Emotional intelligence and socioemotional attributes: Distinct constructs and their uses

What is it about?

Is a person (a) emotionally intelligent or (b) assertive and optimistic?--Psychologists often mix up two different things. Emotional intelligence (EI) is a set of objectively-measurable skills that includes the ability to accurately perceive, understand, and manage emotions. Socioemotional attributes (sometimes called “EQ”) include traits such as optimism, assertiveness, and self-esteem. Twenty years of research have made it abundantly clear that these two concepts are very different. This article clarifies that when emotional intelligence and socioemotional attributes are grouped under the same name, it has led to confusion and bad decisions. The article explains why EI should be reserved for objectively-measured mental reasoning, and the term socioemotional attributes reserved for a set of self-rated qualities.

Featured Image

Photo by Robert Ruggiero on Unsplash

Photo by Robert Ruggiero on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Measures of EI are psychological tests that employ objective questions to measure skills such as perceiving and understanding emotions. Measures of SEA, by comparison, ask people to rate themselves on traits such as optimism, assertiveness or self-esteem. But measures of SEA sometimes mistakenly imply that they assess EI by using such terms as “EQ” or “trait emotional intelligence”. It’s important to clarify that the two constructs are distinct. For example, a hiring manager may hire an assertive and optimistic person (high SEA) who fails to read the room, when what they needed was someone who could manage conflicts because they understand emotions (high EI).

Perspectives