Emotional Intelligence history
When psychologists began to write and think about intelligence, they initially
focused on cognitive aspects, such as memory and problem-solving. However,
some researchers recognized the importance of non-cognitive aspects early
on:
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Robert Thorndike was writing about social intelligence
in 1937,
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David Wechsler defined intelligence as the aggregate
or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally,
and to deal effectively with his environment (Wechsler, 1958, p. 7). Already
in 1940 Wechsler referred to non-intellective as well as intellective elements
(Wechsler, 1940), by which he meant affective, personal, and social factors.
Furthermore, already in 1943 Wechsler was proposing that the non-intellective
abilities are essential for predicting ones ability to succeed in life.
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Howard Gardner began to write about multiple intelligence
in 1983. He proposed that intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligences
and the type of intelligence (typically measured by IQ and related tests)
are equally important.
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Salovey and Mayer actually coined the term emotional
intelligence in 1990. They described emotional intelligence as "a form of
social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor own and others
feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use this information
to guide ones thinking and action" (Salovey & Mayer, 1990). Salovey and
Mayer also initiated a research program intended to develop valid measures
of emotional intelligence and to explore its significance.
In doing the research for his first book, Daniel Goleman
became aware of Salovey and Mayers work in the early 1990s. Being trained
as a psychologist at Harvard, where he worked with David McClelland, Goleman
wrote the popular bestseller "Emotional Intelligence" (1995), in which he
offered the first ' proof' that emotional and social factors are important.
Five Domains of Emotional Intelligence
Goleman in 1995 agrees with Salovey's Five Main Domains of
Emotional Intelligence (p. 43)
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Knowing one's emotions. Self-awareness, recognizing a feeling
while it happens.
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Managing emotions. The ability of handling feelings so they
are appropriate.
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Motivating oneself. Marshalling emotions in the service
of a goal.
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Recognizing emotions in others. Empathy, social awareness.
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Handling relationships. Skill in managing emotions in others.
Four domains of Emotional Intelligence
More recently, Goleman favors only Four Domains of EI. The
4 domains have 19 categories, as described in his 2002-book "Primal
Leadership". 2 extra categories were added by the
Hay Group:
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Self-awareness (Emotional Self-Awareness. Accurate Self-Assessment
and Self Confidence)
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Self-management (Emotional Self-Control. Transparency (Trustworthiness).
Adaptability. Achievement Orientation. Initiative. Optimism.
Conscientiousness)
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Social awareness (Empathy. Organizational Awareness. Service
Orientation)
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Relationship management (Inspirational Leadership. Influence.
Developing Others. Change Catalyst. Conflict Management. Building Bonds.
Teamwork and Collaboration. Communication)
An important thing to understand is that - according to Goleman
- these EI competencies are not innate talents. They are learned abilities.
IQ or EI?
According to some scientists, IQ by itself is not a very good
predictor of job performance. Hunter and Hunter (1984) estimated that at best
IQ accounts for about 25 percent of the variance. Sternberg (1996) has pointed
out that studies vary and that 10 percent may be a more realistic estimate.
In some studies, IQ accounts for as little as 4 percent of the variance. In
a recent meta-analysis examining the correlation and predictive validity of
EI when compared to IQ or general mental ability, Van Rooy and Viswesvaran
(2004) found IQ to be a better predictor of work and academic performance
than EI. However, when it comes to the question of whether a person will become
a "star performer" (in the top ten percent, however such performance is appropriately
assessed) within that role, or be an outstanding leader, IQ may be a less
powerful predictor than emotional intelligence (Goleman 1998, 2001, 2002).
IQ and EI: pure types
According to Goleman, IQ and EI should not be regarded as
competencies with an opposite direction. They are rather separate competencies.
People with a high IQ but low EI (or the opposite) are, despite the stereotypes,
relatively rare. There is a correlation between IQ and some aspects of EI.
The stereotypes (pure types) are:
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(Pure) High-IQ male. He is typified - no surprise - by a
wide range of intellectual interest and abilities. He is ambitious and productive.
Predictable and dogged. And untroubled by concerns about himself. He also
tends to be critical and condescending. Fastidious and inhibited. Uneasy
with sexuality and sensual experience. Unexpressive and detached. And emotionally
bland and cold.
