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Emotional Intelligence : Emotional Intelligence - Articles

Access to literature and other content on Emotional Intelligence.

One of the earliest mentions of emotional intelligence is in an article by Thorndike in the Harper’s Magazine from 1920.  Harper's Magazine published a wide variety of content and this issue included reproductions of fine art, stories, poems by Robert Frost and narratives of far off countries. Among these interesting reads is an article by Edward Thorndike, who was a Professor of Educational Psychology at Columbia University, discussing how people understand feelings and emotional responses. The article includes charts, images and several short test. 

Thorndike, E. L. (1920, January). Intelligence and its uses. Harper’s Magazine, 140, 227-230. https://library.highpoint.edu/archives/timeline/Thorndike.pdf

When we started this literature review, we found that there is a concentration of current research on EI beginning in 1990 to about 2010 or so. At that point writers/researchers added other subjects to the topic such as alienation, giftedness, leadership, teacher effectiveness, social intelligence, communication skills, and so on. This often happens when a topic matures, and researchers move on to new or modified versions of the original topic.

Another oddity, which often happens in research literature, is the topic often becomes important in other cultures and researchers in those countries start researching and writing about the topic. Consequently, there is less current domestic research on the topic but there are some quite good and very current articles being published in India and China. They write about on EI or EQ as if it is a fresh topic.

Articles

Definitions:

  • “The ability to recognize the meanings of emotions and their relationships, and to reason and problem-solve on the basis of them” (Mayer, Caruso, & Salovey, 1999, p. 267)

  • Brackett, Casey, & Brackett, M. A. (2009). Emotional intelligence. In H. T. Reis & S. Sprecher (Eds.), (1st ed.).  Encyclopedia of Human Relationships

According to this article in the  Encyclopedia of Human Relationships.

"The term emotional intelligence (EI) was introduced to the scholarly literature in 1990 in two journal articles written by Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer. These researchers proposed a model to explain individual differences in people's ability to use emotion-related information to enhance thinking and problem solving. In 1997, Mayer and Salovey revised their model and published a formal theory that defined EI as a set of four mental abilities pertaining to the perception, use, understanding, and regulation of emotion. 

EI was popularized in 1995 by Daniel Goleman in his bestselling book on the topic. Since then, a variety of “mixed” conceptualizations of the construct have emerged." 

Academic Success:

A student’s choice of major is influenced by their parents and peers, as well as by the quality of the college department that offers the major and by broader cultural and economic issues. The student’s own personality, including their ability to reason about themselves and their interests, also contributes to the choice and its outcomes. The results depicted a pattern that the students who better understood personality and were more engaged in choosing a major, compared to others, considered more majors initially, chose a major more quickly, and exhibited better academic outcomes subsequently. (Abstract from the article)

Timely degree completion is a topic of interest for numerous stakeholders, including university officials, students, and parents. Unfortunately, a significant number of students encounter challenges within university settings that postpone degree completion or contribute to academic dropout. The available literature suggests that emotional intelligence functions as a protective factor that promotes academic resilience and decreases the likelihood of academic dropout.  (Abstract from the article)

College Students:

Emotional intelligence (EI) is reliably associated with better mental health. A growing body of evidence suggests that EI acts as a protective buffer against some psychosocial stressors to promote adaptation. However, little is known about how the two principle forms of EI (trait and ability) work together to impact underlying stressor-health processes in adolescence. (Abstract from the article)

Alienation refers to the condition in which a person is cut off from his own real or natural self, from reality and from the society and other fellow beings. The objectives of the study were to assess and compare alienation and E.I. among male and female college students and to explore the relationship between alienation and E.I. among male and female college students. (Abstract from the article)

The transition from high school to post-secondary education presents challenges for students. Many variables have been identified as significant predictors of student achievement. Resiliency, defined as the ability to overcome challenges and adversity, may be particularly relevant during the adjustment to post-secondary education. Findings suggest that self-efficacy is a salient predictor of academic success, and that strong academic skills may serve as a protective factor for poor adaptability. (Abstract from the article)

Leadership:

The purpose of this study is to empirically test whether it is possible to deliberately develop emotional intelligence (EI) as conceptualized in the Mayer and Salovey model.  In addition to illustrating EI training best practices, a new EI measure is described that is appropriate for leadership development. Research implications are discussed for the role of EI training in leadership development programs and fertile research directions for EI training. This study provides an empirical EI training study that overcomes the conceptual and methodological limitations of extant research on the EI development process.

