Emotional intelligence and the construction and regulation of feelings

TLDR

Emotionally intelligent individuals regulate emotions using a logically consistent model of emotional functioning. The study identifies and compares emotion‑regulation models, applies an internally consistent model to interventions across non‑, low‑, and high‑consciousness levels, and links the concept to personality and clinical psychology. The authors review research on emotion construction and regulation at each consciousness level, compare multiple regulation models, and apply an internally consistent framework to guide interventions. The study demonstrates that emotionally intelligent regulation can be applied to personality and clinical psychology.

Abstract

Emotionally intelligent people are defined in part as those who regulate their emotions according to a logically consistent model of emotional functioning. We indentify and compare several models of emotion regulation; for example, one internally consistent model includes tenets such as "happiness should be optimized over the lifetime." Next, we apply that internally consistent model to the way a person can intervene in mood construction and regulation at non-, low-, and high-conscious levels of experience. Research related to the construction and regulation of emotion at each of these levels is reviewed. Finally, we connect our concept of emotionally intelligent regulation to its potential applications to personality and clinical psychology.