Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsHow Do I Know If I’m Emotionally Intelligent?How It’s MeasuredComponentsWhy Is Emotional Intelligence Useful?Ways to PracticeDownsidesTips for Improving

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

How Do I Know If I’m Emotionally Intelligent?

How It’s Measured

Components

Why Is Emotional Intelligence Useful?

Ways to Practice

Downsides

Tips for Improving

Close

Emotional intelligence (AKA EI or EQ for “emotional quotient”) is the ability to perceive, interpret, demonstrate, control, evaluate, and use emotions to communicate with and relate to others effectively and constructively. This ability to express and controlemotionsis essential, but so is the ability to understand, interpret, and respond to the emotions of others. Some experts suggest that emotional intelligence ismore important than IQfor success in life.

—HANNAH OWENS, LMSW

Some key signs and examples of emotional intelligence include:

How Is Emotional Intelligence Measured?

A number of different assessments have emerged to measure levels of emotional intelligence. Such tests generally fall into one of two types: self-report tests and ability tests.

There are also plenty of more informal online resources, many of them free, to investigate your emotional intelligence.

Try Our Free Emotional Intelligence Test

Our fast and freeEQ testcan help you determine whether or not your responses to certain situations in life indicate a high level of emotional intelligence:

What Are the 4 Components of Emotional Intelligence?

Researchers suggest that there are four different levels of emotional intelligence including emotional perception, the ability to reason using emotions, the ability to understand emotions, and the ability to manage emotions.

Recognizing emotions - yours and theirs - can help you understand where others are coming from, the decisions they make, and how your own feelings can affect other people.—HANNAH OWENS, LMSW

Recognizing emotions - yours and theirs - can help you understand where others are coming from, the decisions they make, and how your own feelings can affect other people.

5 Key Emotional Intelligence Skills

Interest in teaching and learning social and emotional intelligence has grown in recent years. Social and emotional learning (SEL) programs have become a standard part of the curriculum for many schools.

The goal of these initiatives is not only to improve health and well-being but also to help students succeed academically and prevent bullying. There are many examples of how emotional intelligence can play a role in daily life.

Thinking Before Reacting

Emotionally intelligent people know that emotions can be powerful, but also temporary. When a highly charged emotional event happens, such as becoming angry with a co-worker, the emotionally intelligent response would be to take some time before responding.

This allows everyone to calm their emotions and think more rationally about all the factors surrounding the argument.

Greater Self-Awareness

Emotionally intelligent people are not only good at thinking about how other people might feel but they are also adept at understanding their own feelings.Self-awarenessallows people to consider the many different factors that contribute to their emotions.

Empathy for Others

A large part of emotional intelligence is being able to think about and empathize with how other people are feeling. This often involves considering how you would respond if you were in the same situation.

People who have strong emotional intelligence are able to consider the perspectives, experiences, and emotions of other people and use this information to explain why people behave the way that they do.

Cognitive Empathy vs. Emotional Empathy

How You Can Practice Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence can be used in many different ways in your daily life. Some different ways to practice emotional intelligence include:

Emotional intelligence is essential for good interpersonal communication. Some experts believe that this ability is more important in determining life success than IQ alone. Fortunately, there are things that you can do to strengthen your own social and emotional intelligence.

Understanding emotions can be the key to better relationships, improved well-being, and stronger communication skills.

Press Play for Advice On How to Be Less Judgmental

Are There Downsides to Emotional Intelligence?

Having lower emotional intelligence skills can lead to a number of potential pitfalls that can affect multiple areas of life including work and relationships. People who have fewer emotional skills tend to get in more arguments, have lower quality relationships, and have poor emotional coping skills.

Being low on emotional intelligence can have a number of drawbacks, but having a very high level of emotional skills can also come with challenges. For example:

Signs of Low Emotional Intelligence

Can I Boost My Emotional Intelligence?

Being emotionally intelligent is important, but what steps can you take to improve your own social and emotional skills? Here are some tips.

Listen

If you want to understand what other people are feeling, the first step is to pay attention. Take the time to listen to what people are trying to tell you, both verbally and non-verbally.Body languagecan carry a great deal of meaning. When you sense that someone is feeling a certain way, consider the different factors that might be contributing to that emotion.

Empathize

Picking up on emotions is critical, but we also need to be able to put ourselves into someone else’s shoes in order to truly understand their point of view. Practice empathizing with other people. Imagine how you would feel in their situation. Such activities can help us build an emotional understanding of a specific situation as well as develop stronger emotional skills in the long-term.