The study was conducted to add to the knowledge base and further the understanding of Emotional Intelligence and leadership theory. When examining the range in which first-year freshmen students and graduating seniors fell, the results indicated that both groups of students fell within the same range for all areas of the Personal Excellence Map (PEM), which were develop, strengthen, and enhance categories of personal excellence and leadership.

Teaching and the classroom: 

There are a number of different definitions of emotional intelligence in the psychological literature, but in general, it is defined as the ability to identify, regulate, and manage emotions in the self and in others. Research indicates that higher levels of emotional intelligence are associated with a range of positive outcomes, such as better workplace performance and physical and mental health. Good teachers need a strong emotional intelligence understanding what makes a particular student "tick" emotionally can be important in helping with individual learning. (Abstract from the article)

There has been a growing emphasis within the accounting profession on the importance of interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence. The study begins the process of determining the extent of accountants' emotional intelligence competencies, which encompass interpersonal skills considered essential for today's accounting professional. (Abstract from the article)

This article presents a series of experiential exercises designed to use visual arts and poetry in classroom settings to increase students' awareness and recognition of emotion-two key components of emotional intelligence. Drawing on the liberal arts in the manner described in the exercises provides the instructor with a context in which students can examine emotions and also helps business faculty blend the skills and competencies students acquire during their studies in the liberal arts with career preparation the students receive in the traditional business administration curriculum. (Abstract from the article)

Work and professionalism:  

  • Emmadi, Sree Ranganadh, Emotional Intelligence: A Tool for Success (Novmeber 21, 2017). International Journal of Management, IT & Engineering Vol. 7 Issue 11, November 2017, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4225266

Emotional Intelligence (EI) must somehow combine two of the three states of mind cognition and affect, or intelligence and emotion. Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to perceive, control, and evaluate emotions. Some researchers suggest that emotional intelligence can be learned and strengthened, while other claim it is an inborn characteristic. Emotional Intelligence is not about being soft! It is a different way of being smart - having the skill to use his or her emotions to help them make choices in the moment and have more effective control over themselves and their impact on others.  (Abstract from the article)

This study sought to investigate the role of emotional intelligence in both extrinsic and intrinsic career success in early and later career stages. Specifically, we examined the predictive and incremental validity of emotional intelligence in career success after controlling for personality factors. When the dependent variable was job satisfaction, emotional intelligence acted as a strong predictor, even when personality traits and proactive personality were controlled. These findings provide preliminary evidence that emotional intelligence is a relevant addition to guide the achievement of career success. (Abstract from the article)

Dissertation:  

The purpose of this study was to determine if higher academic performance was positively correlated to higher emotional intelligence among traditional age male and female college students enrolled in an Introduction to Business course at a large multi-campus state college in Florida. The Bar-On 2004 (Emotional Quotient Inventory) EQ-i 133-item inventory was used to assess students’ emotional intelligence. Within the scope of this ex-post facto study, a quasi-experimental design was included to further determine if emotional intelligence could be increased through the inclusion of a curricular component on emotional intelligence. Four groups of students (N=111) participated in the three-phase study over two semesters. The first phase (pre-intervention) was limited to students with an established GPA and an attempted-to-completed credit hour ratio within the institution (N=82). Results showed a slight positive correlation between the two factors and the students’ emotional intelligence pretest assessment scores. The second phase of the study involved establishing a control and an experimental group in each of two semesters to compare the attainment of overall emotional intelligence scores as measured by the EQ-i. The third phase of the study examined four measures of academic success (GPA, the attempted-to-completed credit hour ratio, grade in the business course, and persistence in college) to determine if these factors were positively correlated with the students’ post-test EQ-i scores. The study also included a research question to determine if significant differences in overall EQ-i scores existed between male and female students during the three phases.

 Test and Testing: