Human Abilities: Emotional Intelligence

Human Abilities: Emotional Intelligence g r o . s w e i v e r l . a y u l n n n o a . e s s l u a l n r a u n o o j s r a r e p m r o o r f F . d e 8 0 d a / o 4 0 l n / 4 w o 0 D n . o 6 l a e 3 r 5 - t 7 n 0 o 5 : M 9 e 5 . d 8 t e 0 i s 0 r 2 e . v l i o n h c U y s y P b . v e R . u n n A

John D. Mayer,1 Richard D. Roberts,2 and Sigal G. Barsade3 1 Department of Psychology, University of New Hampshire, Durham,

New Hampshire 03824; email: [email protected] 2 Center for New

Constructs, R&D, Educational Testing Service, Princeton, New Jersey 08541; email: [email protected] 3 Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104;

email: [email protected]

Annu. Rev. Rev. Psychol. 2008. 59:507–36

Key Words

The Annual Review of Psychology is online at http://psych.annualreviews.org

emotional intelligence, cognitive abilities, emotional knowledge, emotional perception, psychological assessment

This article’s doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.59.103006.093646 c 2008 by Annual Reviews. Copyright  All rights reserved 0066-4308/08/0203-0507$20.00

Abstract Emotional intelligence (EI) involves the ability to carry out accurate reasoning about emotions and the ability to use emotions and emotional knowledge to enhance thought. t hought. We We discuss the origins of the EI concept, define EI, and describe the scope of the field today. We review three approaches taken to date from both a theoretical and methodological perspective. We find that Specific-Ability and IntegrativeInteg rative-Model Model appro approaches aches adequa adequately tely conce conceptuali ptualize ze and measure EI. Pivotal in this review are those studies that address the relation between EI measures and meaningful criteria including social outcomes, performance, and psychological and physical well-being. The Discussion section is followed by a list of summary points and recommended issues for future research.

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Contents EMERGING RESEARCH IN EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE............... 508 THE SCOPE OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE............... 509 Whatt Is Emotional Wha Emotional Intelli Intelligence gence?? . . 509 Can Emotional Intelligence Be Conc Co ncep eptua tualiz lized ed Val alid idly ly?? . . . . . . . 50 5099 The General Scope and Boundaries of Em Emot otio iona nall In Inte tell llig igen ence ce . . . . . . 51 5100 APPROACHES TO EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE SCIENT SCI ENTIFI IFIC C LIT LITERA ERATU TURE RE.. . . . 511 Theoretical Approaches to Emot Em otio iona nall In Inte tell llig igen ence ce . . . . . . . . 51 5111 Specific-Ability Approaches to Em Emot otio iona nall In Inte telli llige genc ncee . . . . . . 51 5111 Integrative-Model Approaches to Em Emot otio iona nall In Inte telli llige genc ncee . . . . . . 51 5133 Mixed-Model Approaches to Em Emot otio iona nall In Inte telli llige genc ncee . . . . . . 51 5144 Relating Emotional Intelligence to Other Psych Psychologic ological al Variab Variables les.. . 514 MEASURES OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE............... 514 An Evaluation of Emotional Intelligence Measures.......... 514

g r o . s w e i v e r l . a y u l n n n o a . e s s l u a l n r a u n o o j s r a r e p m r o o r f F . d e 8 0 d a / o 4 0 l n / 4 w o 0 D n . o 6 l a e 3 r 5 - t 7 n 0 o 5 : M 9 e 5 . d 8 t e 0 i s 0 r 2 e . v l i o n h c U y s y P b . v e R . u n n A

EMERGING RESEARCH IN EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENC INTELLIGENCE E

Emotion: an integrated feeling state involving physiological changes, motor-preparedness, cognitions about

Adequ Ade quat atee Tes estt De Desi sign gn . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 5166 Validity Evidence from Factor Structure...................... 517 Test T est Relations Relat ions to Key Benchmarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 517 Measurement Issues Regarding Mixed-Model Scales........... 519 WHAT DOES EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE PREDICT (OR NOT) IN LIFE OUTCOMES? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520 Social Relations in Childhood and Adolescence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 521 Soci So cial al Rel Relat ation ionss in Adu Adult ltho hood od . . . . . 52 5211 Scholastic Outcomes from Grade School to College . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523 Emotio Emo tional nal Int Intelli elligen gence ce at Work . . . 523 Psychological and Physical Well-Being . .. .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. . 524 Overall Trends Trends and Intriguing Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525 DISCUSSION...................... 526 The Scope and Measure of Em Emot otio iona nall In Intel telli lige genc ncee . . . . . . 52 5266 Outcomes of Emotional Intelligence . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 526 Con Co ncl clud udin ingg Co Com mmen ents ts . . . . . . . . . . . 52 5266

andintuition,andthatsuchfeelingsweretruer than tha n rea reason son (Re (Reddy2001) ddy2001).. Th Thee rec recent ently ly int introroIn Anc Ancien ientt Gre Greece ece,, the dev develop elopmen mentt of log logica icall duced concept of emotional intelligence (EI) thought—sy thoug ht—syllogis llogisms, ms, argum arguments, ents, inquir inquiry— y— offers a new way of looking at the debate— was the burge burgeoning oning information information techn technology ology that people can reason about emotions and of the day. The Stoics of Ancient Greece be- use emotions to assist reasoning. If EI were to exist, some argued, it could lieved that logic was superior to feelings bestreng engthe then n our cur curren rentt und underst erstand anding ing of bot both h cause people could agree as to rational ar- str and intell (e.g. Stern Sternberg berg














society (Barsade 2002, Barsade et al. 2003, Ciarrochi et al. 2006, Elias et al. 1997, Izard 2002, Matthews et al. 2007). In this review, we describe research on EI covering a roughly 18-year span from 1990 to early 2007. During that time, work on the topic expanded from a few articles and book chapters to an active research area. Over the same period, research continued in emotion, intelli int elligen gence, ce, and the their ir int intera eractio ction, n, as refl reflecte ected d in Annual Review of Psychology coverage (a partial list includes Cacioppo & Gardner 1999, Eisenbe Eise nberg rg 200 2000, 0, Lub Lubins inski ki 200 2000, 0, Oat Oatley ley & Jenkins 1992, Phelps 2006, Rosenbaum et al. 2001, Sternberg & Kaufman 1998, Voss & Wiley 1995). EI is related to both emotion and intelligence, but it also is distinct from them. Our aim has been to collect what represents, to us, some of the best and most promising research in the EI field. A review of such research can help define EI, indicate its relation to other concepts, and illustrate its influence on practical outcomes. In the opening of our review, we provide a context for the present-day field, examine uses of the term “emotional intelligence,” and describe the scope of research in the area. Our challenge in covering the field is considerable becausee the term “emoti becaus “emotional onal intelligence” intelligence” is used in many different ways. One of our goals is to identify the core elements of EI and its study.

