Emotional Intelligence in Everyday Life

Joseph Ciarrochi, Joseph P. Forgas, John D. Mayer, John H. Beck

• Publisher: Psychology Press
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781135205713
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: History & Theory in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

Since the release of the very successful first edition in 2001, the field of emotional intelligence has grown in sophistication and importance. Many new and talented researchers have come into the field and techniques in EI measurement have dramatically increased so that we now know much more about the distinctiveness and utility of the different EI measures. There has also been a dramatic upswing in research that looks at how to teach EI in schools, organizations, and families.In this second edition, leaders in the field present the most up-to-date research on the assessment and use of the emotional intelligence construct. Importantly, this edition expands on the previous by providing greater coverage of emotional intelligence interventions.As with the first edition, this second edition is both scientifically rigorous, yet highly readable and accessible to a non-specialist audience. It will therefore be of value to researchers and practitioners in many disciplines beyond social psychology, including areas of basic research, cognition and emotion, organizational selection, organizational training, education, clinical psychology, and development psychology.

PART
I
	FUNDAMENTAL ISSUES

1 CHAPTER	John D. Mayer

A New Field Guide to Emotional Intelligence

□ Introduction

This chapter addresses seven questions about the field of emotional intelligence beginning with: (1) “How did the field begin (and how was it popularized)?” Although the field began in a scientific context, it was then popularized and the scientific and popular concepts diverged. Consequently, one must ask (2) “Which emotional intelligence are we talking about?” The conceptions of EI vary dramatically, leading to, (3) “Is EI a new ability or a repackaged approach to personality psychology?” When it comes time to measure EI, another question is, (4) “What type of data best reflect emotionally intelligent thinking?” It is also useful to ask, (5) “What do we know about how approaches to studying EI interrelate?” The influence of popular claims is addressed in (6) “How important is EI?” and more serious reflections on the field are considered with the question (7) “Why is EI important?”

□ A New Field Guide to Emotional Intelligence

The field of emotional intelligence began within psychology, but is now a subject studied by those in education, human resources, and psychiatry, among others. It is anchored by popular magazines and articles, on the one hand, and rigorous academic work, on the other. Consequently, definitions, claims, measures, and approaches are as diverse as they can possibly be—and the person first encountering the field is likely to wonder how to make sense of it all. To provide a field guide, this chapter will briefly discuss seven questions. First, “How did the field begin (and how was it popularized)?” This question is central to understanding the diversity of constituencies and definitions employed in the field. In fact, the field is so diverse and has so many competing interests, that the second question, “Which emotional intelligence are we talking about?” is truly critical. A closely allied question asks, “Is EI a new ability or a repackaged approach to personality psychology?” When it is time to study EI, critical questions include, “What type of data best reflect emotionally intelligent thinking?” and “What do we know about how approaches to studying EI interrelate?” The last two questions concern the significance of the area. Many astonishing claims have been made for emotional intelligence. One question, “How important is EI?” addresses such claims and asks whether they could possibly be true. The final question “Why is EI important?” is in many ways a rejoinder to the popular claims. That is, if those claims are untrue, does emotional intelligence still matter?

The discussion of the above questions will be focused on upholding reasonable conceptual standards that make a science worth studying. So, throughout the chapter a concerted effort will be made to discuss the field in a critical, careful fashion. In particular, I will advocate for such matters as: (a) a history of the field based on a reasonable understanding of the areas that led up to it, (b) terminology that is consistent with existing research in psychology, (c) measures that are valid, and (d) realism concerning predictive claims. People interpret such things as terminology, validity, and realism differently, of course, and that is where the more serious and interesting controversies arise.

□ How Did the Field Begin (and How Was It Popularized)?

Philosophical considerations of the relations between thought and emotion in Western culture go back over 2000 years [1–2]. Here, however, I concentrate on activities in psychology from 1900 onward, using a fivefold division of years: (1) from 1900 to 1969, during which the psychological study of intelligence and emotions were relatively separate; (2) from 1970 to 1989, when psychologists focused on how emotions and thought influenced one another; (3) from 1990 to 1994, which marked the emergence of emotional intelligence as a topic of study; (4) from 1995 to 1996, when the concept was popularized, and (5) the present era of clarifying research. Table 1.1 provides an overview of these five periods of time and a few key books and articles related to each.

