatening situations and using coping strategies to reduce
anxiety
• For anger, avoid provocative situations, focus on non distressing
aspects of difficult situations, assertively ask provocative people to be
less provocative, stand back and practice empathy

Communication • When listening, listen without judging

• Put your own opinions and emotions on hold
• Summarise what you have heard the other person say
• Check that your summary is accurate
• When speaking, decide on the points you want to make
• Organise them logically
 • Say them clearly
• Check that you have been understood
• State your points without attacking, blaming or sulking
• Repeat as necessary

Problem Solving • Break big vague problems into many smaller specific problems
• Define these in solvable terms
• Focus on the problem, not the person
• Generate many possible solutions
• When all solutions are generated, examine the pros and cons of each
• Select the best solution
• Implement the solution
• Review progress
• Repeat as necessary
• Celebrate success

Helping children • Be attuned to infants’ needs for physical and emotional care; control
develop EI and intellectual stimulation; and try to meet them reliably and
predictably, since this will foster secure attachment
• Help children understand their own emotions by acknowledging and
discussing how particular situations lead them to think certain thoughts,
and so to experience particular emotions in other people
• Help children learn selfregulation by modelling the use of avoiding
triggers, distraction, humour, self-talk relaxation routines and other
coping strategies and praising them for self-soothing and self-regulation
in threatening or frustrating situations
• Help children develop conversational turn taking, and empathy skills
for understanding of others’ emotions by acknowledging and discussing
how particular situations lead to particular emotions in other people
• Help children learn cooperative problem-solving skills by modelling
and inviting them to participate in joint problem solving

Applications of Emotional Intelligence:

Education:

In recent years, the theme of emotional intelligence has been used to organize efforts to teach
schoolchildren various kinds of skills that help to build competency in self-management
and social relations. In the educational literature, this is usually called “social and emotional
learning” (SEL; Elias, Hunter, & Kress, 2001; Payton et al., 2000). SEL is the process of
merging thinking, feeling, and behaving. These skills enable individuals to be aware of
themselves and of others, make responsible decisions, and manage their own behaviors and those
of others (Elias et al., 1997; Elbertson, Brackett, & Weissberg, 2010). SEL programs are
designed to enhance the climate of a classroom, school, or district, with the ultimate goal of
enhancing children’s social and emotional skills and improving their academic outcomes
(Greenberg et al., 2003). Adopting curricula that focus on these elements is believed to enable
success in academics, relationships, and, ultimately, in life (Becker & Luthar, 2002; Catalino,
Berglundh, Ryan, Lonczek, & Hawkins, 2004).

EI, when embedded into SEL programs, has been shown to contribute positively to personal and
academic success in students (Durlak, Weissberg, Dymnicki, Tayloer, & Schellinger, 2011).
Research also shows that strong emotion regulation can help students pay attention in class,
adjust to the school environment, and manage academic anxiety (Lopes & Salovey, 2004;
Mestre, Guil, Lopes, Salovey, & Gil-Olarte, 2006). A recent randomized control trial of
RULER* also found that, after one year, schools that used RULER—compared with those that
used only the standard curriculum—were rated by independent observers as having higher
degrees of warmth and connectedness between teachers and students, more autonomy and
leadership, less bullying among students, and teachers who focused more on students’ interests
and motivations (Rivers, Brackett, Reyes, Elbertson, & Salovey, 2013).

*RULER - Recognize emotions in oneself and in other people. Understand the causes and
consequences of a wide range of emotions. Label emotions using a sophisticated vocabulary.
Express emotions in a socially appropriate way. Regulate emotions effectively.

Human Resources Management:

Research findings suggest that business students working together in task groups who scored
high on the MSCEIT are more likely to be viewed by their peers as developing well-articulated,
visionary goals for the group than those students with lower MSCEIT scores (Côté et al.,2003).
In a different study, business students working in teams who scored high on the MSCEIT,
especially the managing emotions branch, were more likely to have satisfying social interactions
and to elicit social support from the other group members (Côté et al., 2003). In both of these
studies, associations with emotional intelligence and the various outcomes held even after
controlling for the Big Five personality dimensions.
The workday requires a large number of decisions that need to be made. Many of these decisions
are emotionally charged in some way, with passion and opinions behind them. Employees with
strong emotional intelligence are more likely to make rational and well-thought-out decisions.
Emotional intelligence is an extremely desirable trait for new and tenured employees alike. Many
companies ask behavioral-based interview questions in order to assess emotional intelligence and
make better informed hiring decisions. These companies understand the value of emotionally
intelligent individuals and the positive impact they can have on a workforce. With international
expansion and globalization becoming more and more relevant, emotional intelligence is more
valuable than ever, allowing companies to better breach cultural differences and the complex
ways in which other cultures express their emotions.

