Emotional Intelligence: correlations with aggressive behavior and interpersonal conflicts

Aggressive behavior was defined as any behavior directed toward another individual that is carried out with the intent to cause harm. In addition, the perpetrator must believe that the behavior will harm the target, and that the target is motivated to avoid the behavior (Anderson and Bushman, 2002). An extreme form of aggression is violence. Aggression has been further divided into hostile and instrumental aggression. The former is impulsive, unplanned, driven by anger, with the ultimate motive of harming the target, and often occurrs as a reaction to perceived provocation. In contrast, the latter is considered as a thought-out means of obtaining a goal other than harming the victim, and as proactive rather than reactive. 

Aggression has been explained by various theories which have been integrated into the General Aggression Model (GAM; Anderson and Bushman, 2002). The GAM provides a framework for understanding why people act aggressively. It describes a person in the situation, called an episode, consisting of one cycle of an ongoing social interaction  (see Figure 1). This episode is defined by three levels: (i) person and situation inputs; (ii) cognitive, affective, and arousal routes through which these input variables have their impact; and (iii) outcomes of the underlying appraisal and decision processes. Personal factors include all the characteristics a person brings to the situation, such as personality traits, attitudes and genetic predispositions. They interact with situational factors including any important features of the situation, such as presence of a provocation or an aggressive cue to create an internal state which influences behavior. The internal state is a composite of cognitions (e.g., hostile thoughts, aggressive scripts), affect (anger, general negative affect) and arousal (physiological and psychological arousal) influencing appraisals and decision-making processes which may or may not result in an aggressive response.

Figure 1: The general aggression model (GAM)

Emotional intelligence (EI), which is defined as a set of abilities involved in perception, usage, understanding, management and regulation of emotions, was therefore assumed to be related to aggressive behavior and can thus be a valuable tool in predicting deviant behavior (Petrides et al., 2004). Two recent review papers have tried to shed some light on this relationship.

García-Sancho et al. (2014) included 19 studies in their review. Five papers analyzed the relation between EI and aggression in children (e.g., disruptive behavior and bullying in primary school). Seven studies analyzed this relation in adolescents mainly focusing on bullying, telephone bullying, and cyberbullying. The remaining seven studies analyzed the relation in adults including trait and ability EI measures. Eighteen of the 19 studies reported a negative correlation between the two constructs. People with high EI exhibited fewer aggressive behaviors than those with low EI. The relation was consistent across age groups, cultural context, and was independent in relation to the type of aggression (physical, sexual or humor-based) as well as the type of EI assessment.

Similar findings were also reported by Resurrección et al. (2014)  reviewing the relation between emotional intelligence and psychological maladjustment in adolescence. Identified were 32 studies that found a negative association between EI and internalizing problems, depression, and anxiety. In addition it was found that EI correlated with less substance abuse and with better coping strategies. The authors further identified two potential moderating variables: sex and EI measures. EI assessed by self-reports showed stronger associations with psychological maladjustment than did EI assessed by tests of maximum performance. With respect to sex it was found that girls with either eating disorders or internalizing problems reported lower trait and ability EI. On the other hand, boys with a greater tendency towards substance abuse or clinical maladjustment showed lower levels of both trait and ability EI.

Some recent studies tried to further analyze the aggression-EI relationship by splitting up the EI construct. Coccaro et al. (2016) analyzed the EI components of attention to emotions (the level of noticing one’s own feelings), clarity of emotions (the level of clarity in understanding one’s own feelings) and repair of emotions (one’s own efforts directed at altering negative mood states towards maintaining a positive outlook or regulating emotions). The study included 1544 individuals (aged 18-55). A regression analysis showed that all three EI factors were related with aggression and impulsivity. Attention was positively, whereas repair and clarity of emotions were negatively related with aggression and impulsivity. This relationship suggests that impulsive aggressive individuals may be at heightened sensitivity to emotion, but may have difficulty in understanding and reconciling these emotions.

García-Sancho et al. (2016) investigated the role of angry rumination (repetitive, negative cognitions about an anger-inducing event, such as anger-inducing memories, angry thoughts and feelings, and plans for revenge) as a mediator of the relationship between ability EI and different types of aggression (physical, verbal and indirect aggression). Overall the results showed a negative association between ability  EI and angry rumination (r = −0.20), and with all three types of aggression (physical aggression r = −0.23; verbal aggression r = −0.15; indirect aggression r = −0.20). Further, angry rumination was positively correlated with physical aggression (r = 0.35), verbal aggression (r = 0.30) and indirect aggression (r = 0.27). The results supported the hypothesis that angry rumination might be a significant mediator in the relationship between ability EI and aggression.

A somewhat different perspective on the relationship between EI and aggression was put forward by Davis and Nichols (2016). The authors suggested that in certain contexts, EI does not appear to be helpful and may even be deleterious to a person, suggesting a “dark” side to the construct. Such relations are especially prominent in specific combinations between trait EI and personality factors, or in combinations between extreme levels of trait EI components. It was for instance reported that at low levels of agreeableness, those high in trait EI were prone to antisocial behavior (e.g., worsening others’ moods). Moreover, skill in emotion management served to intensify the relationship between Machiavellianism and deviance, acting as a useful tool for those with a propensity to harm. For emotion management and understanding, it was found that it increases the tendency to engage in confrontation in those who view this as an effective negotiation strategy. These relations were also sex dependent. Trait EI reduced Machiavellian tactics, moral thinking, and delinquency in males, yet promoted all of these aspects in females.

This brief overview has shown that although it appears that ability and trait EI reduces the level of aggressive and maladjusted behaviors in humans, there are combinations of EI components, personality and cognitive factors that show an opposite relation.

References

Anderson, C. A., & Bushman, B. J. (2002). Human aggression. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 27–51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.53.100901.135231.

Coccaro, E. F., Zagaja, C., Chen, P., & Jacobson, K. (2016). Relationships between perceived emotional intelligence, aggression, and impulsivity in a population-based adult sample. Psychiatry Research, 246, 255–260. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2016.09.004

Davis, S. K., & Nichols, R. (2016). Does Emotional Intelligence have a “Dark” Side? A Review of the Literature. Frontiers in Psychology, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01316

García-Sancho, E., Salguero, J. M., & Fernández-Berrocal, P. (2014). Relationship between emotional intelligence and aggression: A systematic review. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 19(5), 584–591. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2014.07.007

García-Sancho, E., Salguero, J. M., & Fernández-Berrocal, P. (2016). Angry rumination as a mediator of the relationship between ability emotional intelligence and various types of aggression. Personality and Individual Differences, 89, 143–147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.10.007

Petrides, K. ., Frederickson, N., & Furnham, A. (2004). The role of trait emotional intelligence in academic performance and deviant behavior at school. Personality and Individual Differences, 36(2), 277–293. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(03)00084-9

Resurrección, D. M., Salguero, J. M., & Ruiz-Aranda, D. (2014). Emotional intelligence and psychological maladjustment in adolescence: A systematic review. Journal of Adolescence, 37(4), 461–472. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2014.03.012