Emotional Intelligence History Models and Measures
Emotional Intelligence History Models and Measures
Emotional Intelligence History Models and Measures
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ABSTRACT
The concept of Emotional Intelligence (EI) has generated unparallel interest both in the lay and scientific
fields; it has also become a topic of rapid interest for researchers and academicians. EI is considered to be one
of the hottest buzzwords in today’s corporate world because it has overshadowed other less spectacular
classical psychological concepts such as Intelligence Quotient (IQ) and personality. The present study is an
attempt to summarize the literature available on EI by discussing the evolution of the term Emotional
Intelligence and various definitions of EI. It also clarifies the concept of EI by reviewing different models of EI
and discussing the various measures used to access EI. The paper further throws light on EI in the Indian
Context by finding the roots of EI in The Bhagavad-Gita. Further it will reason why EI is important for both
personal and professional growth and well being.
I. INTRODUCTION
Emotional Intelligence in the simplest words refers to the ability to recognize and regulate emotions in ourselves
and others [1] to make effective decisions [2], [3]. EI may be a relatively new term, not more than 25 years old
but the roots of EI can be found in The Bhagavad-Gita, 5000 years ago where Krishna‘s Sthithapragnya
(Emotionally stable person) is very close to Mayer and Salovey‘s Emotionally Intelligent person [4] and also the
work of Plato, 2000 years ago where he stated, ―All learning has an emotional base‖ [5]. Since then, researchers,
scientists, educators, and philosophers have worked to prove or disprove the importance of feelings and
emotions in day to day life [5].
Though we experience a wide range of emotions in our daily life its effect on human behaviour has always been
a topic of argument [6]. Unfortunately, for a large part of last two millennia, common thought was, ―Emotions
are in the way, they keep us from making good decisions, and they keep us from focusing‖ [7]. In the last three
decades, a growing body of research is proving just the opposite by suggesting that Emotions are valuable
signals that help us survive and thrive [8]. Over the last few decades, beliefs about emotions and intelligence
have both changed — where intelligence was once perfection, people were recognizing that there was more to
life [10].
Where emotion was once perdition, people were recognizing that it might have substantive value [11]. This was
the result of the work of psychologists in the 19 th century where they began to link emotions to thought which
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further led to rigorous research on the relation of emotion and thought and that is when the concept of EI was
formally getting existence. In early 1900s Thorndike [12] describes the concept of social intelligence as the
ability to get along with other people by being able to understand the internal states, motives and behaviours of
oneself and others, this concept is very close to the present day concept of EI. Soon after, Wechsler [13]
developed the concept of non-cognitive intelligence stating that it is essential for success in life and intelligence
is not complete until we are not able to define its non cognitive aspects [14]. In the later part of the century
Gardner [15] in his book Frames of Mind introduced multiple intelligences and the present day EI is
somewhere close to two of those seven intelligences; Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Intelligence [14], [16]
In 1990, Psychologists Peter Salovey and John Mayer published their landmark article, ―Emotional Intelligence‖
where they considered EI as a form of intelligence defining EI as the ability to monitor one‘s own and others
feelings and emotions to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide ones thinking and
actions [17]. The concept of EI got popularized after the publication on Daniel Goleman's book ―Emotional
Intelligence: Why It can Matter More than IQ‖ [18] which he wrote after being inspired by the works of Salovey
and Mayer [19], [20]. He defined Emotional Intelligence as an ability which include self-control, zeal and
persistence and the ability to motivate one-self [18]. Another prominent researcher in the field of EI is Reuven
Bar-On who is the originator of the term ―emotional Quotient‖ [21]; he defines EI as understanding oneself and
others, relating to people and adapting to and coping with the immediate surroundings to be more successful in
dealing with environmental demands [22]. This paper will review the literature available on emotional
Intelligence and a brief description of the three most important models of EI will be given along with the
different measures used to assess EI, it also discusses EI in the Indian Context by throwing light on the work
done in the field of EI in India.