How can HR leaders encourage the development of EQ in the workplace?

HR leaders can infuse a healthy dose of EQ into the workplace by incorporating these
constructive practices:
 ●​ Lead by example. All leaders contribute to the tone in the workplace; their vibe impacts
colleagues, lower-level managers, and employees. Through exemplifying EQ, HR leaders
can help inspire others, letting self-awareness, regulation of emotions, and positive social
skills become guiding forces among the work community.
●​ Train workplace leaders to hone their EQ. HR can implement training sessions to help
leaders to practice active listening, problem-solving, conflict resolution, self-respect, and
resilience. Empowering team-leaders and managers with these skills enables them to turn
challenging and potentially stressful situations into opportunities for growth.
●​ Focus on mental health. Carving out time and space for employees to disconnect from
relentless work demands enables them to reconnect to themselves. Guided meditation to
encourage employees to pause before acting can sharpen their EQ. Creating an
environment for wellness activities such as art, exercise, and music can help employees
tune into their best selves.
●​ Nurture employee’s innate characteristics. Some positions demand more EQ than others,
and each individual offers unique talents and skills to fulfill their duties and benefit their
company. Some employees may exemplify admirable EQ qualities, while others may
only demonstrate specific aspects of it. HR leaders can encourage employees to develop
their EQ without forcing it.

Politics:

Based loosely on discoveries about the neurological underpinnings of the interactions between
emotion and rational decision making (e.g., Adolphs & Damasio, 2001; Damasio, 1994;
Jaus˘ovec, Jaus˘ovec, & Gerlic˘, 2001; LeDoux, 1996, 2000), Marcus, Neuman, and Mackuen
(2000) provided a perspective on political judgment that they call “affective intelligence.” This is
designed to examine how momentary psychological states, such as mood and emotion, interact
with ongoing beliefs and values, such as self-interest, in determining political behavior.

Other scholars have looked especially at case examples of political leadership. In a study of all
the presidents of the United States from Roosevelt to Clinton, Greenstein (2000) suggested that
six qualities are needed for successful presidential leadership: (1) effectiveness as a public
communicator, (2) organizational capacity, (3) political skill, (4) vision, (5) cognitive style, and
(6) emotional intelligence. In considering emotional intelligence, Greenstein focused most
explicitly on the management of emotions

Political savvy as a leader is all about leveraging emotional intelligence so that you can handle
sensitive and emotional situations at work. Political savvy takes a lot of understanding about
yourself, the environment around you and how to navigate and influence that environment for
the best outcome.

It sounds simple, but having a high EQ matters for a successful presidency. A president needs to
have the mental resolve to make decisions on complex issues and the interpersonal skills to
engage political adversaries and global leaders. Additionally, the president will need to unite
people across ever-widening political differences and restore trust in the government’s ability to
get things done. Finally, a president needs to have a vision around which he or she can rally
individuals of diverse backgrounds. This is especially true today, as political partisanship
becomes more corrosive and issues like climate change, trade, and immigration demand greater
domestic and international cooperation. Some important Emotional Intelligence abilities that a
candidate for any political condition should have are: self-awareness, empathy, self-control and
self-regulation, and ability to motivate people toward achieving a single goal.

Marketing:

With the popularization of emotional intelligence, marketing and advertising professionals

became interested in connecting products to consumers’ emotional states through a technique
known as emotional branding.

Emotional branding is based on four principles (Gobé, 2001):

• Consumers want to feel that they have a relationship with the manufacturer of the product or its
salesperson and that this relationship is respectful of them.
• The consumer wants to have a sensory experience with respect to the product that is rich and
memorable.
• Emotional connections with products are best made when the consumer’s imagination is
peaked through something that is unexpected.
• Brand loyalty is cultivated when the marketing campaign includes vision, defined as a cohesive
brand-emotion connection over time.

