Emotional Intelligence in Organizations: EQ and Success
This paper examines the concept of emotional intelligence (EQ) within organizational contexts, tracing its historical development from Robert Thorndike's "social intelligence" in the 1930s through Salovey and Mayer's 1990 definition. The paper addresses three central questions: how reliable cognitive IQ is as a predictor of professional success, how reliable emotional intelligence is as a predictor of professional success, and what the relationship is between emotional intelligence and cognitive functioning. Drawing on research by Cherniss, Goleman, Boyatzis, and others, the paper argues that neither cognitive intelligence nor emotional intelligence alone reliably predicts professional outcomes. Rather, it is the integration of both that most consistently determines success, particularly in leadership roles. An annotated bibliography of key sources is included.
- Introduction to Emotional Intelligence: History, definitions, and scope of emotional intelligence
- Cognitive Intelligence as a Predictor of Professional Success: IQ's limited and variable predictive power for success
- Emotional Intelligence as a Predictor of Success: EQ accounts for substantial variance in professional outcomes
- Relationship of Emotional Intelligence and Cognitive Functioning: EQ and IQ are interdependent, not competing factors
- Annotated Bibliography: Critical evaluations of seven key sources used
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What makes this paper effective
- Grounds abstract concepts in concrete historical development, tracing emotional intelligence from Thorndike's 1930s "social intelligence" through Salovey and Mayer's 1990 formulation, giving the argument scholarly depth.
- Uses a structured three-question framework announced in the introduction, which keeps the analysis focused and reader-oriented throughout.
- Balances multiple definitions from different sources (Wechsler, Elder, Webster's) before synthesizing them, demonstrating careful engagement with the literature rather than reliance on a single authority.
- Includes a substantive annotated bibliography that reflects critically on each source's usefulness and limitations, showing genuine evaluative thinking.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective synthesis of competing evidence: rather than simply stacking citations, it builds a cumulative argument by first showing the limits of cognitive IQ, then establishing EQ as a predictor, and finally arguing that the two are interdependent. The quotation from Gilkey et al. on neural activity is used to bridge neuroscience and organizational behavior, illustrating how empirical evidence can anchor an interdisciplinary claim.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a historical overview and key definitions before posing three guiding research questions. Two analytical sections then address the research questions in sequence — cognitive IQ first, emotional intelligence second — before a synthesis section resolves the apparent opposition between the two. The annotated bibliography closes the paper, doubling as both a reference list and a source evaluation exercise appropriate for undergraduate-level research writing.
Introduction to Emotional Intelligence
The term emotional intelligence refers to a person's ability to identify and regulate his own emotions, as well as the ability to identify and respond appropriately to the emotions of others. The notion that emotional intelligence is linked to professional and commercial success has been around since the 1930s, when psychologist Robert Thorndike coined the phrase "social intelligence," essentially referring to intrapersonal and interpersonal communication skills. In 1948, the Office of Strategic Services developed the first assessment of "non-cognitive" brain functions, and in 1956, AT&T became the first corporation to utilize this assessment as a tool for measuring employees' emotional sensitivity, social communication skills, interpersonal skills, and the inclination to take initiative in social situations. In 1959, psychologist J.K. Hemphill and the Ohio State Leadership Studies "suggested that 'consideration' [of others' emotions, desires, and needs] was an important aspect of effective leadership," and in 1983, Howard Gardner referred to "multiple intelligence," suggesting a distinction between purely cognitive brain functions and non-cognitive functions (Cherniss, 2000). Researchers P. Salovey and J. Mayer coined the term "emotional intelligence" in 1990, describing it as "a form of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one's own and others' emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use this information to guide one's own thinking and action" (Cherniss, 2000). Studies conducted by Salovey and Mayer suggested that a high level of emotional clarity — that is, emotional intelligence — resulted in quicker recovery times from emotional upset and a heightened ability to adapt to change in social environments, resulting in reliable social networks.
In order to fully understand emotional intelligence, one must first have a solid understanding of intelligence itself. Researcher David Wechsler defines intelligence as "the aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with his environment" (Cherniss, 2000). Meanwhile, Adele Elder, author of "Cognition and Affect: Critical Thinking and Emotional Intelligence," defines intelligence as "the ability to learn or understand from experience or to respond successfully to new experiences," while Webster's New World Dictionary defines it more generally as "the ability to retain knowledge" (Elder, 1996). By contrast, emotion can be defined as "a state of consciousness having to do with the arousal of feelings," and feelings can be defined as "any of the subjective reactions, pleasant or unpleasant" to a given situation (Elder, 1996). Emotional intelligence, therefore, can be described as "a measure of the degree to which a person successfully (or unsuccessfully) applies sound judgment and reasoning to situations in the process of determining an emotional or feeling response to those situations" (Elder, 1996).
It has been suggested by numerous researchers — including Hemphill, Salovey, Wechsler, and David Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence (1998) — that a person's degree of emotional intelligence is as valid a predictor of professional success as cognitive IQ tests. For this reason, more and more organizations are employing tactics designed to measure the emotional intelligence of current and potential employees. The most commonly used tool for measuring emotional intelligence is the EQ-I assessment scale; however, the Multi-Factor EI Scale (MEIS) and the Emotional Composition Inventory (ECI) are commonly used as well. These tests are designed to measure emotional intelligence, cognitive intelligence, and the balance between the two in a given individual, based on the assumption that neither emotional intelligence nor cognitive intelligence alone can reliably predict professional success. Rather, it is the combination of emotional and cognitive intelligence that predicts success, as both components are required for successful performance in a socio-professional context.
For the purposes of this paper, the following questions are addressed with the support of related literature:
- How reliable is IQ — that is, cognitive intelligence — as a predictor of professional success?
- How reliable is emotional intelligence as a predictor of professional success?
- What is the relationship between emotional intelligence and cognitive functioning?
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