Can emotional intelligence be taught?

As stressed by Kunnanatt (2004), although emotional intelligence is a new branch of psychology, it is perhaps the record holder of growth in the field of behavioral sciences. One reason for that are the claims that EI can explain  66% of effective performance at work and 85% of successful leadership performance (Goleman, 1995). These claims lack scientific evidence, which was discussed in our blogs about academic performance and leadership.

Another circumstance that contributes to the interest in EI training programs is the fact that in recent years there has been a worldwide increase in work-related mental disorders, affecting all industries and professions (Hansen et al., 2007). Occupational stress, burnout, and job dissatisfaction are considered as primary reasons for low job performance.

Additional support for the idea that higher levels of EI might be helpful in reducing work-related disorders comes from research on the relationship between mental health and emotional intelligence. The growing body of research has already allowed to meta-analyze available evidence on associations of emotion-related skills with physical and mental health (e.g., Martins et al., 2010; Schutte et al., 2007; 2013).  Both meta-analyses revealed moderate effect sizes between EI and health.

The meta-analysis by Schutte et al. (2007), including 44 effect sizes based on the responses of 7,898 participants, found that higher emotional intelligence was associated with better health (r = 0.29 with mental health, r = 0.31 with psychosomatic health, and r = 0.22 with physical health). The strongest associations were observed for the Bar-On EQ-i measure. The second meta-analysis by Martins et al. (2010), which was based on 105 effect sizes and 19,815 participants, revealed a similar trend. When measured as a trait, EI was more strongly associated with health (r =  0.34) than when it was measured as an ability (r = 0.17). The average association with mental (r =  0.36) and psychosomatic health (r =  0.33) was higher than the association with physical health (r =  0.27). From the three moderator variables analyzed – gender, age, and origin of the participants – only gender produced significant differences in the relationship. Studies that used just females significantly increased the effect sizes between trait EI and health.

More recently, Schutte and colleagues (2013, p.67) concluded: “Evidence from studies contrasting emotional intelligence intervention groups with comparison  groups, suggests that training may increase emotional intelligence and improve outcomes related to emotional intelligence. These outcomes include mental and physical health, social relationships and work performance. Much work remains to be done to verify these initial findings and to uncover how training increases emotional intelligence, what specific training works best, and what important outcomes can be produced.”

Multinational corporations have realized that emotions play an equally important role as intelligence in enhancing corporate performance, thus, emotional intelligence training in business is growing into a multimillion dollar training industry, similar to the brain training industry in the increasing intelligence venture.

The central question is, can EI be increased? The programs that claim to do so usually start with some diagnostic of one’s rational-emotional processes (Kunnanatt, 2004). Thereafter participants are trained in different skills based on the theoretical framework of the training program. The program typically focuses on the development of skills related to emotional self-awareness and expression, emotions attached to awareness of others, reasoning, self-management, management of others, self-control, emotional mapping, emotional diagnosis, emotional authentication, emotional navigation, empathy building, and social-influence building (e.g., Kunnanatt, 2004; Vesely, et al., 2013).

Some programs have been designed to meet requirements of specific professional groups such as teachers. The teaching job has been categorized as one of high “emotional labor” (Vesely et al., 2013). The primary source of occupational stress and burnout has been identified in teacher–student interactions. A remedial program developed by Maag (2008) is the Rational–Emotive Therapy (RET) which helps the teacher to deal with students’ misbehavior, to recognize their irrational beliefs (e.g., demandingness, awfulizing, I-can’t-stand-it, condemning, and damning) and provides strategies for combating irrational thinking.

Based on a critical review, Zeidner et al. (2002) pinpointed several shortcomings of these so-called EI training programs. One cardinal issue already outlined in our blog on the construct of EI is whether EI actually exists as a distinct entity that is not explained by constructs such as intelligence and personality. If not, it seems pointless to design programs to enhance and develop it. This issue is also closely related to the problem how to measure the multifaceted construct of EI. As stressed by Zeidner, there is a myriad of programs with a rather meager specific EI content, targeting a wide array of behavioral objectives, including improving social, communication, and life skills, modifying emotional regulation and coping techniques, effective peer-relation training, fostering conflict-resolution and responsible decision-making skills, promoting health, preventing alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drug use; reducing violence, developing self-esteem, and enriching linguistic experiences. Thus a yes/no answer to the question in the title is at the moment not possible.

In our forthcoming blogs, we will focus on two types of EI training programs (i) targeting occupational stress, misbehavior, aggression, drug abuse; and (ii) enhancing EI competencies in project managers, nongovernmental organization leaders, armed forces, in sport and physical activity. 

References

Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. New York: Bantam Books.

Hansen, K., Gardner, L., & Stough, C. (2007). Improving occupational stress through emotional intelligence development. Organizations and People, 14, 70-75.

Kunnanatt, J. T. (2004). Emotional intelligence: The new science of interpersonal effectiveness. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 15(4), 489–495. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrdq.1117

Maag, J. W. (2008). Rational--Emotive Therapy to Help Teachers Control Their Emotions and Behavior When Dealing With Disagreeable Students. Intervention in School and Clinic, 44(1), 52–57. https://doi.org/10.1177/1053451208318680

Martins, A., Ramalho, N., & Morin, E. (2010). A comprehensive meta-analysis of the relationship between Emotional Intelligence and health. Personality and Individual Differences, 49(6), 554–564. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2010.05.029

Schutte, N. S., Malouff, J. M., Thorsteinsson, E. B., Bhullar, N., & Rooke, S. E. (2007). A meta-analytic investigation of the relationship between emotional intelligence and health. Personality and Individual Differences, 42(6), 921–933. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2006.09.003

Schutte, N. S., Malouff, J. M., & Thorsteinsson, E. B. (2013). Increasing Emotional Intelligence through Training: Current Status and Future Directions. The International Journal of Emotional Education, 5 (1), 56-72.

Vesely, A. K., Saklofske, D. H., & Leschied, A. D. W. (2013). Teachers—The Vital Resource: The Contribution of Emotional Intelligence to Teacher Efficacy and Well-Being. Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 28(1), 71–89. https://doi.org/10.1177/0829573512468855

Zeidner, M., Roberts, R. D., & Matthews, G. (2002). Can emotional intelligence be schooled? A critical review. Educational Psychologist, 37(4), 215–231.