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(Pure) High-EI male. He is socially poised. Outgoing and
cheerful. Not prone to fearfulness or worried rumination. He has a notable
capacity for commitment to people or causes, for taking responsibility,
and for having an ethical outlook. He is sympathetic and caring in his relationships.
His emotional life is rich, but appropriate. He is comfortable with himself,
others, and the social universe he lives in.
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(Pure) High-IQ female. She has the expected intellectual
confidence. Is fluent in expressing her thoughts. Values intellectual matters.
And has a wide range of intellectual and aesthetic interests. She tends
to be introspective. Prone to anxiety, rumination, and guilt. And hesitates
to express her anger openly.
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(Pure) High-EI female. She tend to be assertive and expresses
her feelings directly. And feels positive about herself. Life holds meaning
for her. She is outgoing and gregarious. And expresses her feelings appropriately.
She adapts well to stress. Her social poise lets her easily reach out to
new people. She is comfortable enough with herself to be playful, spontaneous,
and open to sensual experience. She rarely feels guilty, or sinks into rumination.
Assessing and measuring Emotional Intelligence
Instruments used for measuring Emotional Intelligence
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EQ-I (Bar-On, 1997): a self-report instrument to
assess those personal qualities that enabled some people to possess better
emotional well-being than others.
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Multifactor Emotional Intelligence Scale (Mayer,
Caruso, & Salovey, 1998): a test of ability where the test-taker performs
a series of tasks that are designed to assess the persons ability to perceive,
identify, understand, and work with emotion.
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Emotional Competence Inventory (ECI) (Goleman, 1998):
a 360 degree instrument, where people evaluate the individuals within an
organization (Individual Feedback Reports). Or the organization as a whole
(Work Force Audits). These audits can provide an organizational profile
for any size group within the company. The Emotional Competence Inventory
works with the 19/21 competencies described above (See under Four Domains
of EI).
Book: Daniel Goleman
- Emotional Intelligence -
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3 Approaches Towards Emotional Intelligence
"In an article “Human Abilities: Emotional Intelligence” Mayer, Roberts and Barsade describe the theoretical approaches to Emotional Intelligence (EI), distinguishing the Specific-Ability Approach, the Integrative-Model Approach and the Mixed-Model Approach:
- Specific-Ability Approach: This model addresses specific skills considered crucial to EI. Examples of such particular skills are accuracy, the ability to understand and emotional reasoning.
- Integrative-Model Approach: sees EI as a coherent and global ability. This model joins the specific skills of the specific-ability model so that a global sense can be obtained. Examples of tests in this integrative-model approach are the Emotional Knowledge Test and the Four-Brach Model.
- Mixed-Model Approaches: This model uses an extremely broad definition of EI, so that the main focus on EI is absent. This approach focuses on one specific skill considered fundamental to EI, but then mixes in aspects from outside EI, for example adaptability, flexibility and creativity.
Source: J.D.Mayer, R.D.Roberts and S.G. Barsade. (2008). “Human Abilities: Emotional Intelligence.” The Annual Review of Psychology, Vol 59, 507-536." |
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The Effects of Emotional Intelligence on Leadership
"It is well known nowadays that leadership is connected with emotions. Leaders who are able to manage their emotions and who show affinity towards employees are often seen as good leaders.
George (2000) mentions five points all containing emotional aspects that INCREASE the efficiency of leaders:
1. The ability to develop a shared feeling of goals/objective and to develop ways to achieve these goals.
2. The ability to make others aware of and let them appreciate the importance of their work.
3. Creating and maintaining enthusiasm, cooperation, optimism and a feeling of trust.
4. Stimulating flexibility in making decisions and in changes.
5. Developing and maintaining a valuable identity for a company.
The relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership is also analyzed by Antonakis et al. (2009). Interestingly Antonakis mentions two ways in which emotional intelligence affects leadership NEGATIVELY:
1. First, sensitivity to the emotions of other people decreases the quality of a leader. Namely, for these leaders who are sensitive to emotional states of others assign much importance to other’s opinions; as a result it is hard to operate in a way that is in line with the organizational vision.
