Daniel Coleman’s Emotional Intelligence (2005) explores a framework where self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and relationship skills define aptitude in a “personal” intelligence, which differs significantly with the commonly known intelligence quotient (IQ) variety. The theory was first conceived by Howard Gardner (1983) as “multiple intelligences” and was further refined into emotional intelligence (EI) by Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer in 1990.
Though the concept has risen in popularity in the past two decades, EI is surrounded by contention and controversy in the field of psychology. Edwin Locke (2005) of the University of Maryland went so far as to proclaim the theory is invalid, both because it does not constitute “intelligence” and, he feels, it is so broadly defined that there is no comprehensible significance. I largely side with Locke, as I read through Coleman’s book, I found concepts that loosely connect, or resemble, many other theories, such as strength finder, flow, the big 5 personality traits, and self-determination theory. The book itself seemed more of a commentary on brain development and functions mixed with loose allegories of emotional situations. Locke proposes that EI be replaced with the skill of introspection, a natural precursor to self-regulation, or that EI be renamed and defined as a new personality trait (Locke, 2005).
Locke is not alone in speculation of EI, there is speculation on whether it is a concept of cognition or personality (Conte & Landy, 2019). Additionally, critics have had trouble discerning the EI framework from existing theories of personality when psychometrically analyzed; though, they recognized that EI has potential and deserves further attention (Schaie, 2001).
Regardless of the controversy, the applications for EI seem defendable in two key fields: childhood development and industrial psychology. Coleman (2005) recognizes the tremendous impact events have on the forming brain, and thus provides examples of how more emotionally intelligent children are statistically more likely to outperform other children later in life, regardless of IQ. The individual abilities that comprise EI, whether a true form of intelligence or not, are equally applicable to organizational psychology (Hitt, Miller, & Colella, 2011)and developmental psychology (Coleman, 2005) for the same reasons: predicting life outcomes/job performance. In fact, a meta-analysis of studies supported that EI has considerable importance when paired with the big 5 personality assessment and IQ when predicting job performance, thus validating EI when applied to the labor market (O’Boyle, Humphrey, Pollack, Hawver, & Story, 2011). O’Boyle et al seem proper in including personality and IQ into the correlation, because as Locke (2005) states, leadership cannot exist void of true intelligence as well.
In conclusion, one could argue that the emotional intelligence theory may be controversial; however, the recognition of emotional skills in the workplace have merit, when used responsibly (Fineman, 2005). Coleman (2005) has an entire chapter relating EI to work performance, with much of the same repetition used in child rearing and marriage relationships. Emotional intelligence is a highly universal concept which may assist performance in any interpersonal situation.
References
Coleman, D. (2005). Emotional Intelligence. New York: Random House.
Conte, J. M., & Landy, F. J. (2019). Work In The 21st Century. Hoboken: Wiley.
Fineman, S. (2005). Appreciating emotion at work: paradigm tensions. International Journal of Work Organisation and Emotion, 1(1), 4-19.
Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intellegences. New York: Basic Books.
Hitt, M. A., Miller, C. C., & Colella, A. (2011). Organizational Behavior. Hoboken: Wiley.
Locke, E. A. (2005). Why emotional intelligence is an invalid concept. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26, 425–431.
O’Boyle, E. H., Humphrey, R. H., Pollack, J. M., Hawver, T. H., & Story, P. A. (2011). The relation between emotional intelligence and job performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 32, 788–818.
Salovey, P., & Mayer, J. D. (1990). Emotional intelligence. Imagination, Cognition, and Personality, 185-211.
Schaie, K. W. (2001, September). Emotional intelligence: psychometric status and developmental characteristics–comment on Roberts, Zeidner, and Matthews (2001). Emotion, 1(3), 243-248.