Backed by research by Valay Lakdavala, brand experts believe that an advertisement that was
partially focused on ‘emotional content’ with regard to ‘rational content’ was twice as effective
(31% to 16%) and content which was fully focused on emotions with regard to a partially
focused advert did even better (31% to 26%). The reason being, the human brain processes
emotions in a powerful way and remembers them longer than mere facts alone.

According to a 2016 Nielson report, “Emotions are central to advertising effectiveness,” and ads
that generated the best emotional response generated a 23% lift in sales volumes.

Family Dynamics:

Gottman (1997), through his work with emotion-coaching parents, discovered that parent-child
interactions, when strong emotions are being expressed, are critical for the child’s development.
Effective parents seem easily to: (1) become aware of their child’s emotions, (2) recognize the
emotion as an opportunity for learning and intimacy, (3) listen empathically to their children, (4)
help the child label the emotions he or she is experiencing, and (5) set limits while exploring
solutions to the problem that gave rise to the emotions.
In addition, strong connections between parental emotional intelligence and social
competence in children have been found using the MSCEIT. Higher maternal EI was also
associated with more securely attached infants.

The results of a paper by Betancourt et al., (2014) indicates that the capability that family
members have to manage their emotions influences the interpersonal dynamics that take place in
the family firm at the individual and group level. The paper also found that interpersonal
dynamics, in turn, influence how family members work together.

Parents’ EI has an impact on the emotional learning of their children (Field & Kohlbert, 2104;
Marsland & Likavec, 2003). The family system is where children learn when and how to express
feelings, manage conflict, and negotiate differences, where healthy interactions between youths
and family help develop EI traits (Alavi et al., 2017). There is a relationship between the
self-reported EI of parents and children (Sanchez-Nunez et al., 2013; Guastello & Guastello,
2003), and parenting and children’s EI traits.

Five Behaviors of Emotionally Intelligent Families

●​ A sense of identity as family is evident in emotionally healthy families.

●​ Family members nurture optimism while embracing realism.
●​ Parents and grandparents teach by giving examples and stories. They are crafted in a way
where no one is trying to compare one member with another or trying to bring anyone
down.
●​ The opinions of children and younger family members are elicited and respected while
making decisions impacting the whole household.
●​ There is proper recognition and space given to negative feelings and there is teaching
imparted on how to handle these feelings effectively.

Directions for Future Research

●​ Despite the increasing interest in emotional intelligence, its measurement using

ability-based indices is still in an early stage. In particular, using an array of available
and, for the most part, poorly validated instruments as the basis for analysis, the construct
validity of emotional intelligence has been questioned (Davies et al., 1998).

●​ Research needs to be conducted to measure emotional intelligence with greater precision.

Despite its prominent role as the signature performance assessment of EI, the MSCEIT
has a number of limitations. For example, it does not allow for the assessment of several
abilities. These abilities include the expression of emotion and monitoring or reflecting
on one’s own emotions. (Brackett et al. 2013). Researchers must also address growing
criticisms, particularly those that stretch beyond the measurement debate, and question
the validity of the EI construct when defined too broadly (Locke, 2005).

●​ The area of emotional intelligence is in need of energetic investigators interested in

helping to refine the ability-based assessment of emotional intelligence and,
 subsequently, studying the predictive validity of emotional intelligence (over and above
other constructs) in accounting for important outcomes in school, workplace, family, and
social relationships.

●​ There is a need to investigate whether tests of emotional intelligence are culture-bound.

Studies should expand beyond the United States and Europe in order for the theory of EI
to be cross-culturally valid and for its applications and outcomes to be achieved more
universally. Greater attention should also be paid to developmental trajectories, gender
differences, and how EI operates in the workplace and educational settings (Brackett et
al., 2013).

●​ After refining the measurement of emotional intelligence, we are hoping that many
investigators will join other researchers in exploring what this construct predicts, both as
an overall ability and in terms of an individual’s profile of strengths and weaknesses.

●​ Focus on how emotional intelligence can be developed through the life span. This will
significantly suggest all kinds of ways in which emotionally enriching experiences could
be incorporated into one’s life.