2. Furthermore, sensitivity towards your own emotional states will increase the feeling that other people also are aware of your emotional states; these leaders will think about other’s opinions about them and as a result they will be hindered by these emotional states.
Sources:
Antonakis, J., Ashkanasy, N.M. and Dasborough, M.T. (2009). “Does Leadership need Emotional Intelligence?” The Leadership Quarterly.
George, J. M. (2000). Emotions and Leadership: The Role of Emotional Intelligence. Human Relations, 53, 1027−1055." |
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Intelligence of the Heart
"I shall begin with some some real life incidents that happened to me.
Incident 1: the girl standing up for her friend.
One day I was traveling in a general compartment of a train. To be precise it was the 2.30PM train to Chennai from Trivandrum. It was the time after Diwali holidays so the train was heavily crowded. A group of students had occupied a section of the compartment and they were occupying the top seats too (intended for luggage), and there were ladies too. The students at the top had to climb down to share some food with their friends at bottom. All students climbed down with ease except one girl, who didn’t know how to climb down. Her friends at bottom started to joke and laugh at her, joined by some co passengers, like “if you don’t know to climb down why did you go up”. Immediately after the laughing ceased, a girl from the bottom birth got up and walked down to the aisle (where normally people climb up/down). She gestured to her friend to climb down. Her friend on top told her that she was afraid, to which she gestured with her hand that “don’t worry, If any thing awkward happens I will take care”. Astonisingly the other girl climbed down with little or no help from the one at bottom. I thought of standing up and applauding at the instant. But showed a thumbs up sign to the other girl to which she nodded (thankfully).
Back during my train journey I kept pondering over what type of intelligence had the girl used which made her rise meteorically like a hero, for some (at least one) during the situation. Was it her academic skills that mattered?
Incident 2: The opportunity to help an old lady
A couple of months back I was undertaking the same train. A local vendor (an old lady) was selling some eatables. After making her sale, tired of the days work, she asked a passenger sitting at the window seat to kindly let her sit, as she was feeling headache and she could breathe fresh air. He refused. A local passenger sitting at the aisle row (near to the window), got up and offered his seat. He left at the direction of exit, towards the back side of the coach. I joined him. He told me that he didn’t have the money nor the need to buy what the old lady was selling. But he was thinking of how he can be of help to the vendor. It was much like a God-sent opportunity for him, to help the old lady! When I returned to my seat I could find the vendor cracking joke with another old lady sitting next to her!
Incident 3: The friend refusing to drink.
This happened during my first job. I was in sales, and our company was a hardcore sales organization. There was a particular friend of mine who had engineering as well as a management degree. Since we were in sales we would have parties after our month end on reaching our targets. Drinks were common in such parties. This particular friend (say X) of mine would not take drinks during college days or not so far. To make our boss feel elated we told him that sir X has not taken drinks so far, but maybe you can make him drink today. We all sat in a room for the routine and my boss announced that Mr X is joining us tonight for drinks. Though my friend resisted, in the end he succumbed to what my boss demanded. We all thought our boss had won. He asked to place glasses as per the head count. Drinks were poured in each glasses. My boss declared that Mr X would start the party today by sipping first. We all told 'cheers' raising our glasses. Then something unusual happened. My friend X dropped his glass on the table, looked straight into the eyes of my boss and said ”Boss, even if none among us is going to drink a peg more from these glasses again, I won't touch this glass any more!” We all knew our boss had a terrible anger (he had told not to drop our glasses without drinking a sip after saying cheers), but instead he told us 'Mr X won't join us tonight for drinks'. Lets us drink and enjoy. Mr X joined us for the party, but did not take any drinks.
The next day at office I just asked my friend where did he get the courage to tell NO to my boss. My friend laughed at me and a bit hesitantly told me his story:
His mother took much pains to see him through his studies. His father was a drunkard. While he was a kid, he was the eldest (he had two younger sisters), his father would come home drunk and fight with his mother and beat her for not giving him the money to drink. His mother would silently suffer all these but took a promise from him while he was a kid. When he grew up he WON'T drink. My friend then told me “tomorrow I may stand to lose my job / career. But I am not worried. I don’t want to break the promise given to my mother”. Frankly I fumbled for words. I did not know how to answer him. That day when I went to my bosses' cabin I knew I had a job in hand.