THE SCOPE OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE What Is Emotional Intelligence? The term “emotional intelligence” has been employed on an occasional basis at least since

1966) and to promoting personal and social improvement more generally (Beasley 1987, Payne 1986). Intelligence: a During the 1980s, psychologists expressed mental ability (or set a renewed openness to the idea of multiple of mental abilities) intelligenc intell igences es (Gard (Gardner ner 1983 1983,, Stern Sternberg berg 1985 1985). ). that permit the Simultaneously, research on emotion and on recognition, how emotions and cognition interacted were learning, memory for, and capacity to on the ascendancy (for historical background, reason about a see Matthews et al. 2002, Mayer 2000, Mayer particular form of et al. 2000a, Oatley 2004). It was amid such information, such as lively inquiry that scientific articles on EI first verbal information began to appear (Mayer et al. 1990, Salovey Nomological network: the & Mayer 1990). Interest in studying EI grew dramatically interconnected terms and ideas that throug thr oughou houtt the lat latee 199 1990s, 0s, pro propel pelled led by a pop pop-- scientists use to ulariz ula rizati ation on of the top topic ic (Go (Golem leman an 199 1995). 5).Wi With th understand their the term’s newly found cachet, and with the field of study. excitement surrounding the identification of Scientists’ ideas are a potential new intelligence, many used the characterized as connected with one term—but often in markedly different ways another in logical (Bar-On 1997, Elias et al. 1997, Goleman fashion, and as tied 1995, Mayer & Salovey 1993, Picard 1997). to real-world So, what does the term “emotional intelli- phenomena, in an integrated, gence” really mean? meaningful way

Can Emotional Intelligence Be Conceptualized Validly? By 20 2007 07,, th thee wi wide de div diver ersi sity ty of th thos osee in inter teres ested ted in EI wa wass ma matc tche hed d by th thee wi wide de di dive vers rsit ityy in th thee conceptions of EI they employed. Some researchers defined EI as an ability to reason about emotion; others equated the concept with a list of traits such as achievement moti vation, flexibility, happiness, and self-regard. Still others found the addition of such traits, which seemed to be ad hoc, to be troubling, and wondered whether a theoretically sound conceptualization of EI could be identified (Locke 2005).













Mental ability: a person’s capacity to perform a psychological task, such as solving a problem, so as to meet a specified criterion such as correctness, novelty, or speed g r o . s w e i v e r l . a y u l n n n o a . e s s l u a l n r a u n o o j s r a r e p m r o o r f F . d e 8 0 d a / o 4 0 l n / 4 w o 0 D n . o 6 l a e 3 r 5 - t 7 n 0 o 5 : M 9 e 5 . d 8 t e 0 i s 0 r 2 e . v l i o n h c U y s y P b . v e R . u n n A

with which most scientists are familiar and that have been established because of their utility. For the term “emotional intelligence” to be valid, it must fit with such a network of concepts(orprovidearationaleforwhyitdoes not). We begin by examining some concepts that are closely related to EI and then considerr howEI mig side might ht fit wit within hin thi thiss nom nomolo ologic gical al network.

Our view and definition of emotion. As an emotion emerges, it entails coordinated changes in physiology, motor readiness, behavior, cognition, and subjective experience (Izard (Iz ard 199 1993; 3; Par Parrot rottt 200 2002, 2, p. 342 342;; Sim Simon on 1982). 198 2). For example, example, as a per person son bec become omess happy, she may experience lower blood pressure su re an and d gr grea eate terr mo moto torr re read adin ines esss to ap ap-proa pr oach ch oth other ers; s; sh shee al also so ma mayy sm smil ile, e, th thin ink k happy thoughts, and feel good inside. These emotional reactions emerge in response to perceived or actual alterations in the person’s enviro env ironme nment. nt. Our wor workin kingg defi definit nition ion of emo emo-tion appears in the margin. Our definitions of both intelligence and emotion are consistent with longstanding— we wou would ld say say,, con consen sensua sual—a l—appr pproac oaches hes in their respective disciplines, but there are alternative views of both concepts (Averill & Nunley Nun ley 199 1993, 3, Kle Kleing inginn innaa & Kle Kleing inginn innaa 198 1981, 1, Sternb Ste rnberg erg 198 1985, 5, Ste Stern rnber bergg & Det Detter terman man 1986). 198 6). For example, example, som somee vie views ws of int intelelligenc lig ences es divi divide de the con concep ceptt int into o a cry crysta stalllized, learned portio portion, n, inclu including ding especia especially lly verbal aspects, and into a fluid portion that involves on-the-spot reasoning and emphasizes percep perceptual-o tual-organ rganizatio izational nal and spatial skill (e.g., Carroll 1993, Vernon 1971). Alternative views of emotion exist as well (Averill 1992, Averill & Nunley 1993). Acknowledging suc such h com comple plexit xities,we ies,we con contin tinue ue to exa examin minee how intelligence and emotion might connect with EI in a conceptual network.

Our view and definition of human mental abilities and intelligence. Intelligence is a type of mental ability that concerns the handling of—and reasoning about—information of var variou iouss sor sorts ts (Ca (Carro rroll ll 199 1993, 3, Spe Spearm arman an 1927, Sternberg & Detterman 1986). The information involved can be very specific (relations among auditory frequencies) or very general gener al (strat (strategic egic plann planning). ing). Often Often,, these abilities are described as falling along a hierarchy from simple perceptual processes and information processing to higher and more genera gen erall for forms ms of pro proble blem m sol solvin vingg (Ca (Carro rroll ll 1993). We We vi view ew in intel telli lige genc ncee as a ge gene nera rall descript scr iptive ive term referrin referringg to a hie hierar rarchy chy of mental abilities. At the lowest level of this hierar hie rarchy chy are bas basic, ic, dis discre crete, te, men mental tal abi abililities.. The ties These se inc includ lude, e, for exa exampl mple, e, the abi abillity to recognize words and their meanings in the verbal realm, or, as another instance, to se seee ho how w pu puzz zzle le pi piec eces es fit to toge geth ther er in the perceptual realm, or to understand how obje ob ject ctss ar aree ro rota tated ted in sp spac ace. e. At a mi midd ddle le level of the hierarchy are broader, cohesive The General Scope and Boundaries groups gro ups of abi abiliti lities. es. The These se abi abiliti lities es inc includ ludee of Emotional Intelligence verbal-comprehension intelligence—a group Emotional intelligence is a term parallel to of abi abilit lities ies foc focuse used d on und unders erstan tandin dingg and such others as verbal-comprehension intelreasoning about verbal information, and, as ligen ligence, ce, perce perceptualptual-organ organization izational al intelli intelli-a second example, perceptual-organizational gen gence, ce, or broadbroad-visu visuali alizat zation ion int intell ellige igence nce