1930s - Edward Thorndike described the concept of social intelligence as the ability to get along with other
people by being able to understand the internal states, motives and behaviours of oneself and others [23].
1940s – David Wechsler developed the concept of non-cognitive intelligence stating that it is essential for
success in life intelligence is not complete until we are not able to define its non cognitive aspects [24].
1950s – Humanistic Psychologist Abraham Maslow suggested that people can build emotional strength [25].
1975 - Howard Gardner introduces the concept of multiple Intelligences in his book The Shattered Mind [26].
1983 - Howard Gardner in his book Frames of Mind introduced Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Intelligence and
said it is as important as IQ [15].
1985 - Wayne Payne used the term emotional intelligence in his doctoral dissertation entitled,' A study of
emotion: Developing emotional intelligence; self-integration; relating to fear, pain and desire.‘ (Theory,
structure of reality, problem-solving, contraction/expansion, tuning in/coming out/letting go)" [27].
1987 – In an article published in Mensa Magazine, Keith Beasley used the term "emotional quotient." It has
been suggested that this is the first published use of the term, although Reuven Bar-On claims to have used the
term in an unpublished version of his graduate thesis [28].
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1990 - Psychologists Peter Salovey and John Mayer published their landmark article, ―Emotional Intelligence‖
in the journal Imagination, Cognition, and Personality [17].
1995 - The concept of EI got popularized after the publication on Daniel Goleman's book ―Emotional
Intelligence: Why It can Matter More than IQ‖ [18].
Table 1. Five Periods of Development in Emotions and Intelligence in Past Century [29], [30].
Intelligence Research
1900-1969 Psychometric approach to intelligence is developed and refined.
Emotions Research
Intelligence and Emotions as -Debate which happens first: physiological reaction or emotion.
Separate Narrow Fields -Movement from Darwin‘s theory for heritability and evolution of
emotional responses to now being viewed as culturally
determined.
-Social Intelligence [12] as concept is introduced.
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III. DEFINITIONS OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
According to Emmerling & Goleman [32], there are various definitions of EI that are complementary to each
other; each one aims at understanding one‘s own and others emotions. In 1990, Salovey & Mayer [17] coined
the term ―Emotional Intelligence‖ and they defined Emotional Intelligence as a subset of social intelligence that
involves the ability to monitor one's own and others‘ feelings and emotions to discriminate among them and to
use this information to guide one‘s thinking and actions. This was the very first definition of EI which was then
redefined in 1997 and it stated EI as, "the ability to perceive and express emotion, assimilate emotion in thought,
understand and reason with emotion and regulate emotion in self and others‖ [33]. Review of literature suggests
that this definition of EI is accepted and adopted by most of the scholars and researchers around the world [34].
Goleman published his book Emotional Intelligence, Why it matters more than IQ and it instantly became a
worldwide best seller, he defined EI as an ability which include self-control, zeal and persistence and the ability
to motivate oneself [18] and later he redefined EI as the capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those of
others, for motivating ourselves and for managing emotions effectively in ourselves and others [35]. Bar-On
[21] introduced the term ‗Emotional Quotient‘ (EQ) in his doctoral dissertation as an analogue to Intelligent
Quotient (IQ). He defined emotional intelligence as ―an array of non cognitive capabilities, competencies and
skills that influence one‘s ability to succeed in coping with environmental demands and pressures‖ [22]. The
most compendious definition of EI was offered by Martinez [30] he defined EI against most common
definitions, as non-cognitive skills, which surrounds skills that help person in dealing with daily life. He defined
EI as "an array of noncognitive skills, capabilities and competencies that influence a person's ability to cope
with environmental demands and pressures" [36].
