Emotional Intelligence Is a Concept of Current

Emotional Intelligence is a concept of current interest, largely communicated to the public through Goleman's bestselling book on the subject, Emotional Intelligence. The book itself is based on psychological theories and research that date back as far as the 1920's. To understand emotional intelligence it is necessary to consider the psychological research that supports the book.

The concept of emotional intelligence first surfaced in the psychology literature in 1920, as what was then defined as 'social intelligence.' Thorndike described three types of intelligence: abstract intelligence; concrete intelligence; and social intelligence. Social intelligence was defined as "the ability to understand and manage men and women, boys and girls -- to act wisely in human relations" (Thorndike 228).

In the 1940's, Wechsler distinguished between 'intellective' and 'non-intellective' abilities and also predicted that the 'non-intellective' factors would be a greater predictor of success in life than 'intellective' factors,

The main question is whether non-intellective, that is affective and conative abilities, are admissible as factors of general intelligence. (My contention) has been that such factors are not only admissible but necessary. I have tried to show that in addition to intellective there are also definite non-intellective factors that determine intelligent behavior" (Wechsler 444).

In 1983 Gardner proposed a theory of multiple intelligences where he described two types of intelligence that made up social intelligence: interpersonal intelligence and intrapersonal intelligence,

Interpersonal intelligence is the ability to understand other people: what motivates them, how they work, how to work cooperatively with them. Successful salespeople, politicians, teachers, clinicians, and religious leaders are all likely to be individuals with high degrees of interpersonal intelligence. Intrapersonal intelligence... is a correlative ability, turned inward. It is a capacity to form an accurate, veridical model of oneself and to be able to use that model to operate effectively in life" (Gardner 111).

Gardner also described five types of abilities that made up social intelligence: self-awareness, managing emotions, motivating oneself, empathy; and handling relationships.

In 1990 the term 'emotional intelligence' was coined, being defined as "a type of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one's own and others' emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use the information to guide one's thinking and actions" (Mayer & Salovey 433).

Daniel Goleman later made emotional intelligence a worldwide phenomenon when he published his best-selling book Emotional Intelligence in 1995. It is from this work that the general population has become aware of emotional intelligence. It is also from this work that the idea has been applied to all types of situations, from how to achieve career success to how to teach children.

The book incorporates much of the previous psychological literature discussed. It includes the five characteristics of self-awareness, mood management, self-motivation, empathy, and managing relationships that Gardner proposed. It also defines emotional intelligence as Mayer and Salovey did.

The book also argues that emotional intelligence is more important than IQ and that there should be more of a focus on teaching us how to be emotionally intelligent. Goleman argues that the key to success is understanding how to learn. He further describes seven key ingredients that are needed to achieve this understanding: confidence, curiosity, intentionality, self-control, relatedness, capacity to communicate, and ability to cooperate.

Goleman also argues that "emotional intelligence is a master aptitude, a capacity that profoundly affects all other abilities, either facilitating or interfering with them" (Goleman 80).

The wide focus of emotional intelligence has meant that is has been applied to everything from workplace relations to family relations, with the basic idea being promoted that emotional intelligence is a predictor of success in any area of life.

Mayer warns against the acceptance of the popular version of emotional intelligence, warning that there are two forms of emotional intelligence, "one is the popular culture world of best-selling books, daily newspapers and magazines. The other is the world of scientific journals, book chapters and peer review" (Mayer).

Mayer summarizes his claims saying that "the popular literature's implication -- that highly emotionally intelligent people possess an unqualified advantage in life -- appears overly enthusiastic at present and unsubstantiated by reasonable scientific standards" (Mayer). Mayer concludes by saying that emotional intelligence "broadens our understanding of what it means to be smart."