Many forms of intelligence concern learn- ability to reason verbally, although it may be ing and reasoning about a particular type of influenced by such reasoning; equating characteri eristi stics cs suc such h as ass assert ertiven iveness ess wit with h the abi ability lity material and then are enhanced further by act the learning they have fostered. For example, divert divertss attenti attention on from the intell intelligenc igencee itself. verbal-comprehension intelligence describes Returning to EI, its primary focus has to do the capacity to learn and reason about words with reasoning about emotions and the use of and their meanings. The more words one emotions to enhance thought. understands, however, the more the verbal knowledge knowl edge one alread alreadyy has gained promo promotes tes the intelligence. Thus, verbal intelligence is APPROACHES TO EMOTIONAL the ability to reason about words and the INTELLIGENCE IN THE use of acquired verbal knowledge to promote SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE such reason reasoning. ing. Percep Perceptual-o tual-organ rganizatio izational nal in Theoretical Approaches to telli tel lige genc ncee co conc ncer erns ns th thee ab abil ility ity to re reas ason on Emotional Intelligence abou ab outt vi visu sual al pa patt tter erns ns an and d th thee us usee of ac ac-quired knowledge about patterns to enhance EI represents abilities that join intelligence the intell intelligenc igence. e. Follow Following ing such preced precedents, ents, and emotion to enhance thought. Some of an in initi itial al wo work rkin ingg de desc scri ript ptio ion n of EI is as the abilities that make up EI can be found in the top of Figure 1, in the box labeled follows: “emotional intelligence.” The box contains Emotional intelligence concerns the ability specific skills, such as the ability to accurately to carry out accurate reasoning about emoidentify emotion, and indicates that these intions and the ability to use emotions and dividual skills may also be viewed as formemotional knowledge to enhance thought. ing an integrated, global EI. Theoretical ap To study EI means to focus on the ability proaches to EI, in fact, can be divided accorditself. Some have made the case that charac- ing to whether they focus on specific abiliteristics such as assertiveness and self-regard ties or on more global integrations of those should be considered part of EI because both capacities. The specifi specific-abil c-ability ity approa approaches ches concer concern n involve emotion and intelligence to some degree. Virtually all mental activities, however, individual mental capacities important to EI. from color perception to self-insight, poten- The integrative-model approaches regard EI tially tia lly inv involv olvee emo emotionand tionand int intell ellige igence nce,, sim simply ply as a cohesive, global ability. There exists a because emotion and intelligence are active third approach to EI as well, called a mixedthroughout most of one’s mental processes; model approach to the field (Matthews et al. 2004, 4, May Mayer er et al. 200 2000b, 0b, McCrae McCrae 200 2000, 0, that is, mental functions are highly intercon- 200 nected (Hilgard 1980, LeDoux 2000). EI is Neubauer & Freudenthaler 2005). This apdistinct from other mental processes in in- proach mixes in a variety of non-EI qualities, volving a primary focus on a specific area of and, consequently, appears to fall partway or largely outside the boundaries of the concept problem solving. Thes esee th thre reee ap appr proa oach ches es to As an ana analog logyy, con consid sider er aga again in verb verbalal- (Figure 1, bottom). Th comprehension intelligence. The primary fo- EI are described in detail below.













DANVA: Diagnostic Analysis of Nonverbal Accuracy Scales JACBART: Japanese and Caucasian Brief Affect Recognition Test g r o . s w e i v e r l . a y u l n n n o a . e s s l u a l n r a u n o o j s r a r e p m r o o r f F . d e 8 0 d a / o 4 0 l n / 4 w o 0 D n . o 6 l a e 3 r 5 - t 7 n 0 o 5 : M 9 e 5 . d 8 t e 0 i s 0 r 2 e . v l i o n h c U y s y P b . v e R . u n n A

LEAS: Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale

fundamental to EI. In this section, we outline some of these abilities, beginning with accuracy in emotional perception. The study of perceptual accuracy grew out of an extensive bod bodyy of res resear earch ch in non nonver verbal bal per percep ceptio tion. n. Nonverbal perception includes deciphering social information, such as power and intimacy relationships, along with the accurate recognition of emotional expression. From the nonverbal research, specialized models of emotional accuracy emerged. For example, one model aimed to study a person’s accuracy at pe perc rceiv eivin ingg em emot otio ion n in ch chil ild d an and d ad adul ultt fa face ces, s, voices, and postures (Nowicki & Duke 1994). A number of reviews and key papers provide excellent descriptions of research in nonverbal sen sensit sitivit ivityy mor moree gen genera erally(e.g.,Buck lly(e.g.,Buck 198 1984, 4, Hall & Bernieri 2001, Rosenthal et al. 1979). Two frequently used measures of perceptual accuracy in emotion are the Diagnostic Ana Analys lysis is of Non Nonver verbal bal Acc Accura uracy cy Sca Scales les (DANVA and DANVA-2; Nowicki & Duke 1994) and the Japanese and Caucasian Brief Affect Affect Recog Recognition nition Test Test ( JACBA JACBART RT;; Matsumoto et al. 2000), though there are others (e.g., Elfenbein et al. 2006). Generally speaking, these scales present pictures of faces and of postures, gestures, or recordings of voice tones; ton es; the par partici ticipan pant’ t’ss task is to cor correc rectly tly identify the emotion expressed. For example, the DANVA-2 employs stimuli that express one of the four emotions of happiness, sadness, anger, and fear. Use of emo emotio tional nal inf inform ormati ation on in thi thinknking. Som Somee spec specific ific-ab -abili ility ty mod models els add addres resss the ways in which emotions facilitate thinking. For example, emotions may prioritize thinking (Mandler 1975) or allow people to be better dec decisio ision n mak makers ers (L (Lyub yubomi omirsk rskyy et al. 200 2005). 5). A person who responds emotionally to im-

of thinking. For example, positive emotions promote greater creativity in some contexts (Amabile et al. 2005, Averill & Nunley 1992, Isen 2001, Lyubomirsky et al. 2005). Part of emotional facilitation is to know how ho w to in incl clud udee em emot otio ions ns in in,, an and d ex excl clud udee emotions from, thought. On the Emotional Stroop test (Richards et al. 1992), people first see neutral words printed in varying colors and must say the colors without being distrac tr acted ted by th thee wo word rds. s. In a se seco cond nd co cond ndiition, negative/anxiety emotion words are employed; in a third condition, positive emotion words might be employed. It is common for people to be distracted and read the emotion word rather than say the color. Those with higher hig her EI mig might ht exh exhibi ibitt les lesss int interf erfere erence nce fro from m the emotion words (e.g., Masia et al. 1999, Richards et al. 1992). Reasoning about emotions: emotional appraisal, prai sal, labe labeling, ling, and lang language. uage. Another set of specific-ability models concerns emotional reasoning and understanding. For example,, emotio ample emotion-ap n-appraisa praisall resear researchers chers have developed decision rules for matching a given emot em otio ion n to th thee cl clas asss of si situa tuati tion on th that at ha hass elicited it. If a person experiences fear, for example, it is likely that he is facing a situation that is threatening, raises thoughts of bad things happening, and elicits a need to escape (Roseman 1984, p. 210; Scherer et al. 2001). Related to such appraisals also are the accurate labeling and categorization of feelings (Clore et al. 1987, Innes-Ker & Niedenthal 2002). Theorists have argued that accurate appraisal may be a hallmark of emotionally intelligent responding (MacCann et al. 2004, p. 41; Parrott 2002, pp. 354–355). If a person’s appraisal process is awry, then he or she may misunderstand an event or its conse-















taker and a fict taker fiction ional al per person son.. Par Partic ticipa ipants nts wri write te both about how they and the other person would feel in the situation. Responses are scor sc ored ed ac acco cord rdin ingg to wh wheth ether er th thee tes testt ta taker ker ap ap-propriately includes emotional responses and the degree of sophistication (complexity) of those responses, including, for example, the individual’s capacity to differentiate between his or her own and others’ responses.

