Emotional Intelligence The purpose of this paper is to exa

The purpose of this paper is to examine the literature on emotional intelligence and explore the potential of the concept for being operationalize as a measurement instrument. The review specifically seeks to answer two questions: (1) What is emotional intelligence; and (2) is it amenable to measurement? The paper ends with the formulation of conclusions concerning the efficacy of the concept for being amenable to measurement.

Emotional Intelligence: Definitions and Theoretical Models

The literature suggests that emotional intelligence is an interesting concept for two reasons. First, it may provide a clue as to the discrepancy between human behavior under conditions of uncertainty; for example, for tasks that show bias in human reasoning. The concept of emotional intelligence could also be important in problem-solving situations, particularly in jobs requiring interaction with the public (e.g. sales, advertising or hospitality).

But precisely what is emotional intelligence? The first problem in terms of assessing emotional intelligence is that researchers cannot seem to agree on what it is. According to Goleman (1995) emotional intelligence can be characterized in terms of self-awareness (emotional awareness associated with accurate self-assessment and self-confidence); self-regulation (emotional self-control, trustworthiness, conscientiousness, adaptability and innovation); motivation ( achievement, drive, commitment, initiative, optimism); empathy (understanding o

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m for some very familiar concepts of personality and intelligence. In summary then, there is no clear consensus on how to precisely define emotional intelligence. However, obviously for emotional intelligence to exist on a scientific level, it must be measurable. As might be expected, given differing definitions, the concept is currently being assessed in different ways. These differing instruments are examined in the next section of the paper. Assessment Considerations Can emotional intelligence be measured? As just noted, there are several different instruments currently being used to assess emotional intelligence. Cherniss (2000) points out that the original instrument used to assess emotional intelligence was the Bar-On=s EQ-I, which evolved as a clinical index designed to assess those personal qualities that enabled some people to possess better "emotional well-being" than others. Thus, the EQ-I can be said to be a measure of personality characteristics as "emotional intelligence." The assessment is made using self-report. The EQ-I has been used to assess thousands of individuals and, according to Cherniss (2000), has fairly good convergent and discriminate validity. Predictive ability, however, is not said to have been t

Category: Psychology - E