Personality
Emotional Intelligence
The disputed but useful construct of perceiving, understanding, and regulating emotions in self and others
Emotional intelligence (EI) refers to the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions in oneself and others. Peter Salovey and John Mayer introduced the term in 1990, defining EI as a four-branch ability — perceiving, using, understanding, and managing emotions — measurable with the MSCEIT test. Daniel Goleman's 1995 trade book Emotional Intelligence popularized a broader, mixed-model conception that blended ability with personality traits and motivational dispositions. The two strands diverge sharply: ability EI shows modest but real correlations with workplace and academic outcomes (r ~ 0.20), while trait EI questionnaires correlate strongly with the Big Five personality factors and predict outcomes mainly through that overlap. The construct remains scientifically contested — strongest in the Mayer-Salovey ability tradition, most commercially exaggerated in popular adaptations.
- Coined bySalovey & Mayer (1990)
- Popularized byDaniel Goleman (1995)
- Four-branch modelPerceive, use, understand, manage emotions
- Main ability testMSCEIT (Mayer, Salovey, Caruso, 2002)
- Trait-EI overlap~80% variance shared with Big Five (Petrides 2009)
- Workplace effect (ability)r ~ 0.20 with job performance (Joseph & Newman 2010)
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Why emotional intelligence matters
- Workplace performance. Modest but real correlations with job success, especially in emotionally demanding roles like nursing, sales, and management.
- Leadership. Self-awareness and emotion regulation distinguish effective leaders; abrasive managers often score low on managing emotions.
- Therapy and clinical work. Therapists with high EI build stronger alliances and have better client outcomes.
- Education. Social-emotional learning programs (CASEL framework) measurably improve school climate and reduce behavioral problems.
- Relationships. Emotion-recognition and regulation skills predict marital satisfaction and conflict resolution outcomes.
- Healthcare. Physician empathy ratings correlate with patient adherence and self-reported outcomes.
- Sales and negotiation. Reading counterparts' emotional states gives measurable advantages in deal closure rates.
Common misconceptions
- EI matters more than IQ. Not supported by data; IQ remains the stronger predictor of most outcomes.
- EI is one thing. Ability EI and trait EI measure different constructs and predict different outcomes.
- Empathy equals EI. Empathy is one component; EI also includes self-awareness, regulation, and strategic use of emotion.
- Women have higher EI universally. Small mean differences exist on some measures, but distributions overlap massively and direction depends on the test.
- EI training transforms organizations. Training improves EI scores; downstream organizational effects are smaller and inconsistent.
- High EI means manipulation. EI is value-neutral; high-EI individuals can be ethical or exploitative depending on their motives.
Frequently asked questions
What is emotional intelligence?
The ability to perceive emotions accurately, use emotions to facilitate thinking, understand emotional language and meaning, and regulate emotions in oneself and others. Salovey and Mayer (1990) framed it as a cognitive ability paralleling general intelligence. Daniel Goleman (1995) expanded the concept into a mixed model including motivation, empathy, and social skill, which made the term famous but also blurred the science.
What is the four-branch model?
Mayer and Salovey's (1997) refined model has four branches in increasing complexity. (1) Perceiving emotions — reading faces, tone, body language. (2) Using emotions — leveraging mood for cognition (sad mood for editing, happy mood for brainstorming). (3) Understanding emotions — grasping how emotions blend, transition, and signal. (4) Managing emotions — regulating one's own and influencing others'. The MSCEIT measures each branch.
How is it measured?
Two main approaches. Ability EI is measured by performance tests like the MSCEIT, which has correct answers determined by expert consensus or general agreement. Trait EI is measured by self-report questionnaires (TEIQue, EQ-i 2.0). The two approaches correlate weakly (r ~ 0.2-0.3) — they measure different things. Trait EI overlaps heavily with the Big Five, especially extraversion, neuroticism (reversed), and conscientiousness.
Does it predict success?
Modestly, depending on which version. Joseph and Newman's (2010) meta-analysis found ability EI predicts job performance r ~ 0.21, with strongest effects in emotionally demanding jobs (sales, healthcare, customer service). Trait EI shows higher correlations but most of those vanish after controlling for personality and IQ. Goleman's stronger claims about EI mattering more than IQ are not empirically supported.
Is EI better than IQ?
No — and this is one of the most overstated claims in popular psychology. IQ remains the strongest single predictor of academic and career success across decades of meta-analyses. Ability EI adds incremental validity (a few percentage points) above IQ and personality, mainly in roles requiring emotional labor. The "EI matters twice as much as IQ" framing from popular books is not in the peer-reviewed literature.
Can EI be trained?
Yes, modestly. Mattingly and Kraiger's (2019) meta-analysis of 58 EI training studies found a moderate effect (g ~ 0.46) on EI scores after training, with effects holding in follow-up. Specific skills like emotion recognition and regulation strategies (cognitive reappraisal, mindfulness) train more readily than broader trait EI. Workplace EI programs show smaller effects on performance than on EI itself.
Why is it controversial?
Three reasons. (1) The construct sprawls — ability vs trait vs mixed models measure different things sold under one label. (2) Trait EI overlaps heavily with personality, raising concerns about old wine in new bottles. (3) Commercial overreach by consultants, training companies, and bestsellers has inflated claims well beyond data. Mayer himself has repeatedly distinguished his scientific construct from popular usage.