g r o . s w e i v e r l . a y u l n n n o a . e s s l u a l n r a u n o o j s r a r e p m r o o r f F . d e 8 0 d / a 4 o 0 l n / 4 w o 0 D n . o 6 l a e 3 r 5 t - n 7 o 0 5 : M 9 e 5 . d 8 t e 0 i s 0 r 2 e . v l i o n h c U y s y P b

Izard (2001) sometimes prefer to speak of em emot otio iona nall kn know owle ledg dgee as op oppo pose sed d to emotional emotio nal intelli intelligence gence.. Psych Psychologis ologists ts often EKT: Emotional speak about an aptitude-knowledge contin- Knowledge Test uum (e.g., Lichten & Wainer 2000). At one MSCEIT: Mayerend of this continuum, aptitude refers to the Salovey-Caruso capacity to reason and learn; at the other end, Emotional knowledge refers to what a person actually Intelligence Test has learned. Both intelligence and knowledge tests operate according to similar principles Emotion Emoti on manag management ement.. Anoth Another er releva relevant nt and rely on assessing a person’s knowledge. abil ab ilit ityy are reaa con onccer erns ns em emot otio ion nal se self lf-- Generally speaking, intelligence tests emphamanagement. This area grew out of clinical size general breadth and rate of learning as findings that, for example, one’s emotionality well as the ability to reason with unfamilcould cou ld bec become ome mor moree pos positiv itivee by ref refram raming ing iar problems. Knowledge tests, by contrast, perceptions of situations (Beck et al. 1979), as measure attained knowledge. Both concepts well as from the idea that when at work, in- fit within the scope of EI studies, as defined dividuals often exert consid dividuals considerable erable emotional here. self-contro self-c ontroll (Hoch (Hochschild schild 1983). A sizeabl sizeablee amou am ount nt of re rese sear arch ch on em emot otio iona nall se self lf-- The Four-Branch Model of Emotional Inmanagement and regulation has emerged in telligence. The Four-Branch Model of EI parallel with that on EI (Gross 1998, Lazarus is ano anothe therr int integr egrati ative ve app approa roach ch (Ma (Mayer yer & 1994), 199 4), inc includ luding ing in the chi child ld dev develop elopmen mentt Salovey 1997, Salovey & Mayer 1990). The doma do main in (E (Eis isen enbe berg rg 20 2000 00). ). De Denh nham am an and d modelviewsoverallEIasjoiningabilitiesfrom colleagues (2003), for instance, have used be- four areas: (a) accurately perceiving emotion, havioral observations of children in order to (b) usi using ng emo emotio tions ns to fac facilit ilitate ate tho though ught, t, (c )un) unassess their frustration tolerance, asking ob- derstanding emotion, and (d ) managing emoserver ser verss to rat ratee the chi childr ldren’ en’s deg degree ree of dist distres ress, s, tion (Mayer & Salovey 1997, Mayer et al. crying, and tantrums, among other indices. 2003). Each of these areas is viewed as de veloping from early childhood onward. For example, in perceiving emotion, a person’s Integrative-Model Approaches ability to recognize basic emotions in faces















MEIS: Multifactor Emotional Intelligence Scale Mixed Model: a theoretical approach that equates diverse psychological traits, abilities, styles, and other characteristics to EI g r o . s w e i v e r l . a y u l n n n o a . e s s l u a l n r a u n o o j s r a r e p m r o o r f F . d e 8 0 d / a 4 o 0 l n / 4 w o 0 D n . o 6 l a e 3 r 5 t - n 7 o 0 5 : M 9 e 5 . d 8 t e 0 i s 0 r 2 e . v l i o n h c U y s y P b

emotions in faces and landscapes. Emotional Relating Emotional Intelligence faci fa cili litat tatio ion n is as asse sess ssed, ed, in on onee su subs bsca cale le,, by as askk- to Other Psychological Variables ing participants to identify which emotions Variables included in mixed models such as promote which kinds of thoughts and activ- assertiveness and need for achievement surely ities. Emotional understanding is measured areimportanttostudy—butarenotpartofEI, via understanding how emotions blend [e.g., asthatconceptisdevelopedhere.Aclearerap“Which two emotions together are closest to pr proa oach ch is to cons consid ider er EI a di disc scre rete te var varia iabl blee an and d contempt: contem pt: (a) sa sadn dnes esss an and d fe fearor aror (b) an ange gerr an and d then study it in relation to such other characdisgust?”]. Emotional management of oneself teristics. Several theorists have examined EI and others is measured by presenting test tak- in the context of positive and negative affect ers with vignettes describing a social situation and str stress ess tol tolera erance nce (Iz (Izard ard200 2001; 1; Par Parrot rottt 200 2002, 2, and ask asking ing the them m howemotio howemotions ns mig might ht be man man-- pp pp.. 35 351– 1–35 355; 5; Zei Zeidn dner er et al al.. 20 2003 03); ); ot othe hers rs ha have ve aged ag ed in th thee si situa tuatio tion n (M (May ayer er et al al.. 20 2002 02a) a).. Th Thee positioned EI, the need for achievement, and MSCEIT MSCE IT replac replaced ed the earlier earlier,, lengt lengthier hier,, Mul- other diverse traits in the context of persontifactor Emotional Intelligence Scale (MEIS; ality (Mayer 2005, 2006). These latter models Mayer et al. 1999). connect EI to related variables in a way that is consistent with the great majority of psychologists’ nomological networks. Mixed-Model Approaches

to Emotional Intelligence The third approach to EI is often referred MEASURES OF EMOTIONAL to as a Mixed Model approach because of INTELLIGENCE the mixed qualities that such models target. An Evaluation of Emotional These approaches use very broad definitions Intelligence Measures of EI that include “noncognitive capability, competency, or skill” (Bar-On 1997) and/or In this section, we examine more closely the “emotionally and socially intelligent behav- measures proposed to assess emotionally inior”” (Ba ior (Barr-On On 200 2004, 4, p. 122 122), ), and “di “dispo sposisi- telligent skills and abilities. Our focus is on tions from the personality domain” (Petrides seve several ral of the sca scales les int introd roduce uced d abo above, ve, inc includ lud-& Furnham 2003, pp. 278–280). Tett et al. ing scales of emotional perception (e.g., the (2005) (20 05) dre drew w on Sal Salove oveyy & May Mayer’ er’s (19 (1990) 90) DANVA and JACBART) and emotional unorig or igin inal al EI mo mode del, l, wh whic ich h th they ey in inte terp rpre rete ted d in a derstanding (e.g., the LEAS), as well as mea-















