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Emotional Intelligence
Maggie Hansen
Salt Lake Community College

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Maggie Hansen
Psychology
Final Paper

Emotional Intelligence
Intelligence is a very broad term. What makes a person intelligent? Is it their
IQ score? Is it their ability to think critically under pressure? Is it their ability to think
ahead? Or is it E. None of the above? I believe that, concerning intelligence, the
world overemphasizes ACT, SAT, IQ scores, and computer-generated values based
on filled-in bubbles, and underemphasizes real-life applications and scenarios. They
take a persons IQ and hold is to the highest degree of importance without realizing
that while a high IQ does affect our success by about 10-30% our EQ effects our
success much more, by a whopping 60-75%. (CITATION) The fact is indisputable,
however, that many different types of intelligence exist. In the following three
pages I will focus primarily on emotional intelligence, its definition and the ability to
increase it.
In my own life I never position my academic progression at the top of the
priority list, and those computer-generated numbers have reflected that. Though I
was a decent student, I could have been much, much better. A few months ago I
had a conversation with a friend, something she said struck me. She asked if I had
been a good student, to which I replied no. My statement puzzled her because
she was familiar with my diligence and success in our line of work. She, like so
many others, was of the opinion that if a person does not strive for excellence in

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academics then they are far more likely to fail or underachieve in a field that
requires dedication and work. Why is this? Why do so many people think that a high
school GPA is a gauge for a persons potential and future success in life? Throughout
my time in high school I put a much greater emphasis on learning things that would
prepare me for life, than things that would prepare me for the academic or business
world. Because of this my overall maturity and intelligence increased and my ability
to handle life and its crises grew. So to answer the prompt question How smart am
I? and In what ways am I smart? I couldnt quote more than the first line of the
Gettysburg Address, Fourscore and seven years . . . or even list all 50 states,
(although, those that learned the song really got a leg up in) but I could tell you how
to save your money, budget wisely, run a home, take care of kids, talk to God, and
handle yourself without panicking when life is throwing you curveballs. My
emotional intelligence is greater than my academic intelligence, and thats probably
the reason emotional intelligence interests me. I also am very curious about other
peoples lives , and their capability of handling personal trials and situations.
To better understand what emotional intelligence is before we dive into the
applications of it, we will discuss the four basic principles and the sub-dimensions
that compose them. 1. Self Awareness, this is being able to accurately evaluate
ones self emotionally, socially and intellectually while maintaining confidence. 2.
Self-Management, this is the ability to be conscientious of others, controlling ones
self, desires and opinions, and also initiative and achievement orientation. 3. Social
Skills, this is leadership, communication, the ability to manage conflicts as well as
maintain teamwork and collaboration. And 4. Social-Awareness, this is empathy,
organizational awareness and service orientation.

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Psychologists John Mayer and Peter Salovey define emotional intelligence as
the ability to reason about emotions and to use emotions to enhance reasoning
(CITATION). Wouldnt you say that enhancing reasoning would be quite helpful in
the real world? What about in the business world? So why dont employers require
intrapersonal or interpersonal competency tests of their potential employees? I
believe this would be a great benefit and tool.
One example of the potential effectiveness of intrapersonal or interpersonal
competency tests is managerial positions. Studies of managerial derailment indicate
a lack of emotional intelligence among managers. In many cases derailment does
not occur because of a lack of technical or educational skills, rather, derailment is
more frequently attributed to character flaws such as a lack of self-awareness, an
inability to change, poor treatment of others and problems with interpersonal
relationships (CITATION). Emotionally intelligent people know what kinds of
emotions a particular event will trigger, they can identify, describe, and manage
their emotions, they know how to use their emotions to improve their decisions and
they can identify other peoples emotions from facial expressions and tones of voice
(CITATION) In the business world the ability to read a person is crucial to infer how
theyre feeling about an offer. An emotionally intelligent individual may be able to
discern if theyre really into the deal and if potentially, they would settle for less
money. In other words, emotional intelligence could potentially save you 15% or
more.
So are we born with a certain amount of emotional intelligence or is their
potential to expand our knowledge in this area? An article in the New York Times
Magazine has posed a similar question: Can Emotional Intelligence Be Taught?
Children are introduced into school, or, in other words a melting pot of different

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backgrounds and consequently different personalities, and acceptable behaviors
and reactions at a very young age. The state of Illinois passed a bill in 2003 making
social and emotional learning part of the curriculum (CITATION). In fact there are
now many schools around the nation that are implementing social literacy
programs. These programs are based on the idea that emotional skills are crucial to
academic performance. Many studies support the previously-argued topic of the
balancing act of academic intelligence verses emotional intelligence, saying that socalled non-cognitive skillssuch as self-restraint, persistence and self-awareness
might actually be better predictors of a persons life trajectory than all of those
numbers and bubble sheets. A 2011 study following over 17,000 British infants for
over 50 years found that a childs level of mental well-being correlated strongly with
future success (CITATION). Among future successes are healthier relationships,
lower divorce rate, less chance of depression and anxiety and better general health.
I dont know about you, but in my mind this makes sense. They say: dont let your
emotions get the better of you. If we can control our emotions, they cant get the
better of us. If we can learn how to console ourselves and how we react, and then
plan accordingly, there will be a much lesser chance of our emotions getting the
better of us. Conditions leading to these greater, long lasting problems such as a
decline in general health, depression or anxiety will also decrease.
Throughout schools in the country programs to help children express and
manage their feelings are beginning to form. Among others, two that the article
specifically mentions are Ruler and Second Step. Ruler, designed by Marc Brackett,
helps children acknowledge and identify their feelings with mood-meters, selfreflection, and deep breathing exercises. Second Step is being used by 2500 schools

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in the US and Canada, it is much less interactive and is mostly taught through
videos and less by self exploration and expression. (CITATION)
The point of the article, however, is that yes, emotional intelligence can and
should be taught! By teaching children how to interact with each other and resolve
problems independent of adults, we give them the ability to grow and prepare them
for greater success in life by being able to manage their emotional health. With kids
armed with the knowledge to resolve problems and to put others needs before their
own we can have strong faith in the future generation.