The most formal definition of EI [30] refers to the ability to identify and express emotions, understand emotions,
assimilate emotions in thought, and regulate positive and negative emotions in oneself and others [37]. Talking
about competency in perception of emotion: it consists of recognition of emotion-related facial and voice cues
of others and awareness of one‘s own body states relating to emotion. Competency in understanding one‘s own
and others emotions involves knowing the causes and consequences of different emotions as well as being able
to differentiate between varying emotions [38]. This conceptualization suggest that the competencies of
perception, understanding, utilizing and managing emotions effectively in the self and others comprise the core
of emotional intelligence [38],[39],[40], [41]
Different theories attempt to understanding and explaining the skills, traits, and abilities associated with
emotional intelligence [42], [18], [43], [44]. While some might argue that the goal of research should be to
identify and define a singular theoretical framework to be labelled as the ―correct‖ version of emotional
intelligence, another approach would be to acknowledge that having multiple theories can often serve to
elucidate additional aspects of complex psychological constructs [32]. All of the theories and models in
conceptualization of EI are under the umbrella of three main lines of thought including: trait approach, ability
approach and mixed approach these are the models proposed by Mayer and Salovey, Bar-on and Goleman. Each
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of their theoretical framework conceptualise emotional intelligence from one of two perspectives: as a form of
pure intelligence consisting of mental ability only [17], or as a mixed intelligence consisting of both mental
ability and personality characteristics like optimism, adaptability and well-being.
Till now, the only ability model of emotional intelligence is that proposed by Mayer and Salovey [17], they
considered EI as a form of pure intelligence consisting of cognitive ability only. The two mixed models
distinguish from each other; the differences in which are attributed to the varying beliefs of what constitutes
emotional intelligence [4], [22], [43]. Reuven Bar-On [22] conceptualised a model with personality dimensions,
emphasizing the co-dependence of the ability aspects of emotional intelligence with personality traits and their
application to well-being. On the other hand, Daniel Goleman proposed a mixed model in terms of performance
by combining an individual‘s abilities and personality implementing their corresponding effects in the
workplace [1].
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impact while using gut feelings to guide decisions. Self-management, involves controlling one's emotions and
impulses and thereby adapting to changing circumstances. Social awareness consists of the ability to sense,
understand, and react to other's emotions while comprehending social networks. Finally, relationship
management entails the ability to inspire, influence, and develop others while managing conflict [43].
Goleman‘s model includes a set of emotional competencies within each construct of emotional intelligence, he
opined that Emotional competencies are not innate talents, rather learned capabilities that must be worked on
and developed to achieve outstanding performance.
Emotional intelligence can be measured in one of three ways; the first approach takes the form of a self-report
measure, second approach to measuring emotional intelligence involves informant measures like how others
perceive an individual and third approach involves ability or performance measures [33]. Ability and
performance measures are preferred by some researchers [33],[47]. The subject of EI has only recently received
worldwide interest and assessments are still in an early stage of development. Although there are some effective,
valid and reliable tools, much more research needs to be conducted in order to develop new assessments as well
as, evaluate and improve existing ones [48]. Following table listing some prevalent EI measures provides brief
information about each of them.
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Table 2. Different Measures of Emotional Intelligence.
1 Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Specific tasks are used to measure Performance based Mayer and
Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) level of ability of each branch of Salovey
emotional intelligence.
2 Emotional Quotient Inventory 133 self-report items measure total Self-Report Bar-On
(EQ-i) EQ and each of the 5 components
of the BarOn model
3 Emotional Competency Inventory A multi-rater instrument that provides Self-Report And Goleman
(ECI) ratings on a series of behavioural Other-Report
indicators of emotional intelligence
7 The Levels of Emotional Self Self-report measure based on Self-Report Lane and
Awareness Scale (LEAS) hierarchical generalisation of Schwartz
emotional intelligence like physical
sensations, action tendencies, single
emotions and blends of these
emotions.
8 The Genos Emotional (Genos EI) is a 360-degree measure of Multi - Rater or Self Benjamin
Intelligence Inventory (Genos emotionally intelligent workplace Assessment Palmer and
EI) behaviour. It measures how often Con Stough
individuals display emotionally
intelligent workplace behaviour
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9 The Group Emotional The instrument contains 57 items that Self-assessment Vanessa
Competence (GEC) Inventory measure the nine dimensions of GEI. Druskat and
GEC norms improve group Steven Wolff
effectiveness by building social
capital, which facilitates engagement
in effective task behaviours and
processes.