We have addressed the instances that happened. Well what was in these situations that mattered? I recall my childhood lessons where we studied a subject which had less than an hour a week. I am talking of moral science. It reminded myself that this is the most important subject, because you can forget all the subjects on your academics but not this one, because it teaches you how to live. We all know of the intelligence of the brain and we term ourselves as intelligent beings. There are well known methods to measure intelligence of the brain like IQ tests and academic brilliance. But does brain alone has intelligence for us intelligent beings?
Recalling the incidents mentioned above in none of the cases it was a case of intelligence of the brain that mattered. It was something else that mattered that made them stand up in the situation, a deviation from the normal phase. I have brushed through the available resources, but all speak of intelligence of brain alone, but there is something beyond, intelligence of something else, INTELLIGENCE OF THE HEART. It can be associated with the term Emotional Intelligence (EI). It speaks of intelligence of the heart!
I have tried to observe these kind of people, and have found the following common traits of people with a high amount of Intelligence of the Heart (IH).
1. At Perfect Harmony with Themselves : This is a distinguishing feature of IH people. IH people are always at perfect harmony with themselves. They enjoy / indulge in solitude more than anyone else. They tend not to escape rather enjoy it. This can be more pronounced / observed during journey times. People try all sort of things like sleeping, Reading , Listening to music , Playing games, Doing work, operate laptop etc to escape the boredom. But IH people on the other hand rather than escaping, indulge in it. They observe things around them , Watch nature etc and don’t make others feel they are bored. They enjoy solitude rather than avoid it.
2. Authentic : Authencity -- What is the word meaning. Does it have anything to do with the moral fabric of a person? It simply can be said as the power to be oneself. IH people are authentic. Their direction and priorities are clear.
3. Honest : IH people are honest. They stand up to any situation were they require to exhibit this trait.
4. Respect the other sex: IH people respect and honour the opposite sex.
5. Observers : IH people are keen observers . They are aware of the situations around them. They observe other people, things around them as well nature.
6. Thinkers : IH people are good thinkers. They use the help of their brains in making judgments / conclusions.
7. Proactive : Proactive ness notes their ability to master situations. Rather than being a slave to situations they master the given situation. Proactive ness notes their ability to guess how a situation would unfold and hence act accordingly. Proactive rather than reactive.
8. Logical : IH people have a definite reason / Logic for everything. They do things / arrive at judgments based on this logic." |
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Soft Skills Must Be Used Within Their Context
"I am very happy to be part of this useful forum. Just like leadership styles, that are applied based on the context, also soft skills must be carefully applied depending on the situation.
But in general, one must master and apply them effectively. Where you are not sure of that, just as kathryn pawley steiner suggested, confering with an advisor or another expert in decision making is recommendable." |
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By-Products of Emotional Intelligence
"One's own emotional intelligence culminates in personal traits like "vision" through which one develops other by-products like "intution", "introspection" and "intepretation".
These by-products enable one to effectively use the emotional intelligence in particular circumstances." |
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Categories of Emotional Intelligence
"Typification is helpful, but up to a point. Every individual is unique. In fact, I've seen people with admirable cognitive ability displaying equally admirable social skills and, of course, vice versa. Categorization may help to understand a person. But it has its limitations beyond which you've to study the person in question." |
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Emotional Intelligence within Organisations
"I consider it very important and essential for organisations to recognise the importance of EI and develop it amongst their management and leaders.
This enable such organisations to be more successful and efficient in their undertakings.
Having high IQ managers with low EI produces low esteem amongst subordinates and results in high turnover of staff. " |
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Cleaning our Emotions
"The important thing about emotional intelligence is self awareness. It starts with knowing oneself, and with cleaning all those feelings that have blurred our most beautiful feelings of love, compassion, happiness.
