Emotional intelligence: New ability or eclectic traits?

TLDR

Some individuals possess a greater capacity to process emotional information and use it to guide thinking and behavior, a set of abilities the authors call emotional intelligence (EI), yet the concept has split into a distinct ability view and an eclectic trait view. Clarifying what EI is and is not can help the field by better distinguishing research that is truly pertinent to EI from research that is not. EI conceptualized as an ability is an important variable both conceptually and empirically, and it shows incremental validity for predicting socially relevant outcomes.

Abstract

Some individuals have a greater capacity than others to carry out sophisticated information processing about emotions and emotion-relevant stimuli and to use this information as a guide to thinking and behavior. The authors have termed this set of abilities emotional intelligence (EI). Since the introduction of the concept, however, a schism has developed in which some researchers focus on EI as a distinct group of mental abilities, and other researchers instead study an eclectic mix of positive traits such as happiness, self-esteem, and optimism. Clarifying what EI is and is not can help the field by better distinguishing research that is truly pertinent to EI from research that is not. EI--conceptualized as an ability--is an important variable both conceptually and empirically, and it shows incremental validity for predicting socially relevant outcomes.