Emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to know, understand, and manage emotions. People with high EI know their own emotions and the emotions of other people, and they are able to use emotions to think and live better. This thought model claims that high EI helps people to be successful in life. There are several different models that disagree about the exact definition of the term. Even though there does not seem to be an exact definition, the model itself can be applied in various ways, across different domains.

Nowadays, there are 3 main models of EI:

• Ability Based EI Models
  1. Knowing emotions – the ability to know emotions in faces, pictures, voices, etc. including the ability to know one's own emotions.
  2. Using emotions – the ability to use emotions to improve thinking and problem-solving.
  3. Understanding emotions – the ability to understand different emotions, the relationships among emotions, and how and why emotions change.
  4. Managing emotions – the ability to manage emotions in ourselves and in others. Therefore, a person with high EI can use emotions, even negative ones, to achieve goals.
• Mixed Models of EI
  1. Self-awareness – the ability to know what one is feeling and thinking.
  2. Self-regulation – the ability to control and manage feelings in a healthy way.
  3. Social skills – skills that help us relate to others so that we can have good relationships with them.
  4. Empathy – the ability to share or understand the feelings of another person, especially to help make good decisions.
  5. Motivation – knowing what makes us want and desire to do something, like reach our goals.
• Trait EI Models

EI is often measured as an Emotional Intelligence Quotient (EQ).