Once we clear up those negative feelings and we feel comfortable with ourselves we can connect better to others." |
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Soft Skills and Emotional Intelligence
"What are the differences between Soft Skills (SS) and Emotional Intelligence (EI)? What is the meaning and scope of the term SS? What categories of soft skills can we distinguish?" |
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Emotional Intelligence versus IQ
"I think we can link EQ with wisdom and IQ with knowledge. One can be knowledgeable with others knowledge but one cannot be wise with others wisdom.
That effectively leaves EQ to the genes and IQ to the learning after birth. EQ is what you got through your genes from your forefathers-innate & deep features.
That proves why some people with limited education will rise to higher levels. Naturally that is due to EQ.
A person with a good EQ can survive without any IQ. But a person with good IQ and no EQ cannot survive in this universe.
Any leader, if we observe, will have more EQ than IQ." |
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Some Level of EQ and IQ Either Way is Needed
"A very intelligent person (high IQ) might be great to have around.
But he has to have some emotional capacity (high EQ) to assert a better coping abilities to life's daily wiles... Either at work, home and family, friends and community at large...
A higher IQ with some level off EQ, or a higher EQ with some level off IQ: both works for me.." |
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The Benefits of Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
"Emotional Intelligence skills influence people to self awareness, self managing, awareness of other people and relations managing.
These abilities result in a successful position in the family, job and society. In fact Emotional Intelligence tells us academic knowledge is not enough to reach a blessed society." |
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What is Emotional Response?
"If you were to choke while eating I will bring you a glass of water. If you spilled, without you having to ask I will hand you a napkin. I believe these responses to your immediate discomfort were appropriate. This is my emotional intelligence being activated to assist you." |
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Teaching Emotional Intelligence at Schools
"Today, 10-21-2009, my wife and I attended a session ("APA speaker series - what are our children going through") at our daughter's high school. The session was chaired by a rep from Family Lifeworks. I was amazed to learn about EI. As soon as we arrived at our home, I Googled mr. Daniel Goleman. So much to learn; hopefully I can be a better father to my 11th grader; oh, she aspires to be a doctor of psychology in clinical psychology; she wants to one day have her own office to help teenagers deal with behavior issues." |
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Emotional & Social Intelligence
""Emotional Intelligence responsible for Intra-personal Communication and Social Intelligence responsible for Inter-personal Communication makes leadership in any organization a transformational subject."" |
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Where does Wisdom come from?
"Why are some wiser? We see educated people but unwise. We see less literate people but wise. Is it one's thoughts which make someone wise/unwise? Or is it something else? Where does the wisdom come from? Is it from his thoughts OR education OR intelligence?" |
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Emotional Intelligence = Maturity?
"Would Emotional intelligence not be the same as maturity. Ordinarily, maturity comes with age, but sometimes you find a young person who behaves or handles situations with more maturity than his chronological age. This I believe may be due to his interaction with people and his environment. In my opinion, anyone with basic intelligence can handle his emotions depending on his level of maturity." |
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Best Compliment: 'You must have a high EQ'.
"I had a wonderful compliment the other day. On meeting a man and him taking me out on our first date. It was the best compliment he could have given me. He said I had a high EQ! I was thrilled! Better than your beautiful and funny, which I was also complimented on.. happy days..." |
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Emotional Intelligence not Opposite of Intelligence
"As indicated in the main text, it is very important to understand that emotional intelligence is NOT the opposite of intelligence, it is not the triumph of heart over head -- it is the unique intersection of both." |
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Emotions and Motivation
"Emotions are the motivating force in our lives depending on the direction we take. Motivations can be productive, empowering and creative - or they can be addictive, negative and abusive." |
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Emotions versus Reason
"An emotion is an automatic response, an automatic effect of our value premises - therefore it is an effect not a cause. There is no necessary clash or dichotomy between man's reason and his emotions, provided he observes their proper relationship." |
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Emotional Intelligence Special Interest Group
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Emotional Intelligence Education & Events
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Compare with Emotional Intelligence:
Cultural Intelligence
| Whole Brain Model
| Johari Window
| Attribution Theory
| Leadership Styles
| Framing |
ERG Theory |
Path-Goal Theory |
4 Dimensions of
Relational Work |
Competing Values Framework
| Hierarchy of Needs
| Six Change Approaches
| Seven Habits |
PAEI |
Action Learning |
Team Management
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