Is Emotional Intelligence an Advantage? An Exploration of the Impact of Emotional and General Intelligence on Individual Performance

TLDR

Emotional intelligence, defined as the ability to perceive, understand, and regulate emotions, is widely promoted as a performance enhancer but lacks systematic empirical support. The study examined whether emotional intelligence predicts individual cognitive performance beyond general intelligence. The authors assessed emotional intelligence using the Multifactor Emotional Intelligence Scale (MEIS). They found that overall emotional intelligence, as well as its perception and regulation components, uniquely explained cognitive performance beyond general intelligence.

Abstract

Abstract Emotional intelligence is an increasingly popular consulting tool. According to popular opinion and work-place testimonials, emotional intelligence increases performance and productivity; however, there has been a general lack of independent, systematic analysis substantiating that claim. The authors investigated whether emotional intelligence would account for increases in individual cognitive-based performance over and above the level attributable to traditional general intelligence. The authors measured emotional intelligence with the Multifactor Emotional Intelligence Scale (MEIS; J. D. Mayer, P. Salovey, & D. R. Caruso, 1997). As measured by the MEIS, overall emotional intelligence is a composite of the 3 distinct emotional reasoning abilities: perceiving, understanding, and regulating emotions (J. D. Mayer & P. Salovey, 1997). Although further psychometric analysis of the MEIS is warranted, the authors found that overall emotional intelligence, emotional perception, and emotional regulation uniquely explained individual cognitive-based performance over and beyond the level attributable to general intelligence.