Table T able 1 A guide to emotional emotional intelligenc intelligence e measures frequentl frequentlyy mentioned mentioned in the review Key test name, related tests, and source(s)

Acronym(s)

Description of the test

Specific Ability measures


Diagnostic Analysis of Nonverbal Accuracy 2 The test has three versions: 1. Adult Facial Expressions (Nowicki & Carton 1993) 2. Adult Paralanguage (e.g., auditory) (Baum & Nowicki 1998) 3. Posture Test (Pitterman & Nowicki 2004)

1. DANVA 2-AF 2. DANVA 2-AP 3. DANVA 2-POS

The Adult Facial version consists of 24 photographs of an equal number of happy, sad, angry, and fearful facial expressions of high and low intensities, balanced also by gender. For this and the related tests described below, the participants’ task is to indicate which of the four emotions is present in the stimuli. A youth form is also available. The Paralanguage version includes two professional actors (one male, the other female) who say a neutral sentence, “I am going out of the room now but I’ll be back later” in one of four emotional states. The Posture test includes 32 stimuli of two men and two women in standing and sitting postures representing high- and low-intensity happiness, sadness, anger, and fear.

Japanese and Caucasian Brief Affect Recognition Test (Matsumoto et al. 2000)

JACBA JACBART RT

Fifty-six Fiftysix Jap Japane anese se and Cau Caucas casian ian fac faces es are pre presen sented ted in a vid video eo for format mat.. Each targ target et face portrays one of seven emotions: happiness, contempt, disgust, sadness, anger, surprise, and fear. Each such facial expression is presented for 0.2 seconds between identical initial and trailing neutral facial expressions posed by the same individual—that is, between backward and forward masks. The test-taker’s task is to identify correctly the emotion present.

Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale (Lane et al. 1990)

LEAS LE AS

Twe went ntyy so soci cial al sc scen enes es in invo volv lvin ingg tw two o ch char aract acter ers, s, “y “you ou”” an and d an ad addi diti tion onal al in indi divi vidu dual al,, elicit four types of emotion: anger, fear, happiness, and sadness. After a test taker reads a scene, he or she is asked, “How would you feel?” and “How would the other person feel?” Participants are required to describe their anticipated feelings (and those of a second person) for each scene. Scoring is according to a continuum of low emotional awareness (no emotional response) to high emotional awareness (appropriate emotions for “you” and the character).

EKT (or ACES, PLE, or EMT)

The most recent ACES contains three subscales. Facial Expressions contains 26 faces; children are asked if they are happy, sad, mad, scared, or express no feeling. The Social Situations subscale includes 15 two- to three-sentence vignettes describing a social situation; the Social Behavior scale similarly contains 15 twoto three-sentence descriptions of behavior; children respond to each scale by estimating the emotion of the main character. An overall emotion-knowledge score is calculated.

Integrative Model measures

Emotion Knowledge Test (umbrella label for an evolving set of tests, including the Assessment of Children’ss Emotional Skills, Children’ Perceiving and Labeling Emotion, and Emotion Matching Test) Test) (Izard et al. 2001, Mostow et al.















Tab Table le 1 (Continued Continued )) Key test name, related tests, and source(s)

Acronym(s)

Description of the test

Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test T est (Schutte et al. 1998)

SREI SR EIT T

A 33 33-i -ite tem m se self lf-r -rep epor ortt in inve vent ntor oryy th that at ha hass mo most st of ofte ten n be been en us used ed to ass asses esss an ov over er al alll level of EI.

Multidimensional Emotional Intelligence Assessment (Tett (T ett et al. 2005, 2006)

MEI MEIA A

A 11 1188-it item em se self lf-re -repo port rt in inve vent ntor oryy em empl ploy oyin ingg 10 sca scale les, s, ma many ny of wh whic ich h ar aree ba base sed d on the original Salovey & Mayer (1990) model of EI and some of which are added.

Measures are organized according to the categories presented in the main body of the text. DANVA scores are usually reported in articles as “Coding Errors”—we have reversed this to “Coding Skill” in the main body of the text.


us whether EI is one thing or many things), and(c ) testrelati testrelations onship hipss wit with h key keyben benchm chmark arks. s.

Adequate Test Design We use the term “adequate test design” to refer to evid evidenc encee of app approp ropria riate te test con conten tent, t, evidence iden ce tha thatt tes testt take takers rs emp employ loy pro proper per res respon ponse se processes to answer a question, and evidence of acceptable test reliability.

Response-process

Content evidence of validity. Evidence for a test’s validity includes the extent to which a test test’’s con conten tentt add addres resses ses wha whatt sho should uld be measur mea sured. ed. For exa exampl mple, e, evid evidenc encee tha thatt the DANVA-2 measures EI comes from the fact that the scale presents pictures of emotionally laden faces and body postures to participants who must then identify whether the content they see is mostly happy, angry, sad,

and then compare their answers to a criterion of correctness. Such ability testing elicits a response process in which a person demonstrates an ability by actively solving the problem and the then n rec record ording ing a cor correc rectt ans answer wer.. Significan Sign ificantt reviews of intelli intelligence gence—incl —including uding those covering dozens of diverse abilities— relyy exc rel exclusi lusivel velyy on suc such h abi ability lity tes testin tingg (Ca (Carro rroll ll 1993). In other words, response-process evidence for the validity of an EI measure includes that the test poses questions of a test taker and then matches the individual’s answers to a criterion of correctness. Thee Spe Th Specifi cificc Abi Abilityand lityand Int Integr egrativ ativee Mod Model el scales sca les dis discus cussed sed her heree mee meett suc such h stan standar dards. ds. For example, the JACBART asks participants to look at an emotional facial expression and then match the expression to an emotion. The correct answer is decided by reference to the Facial Affect Coding system, a well-















correlated, r = 0.96 to 0.98 (Mayer et al. 2003); that is, the two methods converge well oncorrectanswers(foradiscussion,seeMayer et al. 2001, Roberts et al. 2001).


possibl possi blee to sp spea eakk of EI as a co cohe here rent nt ar area ea of in in-formation processing. Moreover, it would become possible to develop a taxonomic model that placed component abilities in relation to one another in a relatively invariant manner across subpopulations, time, and test administrators (e.g., Carroll 1993). A number of studies suggest that measures of EI do form coherent, recognizable factors, tor s, des despite pite the oft often en low cor correl relatio ations ns amo among ng them (see below). Most centrally, a single, globall EI factor can be used to descri globa describe be both MEI M EIS S an and d MS MSCE CEIT IT tes testt da data ta (C (Cia iarr rroc ochi hi et al al.. 2000; Mayer et al. 2003, 2005; Palmer et al. 2005; Roberts et al. 2001). The same studies also extract intercorrelated, more specific factors within the general factors. For example, two factors, Experiential and Strategic EI, are often obtained (Ciarrochi et al. 2000, Mayer et al. 2003, Roberts et al. 2006), as well as a three- or four-factor model emphasizingg Emotio sizin Emotional nal Percep Perception, tion, Under Understandi standing, ng, and Management (Mayer et al. 1999, 2003; Palm Pa lmer er et al al.. 20 2005 05,, Ro Robe bert rtss et al al.. 20 2001 01). ). Th Thes esee finding find ingss areconsi areconsisten stentt wit with h a hie hierar rarchi chicalview calview of int intell ellige igence nce,, in which a gen genera erall EI di vides into more specific factors and then into subfactors.

