Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence, in simple words, can be described as the ability to understand and manage emotions effectively. Mayer and Salovey (1990) defined emotional intelligence as “the ability to perceive and express emotion, assimilate emotion in thought, understand and reason with emotion and regulate emotion in self and others.” They noted that emotional intelligence is a sub-field of social intelligence.

• According to the Mayer and Salovey model, emotional intelligence comprises four main components:

1. Perceiving Emotions: This is the capacity to accurately recognize emotions in oneself and others, including understanding verbal and non-verbal expressions such as body language, tone of voice, etc.
2. Using Emotions to Facilitate Thought: This involves making use of emotions to prioritize thinking and decision-making, using feelings as a guide to problem-solving and creativity. (Reflecting on how your emotions influence your thoughts and decisions.)
3. Understanding Emotions: This refers to the ability of the individuals to label their emotions and understand their causes and consequences.
4. Managing Emotions: This is the ability to manage, modify, reduce, enhance or prevent an emotional response in oneself and others. Practicing stress management techniques, such as deep breathing or mindfulness, helps to improve it.

• Reuven Bar-On’s model of emotional intelligence emphasizes emotional and social competencies divided into five key components:

1. Intrapersonal Skills: These include self-regard, emotional self-awareness, assertiveness, independence, and self-actualization.
2. Interpersonal Skills: This involves empathy, social responsibility, and interpersonal relationships.
3. Adaptability: This includes reality-testing, flexibility, and problem-solving.
4. Stress Management: This involves managing stress by the means of stress tolerance and impulse control.
5. General Mood: This includes optimism and happiness, in order to scale the level of internal motivation in an individual.

Moreover, the following skills are also vital in order to develop EI:

• rapidly reducing stress in the moment
• reflection on strengths and weaknesses
• developing critical thinking skills
• practicing self compassion
• emotional awareness
• investing time in building and maintaining healthy relationships
• non-verbal communication
• using humor and play to deal with challenges
• resolving conflicts peacefully
• deep breathing and mindfulness
• embracing change
• active listening

By laying a focus on these models and practical skills,  individuals can enhance their emotional intelligence and become an emotionally intelligent.