11 Work Group Emotional The WEIP6 captures two dimensions Self-Report Jordan et al.
Intelligence Profile (WEIP) of emotional intelligence: Ability to
Deal with Own Emotions (Scale 1: 18
items) and Ability to Deal with
Others' Emotions (Scale 2: 12 items)
12 Wong's Emotional Intelligence WEIS consists of two parts. The first Self-Report Wong et al
Scale (WEIS) part contains 20 scenarios and
respondents are required to choose
one option that best reflects their
likely reaction in each scenario. The
second part contains 20 ability pairs
and respondents are required to
choose one out of the two types of
abilities that best represent their
strengths.
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withdraws its head and legs inside the protective cover of its shell whenever it faces danger, so does an
emotionally stable person withdraw all his emotions and feelings within himself and remains unperturbed. He
has the power to emotionally attach or detach from any situation, at his will. This is not far from what Mayer
and Salovey list as the skills pertaining to the fourth branch of their ‗ability model‘ [50].
• Ability to be open to feelings, both pleasant and unpleasant • Ability to monitor and reflect on emotions •
Ability to engage, prolong, or detach from an emotional state • Ability to manage emotions in oneself, and the •
Ability to manage emotions in others.
As already discussed, there are many instruments to measure emotional intelligence; however, due to the
influence of culture, they cannot be used in other countries and contexts because culture effects emotions in
many ways; through the manner in which we perceive emotional stimuli, by altering emotional expressions, by
determining social relationships and judgements and by the ritualized rules for displaying of behaviour [51].
Therefore a new instrument to measure the emotional intelligence of individuals in the work environment of
Indian organizations was developed which had an initial scale of 86 items and subjected it to reliability and
validity tests, resulting in a final scale of 18 items. The Cronbach‘s Alpha values for the subscales, corrected
item to total correlations for all the items, content validity indices, and construct validity indices were also found
to be satisfactory. According to Krishnaveni [52], EI is the ability of an individual to perceive various emotional
stimuli associated with his/her self and his/her environment, appraise and regulate them, in order to produce
appropriate behavioural responses, resulting in improved intrapersonal and interpersonal outcomes.
Research conducted in the field of EI in India has been vast, talking about gender differences; the studies
conducted in India show gender have no influence on the EI of a person [53],[54],[55]. According to many other
studies on Leadership, it is clear that gender plays no role in effective leadership; it is the EI of the person which
influences leadership [55],[56],[57]. Studies show a significant relationship among dimensions of EI and
dimensions of organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) and in-role behaviour (IRB) [58]. It has also been
found that ultimately it is the emotional and personal competencies that we need to identify and measure if we
want to be able to predict performance at workplace resulting in its effectiveness, thereby enhancing the worth
of the human capital [59],[60]. EI has also been associated with cooperative solutions, which results in more
effective conflict management, [61], [62]. EI can also be used as a soft tool, to enhance the competencies of
individuals and teams in Indian organizations and help them to gain competitive advantage [63].
VII. CONCLUSION
This paper sought to review the literature on emotional by discussing the history of EI to the different theories
and measures of EI. Mayer and Salovey's four branch model of EI lays emphasis on emotional perception,
emotional assimilation, understanding and management [39],[4], whereas Reuven Bar-On [46] agrees on the
qualities of emotional self-awareness, self-actualization, interpersonal relationship, reality testing, stress
tolerance, optimism, happiness, etc. as those that decide the emotional intelligence of a person. Goleman [43] on
the other hand points out to emotional self-awareness, self-control, empathy, problem solving, conflict
management, leadership, etc. as the characteristics of an emotionally intelligent person. Emmerling & Goleman
[32] suggest that while each theory represents a unique set of constructs that depict the theoretical trend and
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context in which each of these authors have decided to frame their theory, all share a common propensity to
understand and measure the abilities and traits related to recognizing and regulating emotions in ourselves and
others. This paper also throws light on the work done in the field of EI in India in the past few years.
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