Daniel s Best Seller Emotional Intelligence - 1912 Words

Since Daniel Coleman’s best-seller Emotional Intelligence was published in 1995, the public and academic circles have become increasingly interested in the topic of emotional intelligence. Psychologists and corporate consultants alike have begun designing courses and programs in a bid to help people increase their emotional intelligence. But what exactly is Emotional Intelligence? Although as far back as the beginning of the 20th century, Thorndike’s (1921) research into social intelligence touched on the topic of emotions and how important they are to intellectual functioning, the term Emotional Intelligence did not come to be officially recognized until decades later, when Mayer and Salovey (1990) defined and described emotional†¦show more content†¦Another leading researcher in the field Bar-On (2004) has defined emotional intelligence as â€Å"a cross-section of inter-related emotional and social competencies that determine how effectively we understand an d express ourselves, understand others and relate with them, and cope with daily demands and pressures† (Bar-On, 2004). According to Bar-On (2004), the five composite areas include Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Stress Management, Adaptability, and General Mood. 1 Three Models of Emotional Intelligence As a result of the various definitions of emotional intelligence, there emerged three most widely recognized and main models of emotional intelligence. The model as proposed by the modern pioneer of Emotional Intelligence studies Salovey and Mayer sees emotional intelligence as a cognitive ability, while the model as proposed by Bar-On views emotional intelligence as a mixed intelligence, meaning it consists of cognitive ability and personality aspects (Mayer and Salovey, 1990; Bar-On, 2004) This model stresses the importance of how both cognitive and personality factors can effect general well-being. The third model was developed by Daniel Goleman (2001), who like Bar-on also perceives emotional intelligence as a mixed intelligence, but his model focuses on how the two factors can determine organizational and workplace success. 1.1 An Ability Model of Emotional Intelligence Salovey and Mayer suggest that people possess varying levels of competency and