Reliab Reli abil ilit ityy of em emot otio iona nall in inte tell llig igen ence ce measures. Rel Reliab iabilit ilityy ref refers ers to the con consis sis-tency with which a test measures; without consistency consi stency,, measur measurement ement is compr compromised omised.. One way to asse assess ss reli reliabi abilit lityy is thr throug ough h a scale’s internal consistency—that is, whether a pa part rtic icip ipan ant’ t’s re resp spon onses ses ar aree co cons nsist isten entt across items. The measures listed in Table 1 generally gener ally possess moder moderate ate to high internalinternalconsist con sistenc encyy rel reliab iabili ility ty.. For exa exampl mple, e, the coefficient alpha (α) reliability of the LEAS ranges from 0.81 to 0.89 (Ciarrochi et al. 2003, 200 3, Lan Lanee et al. 199 1990). 0). Reported Reported αs for the JACBART range from 0.73 to 0.92 (see Matsumoto et al. 2004, Roberts et al. 2006). Reports of the MSCEIT indicate total scale split halves of r = 0.91 and 0.93; split half estimates of reliability are employed because of the test’s item heterogeneity (Mayer et al. 2003). 200 3). How Howeve everr, the rel reliab iabilit ilityy of seve several ral other tests of emotion perce perception, ption, especially especially those tho se inv involvi olving ng aud audito itory ry mod modalit alities, ies,are are clo closer ser to r = 0.45 (MacCann 2006, Roberts et al. 2006). 200 6). A sec second ond sor sortt of rel reliab iabili ility— ty—test test-re -retest test reliab rel iabilit ility—c y—conc oncern ernss con consist sistenc encyy acr across oss Test Relations to Key Benchmarks time. The MSCEI MSCEIT’ T’ss test-re test-retest test reliab reliability ility Co Conv nver erge gent nt va vali lidi dity ty ev evid iden ence ce am amon ong g

















g r o . s w e i v e r l . a y u l n n n o a . e s s l u a l n r a u n o o j s r a r e p m r o o r f F . d e 8 0 d a / o 4

JACBART (Nowicki 2007, p. 6). Compar- with a lower IQ. Employing this paradigm, isons between such scales and the perception researchers have found that those higher in scal sc ales es of th thee MS MSCE CEIT IT se seem em co cons nsis iste tent nt EI exert less brain activity to solve emotional with with the les lesss str strong ong,, ear earlie lierr find finding ings: s: The problems, as indicated by brain wave activ2005, Jausovec et al. JACBART and emotional perception scales ity ( Jausovec & Jausovec 2005, of the MSCEIT correlated essentially zero, 2001). although the JACBART correlated r = 0.20 to 0.26 with other scales of the MSCEIT Relation to intelligences and related menabilities ities.. Bas and MSCEIT Total EI (Roberts et al. 2006). tal abil Based ed on the con concep ceptua tualiz lizaa Turning T urning to other measures, the MSCEIT and tions of EI as a form of intelligence, modthe LEAS int interc ercorr orrela elate te at abo about ut the r = 0.15 erate relations should exist between EI and to 0.20 level (Ciarrochi et al. 2003). Yet, in other measures of cognitive abilities. Studprinciple, it seems possible to develop scales ies wit with h the MEI MEIS, S, MSC MSCEIT EIT,, LEA LEAS, S, and that intercorrelate more highly. For example, various developmental measures do exhibit the four branches of the MSCEIT (which positive correlations with verbal, knowledgeshare no items in common and use different based intelligence tests. The overall relationresponse respon se scales) interc intercorrel orrelate ate r = 0. 0.27 27 to ships between the MSCEIT and MEIS scales with verbal intelligence and verbal SAT are 0.51 (Mayer et al. 2003). These measures appear, on a theoretical about r = 0.3 0.36; 6; the cor correl relati ations ons are low lower er level, to be assessing abilities within the EI (r = 0. 0.10 10 to 0. 0.20 20)) fo forr ot othe herr co cogn gniti itive ve in in-domain, yet reports to date indicate that the telligences such as perceptual-organizational scales tap different sources of variance. Al- intell intelligenc igence. e. MSCEI MSCEIT T Emotio Emotional nal Under Under-though the correlations within a test such as standing scores show the strongest individual
















Intellige Intell igence nce tes tests ts (in (inclu cludin dingg EI) ass assess ess the ability of participants to converge on a correct answer. This contrasts with creativity tests, which emphasize divergent forms of thinking—that is, the capacity to think in novel ways (Av (Averill erill & Thom Thompsonpson-Know Knowles les 1991). In fact, emotional creativity measured as an ability and MSCEIT Total EI appear entirely independent of one another (Ivcevic et al. 2007). Over Ov eral all, l, th thee evi evide denc ncee ab above ove su sugg gges ests ts that ability-based EI measures index emotional knowledge, knowledge, which is related to verbal verbal-comprehens compr ehension ion and/o and/orr cryst crystallized allized intell intelliigence. gen ce. The mag magnit nitude ude of thi thiss cor correl relatio ation n is typ typica ically lly r = 0. 0.30 30 to 0. 0.40 40,, wh whic ich h in indi di-cates that EI is different from, say, verbalcompre com prehen hensio sion n int intelli elligen gence. ce. EI also may exhibitt relatio exhibi relations ns with social intell intelligence igence,, but apparently not with creativity. Relation Relati on to ong ongoin oing g emo emotio tion n and emo emo-tional empathy EI theories, although spec-

predicted EI would have a low but significant relation to the trait Openness (with which many intelligences intelligences corre correlate; late; Acker Ackerman man & Hegges Heg gestad tad 199 1997). 7). Two rev review iewss of stu studie diess indi in dica cate te th that at Tot otal al ME MEIS IS/M /MSC SCEIT EIT EI does correlate with Openness, r = 0.17 to 0.18, but has its highest relation among the Big Fiv Fivee wit with h Agr Agreeab eeablen leness, ess, r = 0. 0.21 21 to 0.28, a scale sometimes viewed as reflecting compassion and cooperation.