Reflect

The ability to reason with emotions is an important part of emotional intelligence. Consider how your own emotions influence your decisions and behaviors. When you are thinking about how other people respond, assess the role that their emotions play.

Why is this person feeling this way? Are there any unseen factors that might be contributing to these feelings? How to your emotions differ from theirs? As you explore such questions, you may find that it becomes easier to understand the role that emotions play in how people think and behave.

7 Habits of Emotionally Intelligent People

5 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Drigas AS, Papoutsi C.A new layered model on emotional intelligence.Behav Sci (Basel).2018;8(5):45. doi:10.3390/bs8050045Salovey P, Mayer J.Emotional Intelligence.Imagination, Cognition, and Personality.1990;9(3):185-211.Feist GJ.A meta-analysis of personality in scientific and artistic creativity.Pers Soc Psychol Rev. 1998;2(4):290-309. doi:10.1207/s15327957pspr0204_5Côté S, Decelles KA, Mccarthy JM, Van kleef GA, Hideg I.The Jekyll and Hyde of emotional intelligence: emotion-regulation knowledge facilitates both prosocial and interpersonally deviant behavior.Psychol Sci. 2011;22(8):1073-80. doi:10.1177/0956797611416251Gilar-Corbi R, Pozo-Rico T, Sánchez B, Castejón JL.Can emotional intelligence be improved? A randomized experimental study of a business-oriented EI training program for senior managers.PLoS One. 2019;14(10):e0224254. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0224254

5 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Drigas AS, Papoutsi C.A new layered model on emotional intelligence.Behav Sci (Basel).2018;8(5):45. doi:10.3390/bs8050045Salovey P, Mayer J.Emotional Intelligence.Imagination, Cognition, and Personality.1990;9(3):185-211.Feist GJ.A meta-analysis of personality in scientific and artistic creativity.Pers Soc Psychol Rev. 1998;2(4):290-309. doi:10.1207/s15327957pspr0204_5Côté S, Decelles KA, Mccarthy JM, Van kleef GA, Hideg I.The Jekyll and Hyde of emotional intelligence: emotion-regulation knowledge facilitates both prosocial and interpersonally deviant behavior.Psychol Sci. 2011;22(8):1073-80. doi:10.1177/0956797611416251Gilar-Corbi R, Pozo-Rico T, Sánchez B, Castejón JL.Can emotional intelligence be improved? A randomized experimental study of a business-oriented EI training program for senior managers.PLoS One. 2019;14(10):e0224254. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0224254

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Drigas AS, Papoutsi C.A new layered model on emotional intelligence.Behav Sci (Basel).2018;8(5):45. doi:10.3390/bs8050045Salovey P, Mayer J.Emotional Intelligence.Imagination, Cognition, and Personality.1990;9(3):185-211.Feist GJ.A meta-analysis of personality in scientific and artistic creativity.Pers Soc Psychol Rev. 1998;2(4):290-309. doi:10.1207/s15327957pspr0204_5Côté S, Decelles KA, Mccarthy JM, Van kleef GA, Hideg I.The Jekyll and Hyde of emotional intelligence: emotion-regulation knowledge facilitates both prosocial and interpersonally deviant behavior.Psychol Sci. 2011;22(8):1073-80. doi:10.1177/0956797611416251Gilar-Corbi R, Pozo-Rico T, Sánchez B, Castejón JL.Can emotional intelligence be improved? A randomized experimental study of a business-oriented EI training program for senior managers.PLoS One. 2019;14(10):e0224254. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0224254

Drigas AS, Papoutsi C.A new layered model on emotional intelligence.Behav Sci (Basel).2018;8(5):45. doi:10.3390/bs8050045

Salovey P, Mayer J.Emotional Intelligence.Imagination, Cognition, and Personality.1990;9(3):185-211.

Feist GJ.A meta-analysis of personality in scientific and artistic creativity.Pers Soc Psychol Rev. 1998;2(4):290-309. doi:10.1207/s15327957pspr0204_5

Côté S, Decelles KA, Mccarthy JM, Van kleef GA, Hideg I.The Jekyll and Hyde of emotional intelligence: emotion-regulation knowledge facilitates both prosocial and interpersonally deviant behavior.Psychol Sci. 2011;22(8):1073-80. doi:10.1177/0956797611416251

Gilar-Corbi R, Pozo-Rico T, Sánchez B, Castejón JL.Can emotional intelligence be improved? A randomized experimental study of a business-oriented EI training program for senior managers.PLoS One. 2019;14(10):e0224254. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0224254

Meet Our Review Board

Share Feedback

Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit

What is your feedback?