TABLE 1.1. The emergence of the emotional intelligence concept: An overview

1900–1969: Intelligence and Emotions as Separate, Narrow Fields	Intelligence research. The realm of psychological testing for intelligence was developed during this period and a sophisticated technology of intelligence tests arose (see [3] for a review). Emotions research. In the separate field of emotion, debate centered on the chicken-and-egg problem of which happens first: physiological reaction, or emotion. In other areas of work, Darwin had argued for the heritability and evolution of emotional responses, but during this time, emotion was often viewed as culturally determined, largely a product of pathology, and idiosyncratic (see [4] for a review of Darwin's work). The search for social intelligence. As intelligence testing emerged, the focus was on verbal and propositional intelligence. A number of psychologists sought to identify a social intelligence as well; however, efforts in this direction were discouraging and conceptions of intelligence remained cognitive.
1970–1989: Precursors to Emotional Intelligence	Cognition and affect. The precursors to emotional intelligence were put into place in this two-decade period. The field of cognition and affect emerged to examine how emotions interacted with thoughts. Researchers suggested that depressed people might be more realistic and accurate than others and that mood swings might enhance creativity [5]. The field of nonverbal communication developed scales devoted to perception of nonverbal information—some of it emotional—in faces and posture [6]. Those in the field of artificial intelligence examined how computers might understand and reason about the emotional aspects of stories [7]. Multiple intelligences. Gardner [8] described an “intrapersonal intelligence,” which involved, among other things, the capacity to perceive and symbolize emotions. Social intelligence. For example, empirical work on social intelligence found that it divided into social skills, empathy skills, prosocial attitudes, social anxiety, and emotionality (sensitivity) [9]. Brain research began to separate out connections between emotion and cognition (e.g., [10]). Occasional use of the term, “emotional intelligence” was made [11], [12, pp. 103, 107].
1990–1993: The Emergence of Emotional Intelligence	The four-year period beginning the 1990s saw the first sustained development of the first concept of emotional intelligence. The article, “Emotional Intelligence” provided a first review of areas potentially relevant to an emotional intelligence. At the same time, a demonstration study, including the first ability measure of emotional intelligence under that name, was published. An editorial in the journal Intelligence argued for the existence of an emotional intelligence as an actual intelligence (see [13–15]). During this time, further foundations of emotional intelligence were developed, particularly in the brain sciences (e.g., [16]).
1995–1997: The Popularization and Broadening of Emotional Intelligence	Goleman, a science journalist, published the popular book, Emotional Intelligence, loosely modeled on the academic writings in the area (see above). The book became a world-wide best seller and was widely copied. TIME Magazine used the term “EQ” on its cover. A number of personality scales were published under the name of emotional intelligence (e.g., [17–19]).
1998-present: Research on and Institutionalization of Emotional Intelligence	A number of refinements to the concept of emotional intelligence took place, along with the introduction of new measures of the concept, and a growing number of peer-reviewed research articles on the topic. These have now become too numerous to enumerate.

The period from 1900 to 1969 was an era of research into separate areas of intelligence and emotion. During this time, the area of intelligence emerged, and intelligence tests were first developed, explored, and understood. In emotions research, early investigators were focused on a chicken-and-egg problem: would a person who encountered a stressful situation such as meeting a bear in the woods first respond physiologically (e.g., with an increased heart rate) and then feel emotion, or was the emotional feeling primary followed by physiological changes. A second problem focused on whether emotions held universal meaning, or whether they were culturally determined and idiosyncratic. Darwin had argued that emotions evolved across animal species; this was met with skepticism by social psychologists who believed that emotions were manifested differently in different cultures (see [4] for a review).

The second era, 1970–1989, was a time when several precursors of emotional intelligence were put into place. Whereas intelligence and emotion previously had been considered separate fields, they were now integrated in the new field of “cognition and affect” (i.e., thought and emotion). Within this area, researchers sought lawful rules of what emotions meant and when they arose. In this pursuit, earlier philosophical writings concerning the logic of emotions were rediscovered and examined, notably those of the Enlightenment philosopher Spinoza. Researchers reasserted Darwin's idea that emotions had evolved across species, and that, from an evolutionary perspective, emotions were universal expressions of internal feelings and formed a universal language of relationships. The influence of emotion on thought was examined in extreme cases, such as in depressed individuals, as well as those suffering from bipolar disorder (manic depression).

Researchers in artificial intelligence became interested in whether expert systems could be developed in the form of computer programs that could understand the feelings of characters in stories. To do this required drawing on the same basic laws of emotions and their meanings studied in cognition and affect. There was a small but definite interchange among researchers in artificial intelligence, and those studying cognition and affect (see [20] for a review).

Although the term “emotional intelligence” was used sporadically during this time, it was never defined or described in any definite way—probably because the foundations of the concept were still being developed. Such d...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• About the Editors
• List of Contributors
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Introduction
• Part I Fundamental Issues
• Part II Applications of Emotional Intelligence Research to Everyday Life
• Part III Integration and Conclusions
• Author Index
• Subject Index