Measurement Issues Regarding Mixed-Model Scales Conceptual issues. Mixed Model scales— those that mix in attributes from outside EI— have their own specific measurement characteristics and concerns. The theories behind these instruments mix many attributes with EI, and their measures reflect this (Bar-On 2000, Schutte et al. 1998, Tett et al. 2005). Mixed Model tests include items such as “I eds much of th tim time” e”

The Big Five: a set of five personality traits: Extraversion, Neuroticism, Openness, Conscientiousness, and Agreeableness, each of which is a composite of more specific intercorrelated traits















EQ-i: Emotional Quotient Inventory


Integrative model approaches: theoretical approaches to EI focused on how multiple relevant abilities operate together to predict outcomes

by, and low ability can impede accurate selfunderstandi under standing. ng. Self-j Self-judgme udgments, nts, theref therefore, ore, introduce a substantial proportion of variance unrelated to EI. Indicativ Indica tive e find finding ings. s. Th Thee mi mixe xedd-mo mode dell scal sc ales es’’ us usee of se self lf-j -jud udgm gmen entt qu ques esti tion ons, s, combined with their diverse content, leads to me meas asur ures es th that at ar aree di diffi fficu cult lt to as asse sess ss empi em piri rica call llyy, an and d of often ten ap appe pear ar to as asse sess ss a global pleasant versus unpleasant emotional style sty le.. Em Empi piri rica cally lly,, fo forr ex exam ampl ple, e, ma many ny of the individual subscales or test totals of the Bar-On Bar -On EQEQ-i, i, the Sel Self-R f-Repo eport rt Emo Emotio tional nal Intelligence Test, and the Multidimensional Emotional Intelligence Assessment correlate in the range of r = 0.60 to 0.70 with single scales of established personality dimensions such as (lower) Neuroticism from the Big Five Fi ve (B (Bra rack cket ettt & Ma Maye yerr 20 2003 03,, St Stud udyy 2; Dawda & Hart 2000; Petrides & Furnham 2001; Tett et al. 2005). Two studies indicate that the Big Five scales together predict EQ-i

under “fake good” conditions, conditions, partic participants ipants rais ra ised ed th thei eirr av aver erag agee sc scor oree on th thee (s (sel elff judgment) Bar-On EQ-i by 0.80 of a standard dar d devi deviati ation— on—befo before re any coa coachi ching ng or tra trainining (Grubb & McDaniel 2007). Mixed Model scales do not define EI in a manner consistent with reasonable scientific terminology. They further employ measurement approaches that are invalid for assessing EI, as the concept is developed here. That said, some of the scales do possess specificc mer cifi merits, its, suc such h as goo good d sta standa ndardi rdizat zation ion,, reliability, or factorial validity, as measures of other constructs (e.g., Barchard & Christensen 2007, Grubb & McDaniel 2007). A gro growin wingg num number ber of res resear earche chers rs hav havee questioned whether there is a good rationale to label Mixed Models as measuring EI at all (Davies et al. 1998, Matthews et al. 2007, Mayer Ma yer & Cia Ciarro rrochi chi 200 2006, 6, Mur Murphy phy 200 2006). 6). Our review leads us to the same question. The remainder of the review focuses on measures fro the ific abi abilit lit and int ati mod model el















Social Relations in Childhood and Adolescence


EI consistently predicts positive social and academic academ ic outcom outcomes es in child children ren (Eisen (Eisenberg berg et al. 2000, Schultz et al. 2004). For example, Izardetal.(2001a)foundthatEKTEmotional Knowledge Knowl edge score scoress assesse assessed d amon amongg 5-yea 5-yearrold preschoolers positively predicted the students’ third-grade social skills, such as assertion,, coo tion cooper peratio ation, n, and self self-co -contr ntrol, ol, as rat rated ed by teacher teac hers. s. The sam samee ass assessm essment ent als also o neg negativ atively ely predic pre dicted ted a com compos posite ite of pro proble blem m beh behavaviors such as internalizing and hyperactivity. These findings from economically disadvantaged tag ed fam familie iliess hel held d afte afterr ver verbal bal abi abilit lityy, sex sex,, and selected personality traits all were controlled. Similar findings have been reported by Fine et al. (2003). Children’ Child ren’s skill at emotio emotional nal regul regulation ation appears to influence their social well-being as well (for reviews, see Cole et al. 2004, Eisenberg 2000). In a longitudinal study of

UNCOVERING NEW INTELLIGENCE INTELLIGENCES S The 198 The 1980s 0s and 199 1990s 0s saw a res resurg urgenc encee in the theore oretic tical al att attent ention ion to specific intelligences (e.g., (e .g., Gardner 1983, Sternberg 1985). For many years, some scientists argued that general intelligence (or g ) could suffice empirically to represent an individual’s many cognitive abilities in predicting occupational, educational, and life success generally generally ( Jensen 1998). Although Although g is a plainly powerful and efficient index of mental ability, the idea that one construct might have such universal importance was hotly debated. From the 1990s to present, researchers have explored the possibility that intelligences are a more diverse and looser confederation of abilities than once was thought. A particular focus among researchers has been the exploration of “hot intelligences”—intelligences that pertain to personally relevant information—such as practical, social, and emotional intelligence. Social intelligence for example, includes capacities to app apprai raise se and und unders erstan tand d hum human an rel relatio ationsh nships ips (Lee et al. 2000, Weis & S ¨ S üß 2007 2007). ). Practi Practical cal intelli intelligence gence involves the ability to understand often unstated rules (technically, tacit information) that surround us (Sternberg et al. 2006, W















don’t pay much attention” to the other’s positive event. In the same study, higher EI also predicted fewer destructive responses to conflictt in clo flic close se rel relatio ationsh nships, ips, r = –0. –0.22 22 to –0. –0.27, 27, including fewer active responses, such as “I scream at him,” and fewer passive responses, such as “I avoid her.” This latter pattern held only for males in the sample.


Others’’ per Others percep ceptio tions ns of the emo emotio tional nally ly intellige intel ligent nt pers person. on. A nu numb mber er of fin findi ding ngss in in-dicate that having high EI leads others to perceivee an ind ceiv individ ividual ual mor moree pos positiv itively ely.. For exa exammple, Brackett et al. (2006, Study 3) videotaped U.S.undergraduatestudentsengagedina“get to know you” conversation with a confederate. Four judges later rated the videotape of the target interaction for various attributes. For men, MSCEIT Total Total EI correlated in the r = 0. 0.50 50 ra rang ngee wi with th ju judg dges’ es’ ra ratin tings gs of th thee pa parrticipants’ ticipan ts’ overa overall ll social compe competence, tence,inclu including ding how ho w mu muchof chof a te team am pl play ayer er th they ey we were re,, ho how w so so-cially engaged they were, and their expressed

Conversely, MSCEIT Total EI correlated Conversely, r = –0.20 with social deviance, as indexed by getting into fights or vandalizing property (Brackett & Mayer 2003). In a partial replication, the relationship was also found, but for men only, r = –0.40 (Brackett et al. 2004). Emotio Emot iona nall in inte tell llig igen ence ce,, fa fami mily ly,, an and d intimate relationships. EI also relates to one’s family and other intimate relationships. In two studies of parental relations, MEIS EI skills in Perception, Understanding, and Managemen Managementt correl correlated ated r = 0. 0.15 15 to 0. 0.23 23 with with self self-ju -judgm dgment entss of per percei ceived ved par parent ental al warmth (Ciarrochi et al. 2000, Mayer et al. 1999). 199 9). How Howeve everr, per percei ceived ved soc social ial sup suppor portt from parents (as opposed to warmth) shows a more mixed relationship: Only the MSCEIT Manag Managing ing sca scale le cor correl relate ated d wit with h per percei ceived ved support from parents, after controlling for the Big Fiv Fivee tra traits its and ver verbal bal int intell ellige igence nce (r = 0.22; Lopes et al. 2003). No relationship was identified between MSCEIT EI and a

















had equivalent (or often better) relationship quality than the high-high EI couples.

Scholastic Outcomes from Grade School to College

g r o . s w

decrease decrea se or bec become ome non nonsig signifi nifican cantt whe when n con con-trolling for cognitive intelligence and other personality measures (Amelang & Steinmayr 2006, 200 6, Bar Barcha chard rd 200 2003, 3, Bas Bastian tian et al. 200 2005, 5, Brackett & Mayer 2003).

A number of studies have examined the impact of EI on academic performance. The Emotional Intelligence at Work Decision sion maki making ng and nego negotiati tiation. on. People’s previously discussed developmental study by Deci Izar Iz ard d et al al.. (2 (200 001a 1a)) fo foun und d th that at fiv fivee-ye year ar-- work performance—and EI’s relation to it— old presch preschoolers oolers’’ emotio emotional nal knowl knowledge edge pre- can be studied by simulating work environdicted third-grade teachers’ ratings of aca- ments in a laboratory setting. For example, demic competencies (e.g., arithmetic skills, Day & Car Carrol rolll (2004) (2004) stud studied ied res resear earch ch par partic tic--















Transformational leadership: an approach to motivating others through emphasizing a particularly inspiring vision of work and its impact

g r o . s w

They found that high MSCEIT Understanding predicted that one’s negotiation partner would feel more positively about his/her outcome, r = 0.23, even after controlling for the partner’s positive affect and how much the negotiation negoti ation partner receiv received. ed. The creati creation on of positive affect by people with higher EI may be especially important because it can spread spr ead amo among ng gro groups ups via emo emotio tional nal con contag tagion ion (Barsade 2002, Hatfield et al. 1994). Field stu Field studie diess of emo emotio tional nal int intell ellige igence nce and performance. In a meta-analysis, Elfenbein

A recent study builds on research that extraverts, relative to introverts, may be better able to employ emotional information since they are stimulated rather than overwhelmed by the emotion information. In a study st udy of 177 managers in a U.S.-based global corporation, DANVA Facial Recognition correlated with transformational leadership styles as rated by 480 subordinates, and this relationship was strongest for managers higher in extraversion (Rubin et al. 2005). Turning to the moderatinginfluence inginflue nce of cog cognit nitive ive int intelli elligen gence, ce, C ˆ oté´ & ot Miners (2006) found that MSCEIT EI pre-















2005), and controlling for relevant personality variab variables, les, r = –0.23 and –0.16 with feeling wor worrie ried d and dis distres tressed sed bef before ore beg begininning a challenging task (Bastian et al. 2005, Matthews et al. 2006).

g r o . s w

Physical health behaviors. EI also has been studied stud ied in rela relation tion to som somee hea health lth beh behavaviors. ior s. For exa exampl mple, e, hig higher her MEI MEIS S Tota otall EI scores corre correlated lated r = –0.16 and –0.19, respectively spectiv ely,, with lower tobacc tobacco o and alcohol use among adolescents (Trinidad & Johnson 2002). The MSCEIT Total EI did not pre-

2004). The MSCEIT Total EI either did not predict (Brackett & Mayer 2003) or moderately predicted illegal drug use, r = –0.32, for men only (Brackett et al. 2004). Finally, high emotional perception skills reduced the risk of (self-reported) Internet addiction, as measured among a sample of 41 undergraduatesfromtheStockholmSchoolofEconomics (Engelberg & Sj ¨ Sj öberg 2000).

Overall Trends and Intriguing Findings















Incremental validity: an attribute of a test that refers to its capacity to predict a criterion over and above other empirically or conceptually related tests g r o . s w

example, that EI correlates with better so- Outcomes of Emotional Intelligence ciall rel cia relatio ationsh nships ips for bot both h chi childr ldren en and adu adults, lts, In the Outcomes section, we surveyed key including in family relationships. Higher EI findings regarding EI. Accumulating findings also predic predicts ts acade academic mic achiev achievement ement (altho (although ugh indicate that EI may predict important critethis may be due to its overlap with cogni- ria in several areas, which are summarized in tive int intell ellige igence nce), ), bet better ter soc social ial rel relatio ationsh nships ips at Table Table 2. Tho Those se find finding ingss inc includ lude, e, for exa exampl mple, e, work,and better psych psychologic ological al well-b well-being eing (see that EI corre correlates lates with better social relation Table 2). shipsandwithfewerproblemsocialbehaviors, A few oth other er ind indivi ividua duall find finding ingss cau caught ght and that this relationship begins in childhood our eye as well, including correlations be- continuing through adulthood. tweenEIand(a) ca care reer er in inter terest estss (C (Car arus uso o et al al.. As with much research of this sort, the 2002), (b) attitudes toward money (Engelberg overall consistencies in research findings that & Sj Sj ¨ öberg 2004), (c ) money gained in a ne- we have identified are accompanied by many















SUMMARY SUMMAR Y POINTS

1. Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to carry out accurate reasoning focused on emotions and the ability to use emotions and emotional knowledge to enhance thought. 2. Theoretical approaches to EI divide into two categories. Specific-Ability approaches examinee relati examin relatively vely discre discrete te menta mentall abiliti abilities es that process emotio emotional nal infor information mation.. Integrative-Model approaches describe overarching frameworks of mental abilities that combine skills from multiple EI areas. g r o . s w

3. Aside from the central Specific Ability and Integrative Model approaches to EI, some psychologists have suggested a third approach to the field: Mixed Model approaches. Such models mix diverse attributes, such as assertiveness, flexibility, and the need for

















iterations of the Wechsler and Standford-Binet tests, drawing in part on such taxonomies, added scales to assess previously underemphasized abilities. 2. What else does EI predict beyond the findings summarized here? Researchers already have















DISCLOSURES John D. Mayer is an author of the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test and receives royalties from that test. Richard D. Roberts works at the Center for New Constructs of Educational Testing Service and is developing for that organization, and also for other















Beasley K. 1987. The emotional quotient. Br Br.. Mensa Mag., May, p. 25 Beck AT, Rush AJ, Shaw BF, Emery G. 1979. Cognitive Therapy of Depression. New York: Guilford Boone RT, Buck R. 2004. Emotion receiving ability: a new view of measuring individual















Denham SA, Blair KA, DeMulder E, Levitas J, Sawyer K, Auerbach-Major S. 2003. Preschool emotional competence: pathway to social competence. Child Dev. 74:238–56 Dunn EW, Brackett MA, Ashton-James C, Schneiderman E, Salovey P. 2007. On emotionally intelligent time travel: individual differences in affective forecasting ability. Personal. Soc.















Hatfield E, Cacioppo J, Rapson RL. 1994. Emotional Contagion. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press Hilgard ER. 1980. The trilogy of mind: cognition, affection, and conation. J. Hist. Behav. Sci. 16:107–17































































































Human Abilities: Emotional Intelligence

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