Transcript Emotional Intelligence: Facts and Fallacies

Emotional Intelligence:
Facts and Fallacies
Kaylene Ascough
University of Queensland
Princess Alexandra Hospital
Overview
 The EI explosion – some history.
 Variations of EI – the 2 approaches to EI
research
 The critics
 Applying EI to the work place
 EI training programs
Some History
 Peter Salovey and Jack Mayer (1990)
“Emotional Intelligence”, in Imagination, Cognition, and
Personality.
 The ability to perceive emotion in self and others, to
understand emotion, and then to manage emotion in self and
others.
Daniel Goleman (1995)
 “Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ.”
Mayer and Salovey’s MEIS (1997)
Reuven Bar-On (1997) developed the EQ-i,
Goleman (2002) – the Emotional Competency Index.
Other developments by Jordan, Ashkanasy, Härtel, and Hooper
(2002); Schutte et al. (1998); and Wong and Law (2002).
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Two approaches to EI
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Ability model vs personality/mixed model
Ability model:
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Based on Mayer and Salovey’s (1997) four-branch
abilities model.
1.
Perception of emotion (in self and others);
2.
3.
4.
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Assimilation of emotion to facilitate thought;
Understanding of emotion;
Managing and regulating emotion in self and
others.
Becoming the more accepted model of EI.
Like IQ, it is the capacity to which an individual can
develop.
Two approaches to EI (contd.)
 Mixed/Personality Models:
 Argued as not representative of EI (Ashkanasy &
Daus, 2005).
 Some common ground with Mayer and Salovey model.
 Overlap with traditional measures of personality.
 Examples include Bar-on’s (1997) EQ-i, Goleman, et
al’s (2002) ECI.
 Maybe useful to the organisation, however, they are
too broad in scope and do not differ markedly from
personality models.
 Goleman – ‘Emotional competency’
 Bar-on – ‘Emotional-Social Intelligence’
The critics
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Daus and Ashkansy (2005) address 3 main points
of criticism.
1.
2.
3.
Emotional intelligence is dominated by opportunistic
‘academics-turned-consultants’ who have amassed
much fame and fortune based on a concept that is
shabby science at best.
The measurement of emotional intelligence is
grounded in unstable (they change all the time),
psychometrically flawed instruments, which have not
demonstrated appropriate validity to warrant their
use; and
There is no (or weak) empirical evidence that
emotional intelligence is related to anything of
importance in organisations.
Application of EI
 Leadership
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EI predicts leader emergence and is related to
transformational leadership.
 Job performance/Emotional labour
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‘Emotional Labour’ - Defined as ‘managing
emotion for remuneration’.
In jobs requiring high emotional labour, an
individual’s EI predicted better performance.
Application of EI (Contd.)
 Positive organisational behaviour
 Those actions in the workplace that benefit working
relationships and contribute to a positive working
climate.
 High EI indicates increased commitment,
organisational citizenship and improved morale.
 Working with others
 Better relationships in the workplace: interpersonal
sensitivity and prosocial tendencies.
 Indicates better team performance.
 Conflict resolution
 Individuals with higher levels of EI are more able to
engage in collaborative conflict resolution.
EI Training Programs
 Is there value in training?
 What to look for in EI training programs.
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What are you seeking to achieve?
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Individual performance
Team performance
Enhancing leadership skills
Enhancing Interpersonal skills
Managing conflict
Conclusion
 What does EI mean to an organisation?
 Know the pitfalls of EI claims.
 Look for abilities based EI models.
 Seek training and development programs that
show an understanding of all aspects of
emotional intelligence and the role of
emotions in the work place in general.
Questions?
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References
Ashkanasy, N. M., Dasborough, M. & Ascough, K. W. (in press). Addressing the emotional dimensions of leadership: Teaching leadership with
heart. In S. J. Armstrong & C. Fukami (Eds). The Handbook of Management Learning, Education and Development , Sage.
Ashkanasy, N. M. & Daus, C. S. 2002. Emotion in the workplace: The new challenge for managers. The Academy of Management Executive,
16(1): 76.
Ashkanasy, N. M. & Daus, C. S. 2005. Rumors of the death of emotional intelligence in organizational behavior are vastly exaggerated. Journal of
Organizational Behavior, 26(4): 441.
Bar-On, R. 1997. Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory: A measure of emotional intelligence. Toronto, Ontario: Multi-Health Systems.
Bar-On, R.; The Bar-On model of emotional-social intelligence (ESI); http://www.eiconsortium.org/index.html; 23 June 2005, 2005.
Daus, C. S. & Ashkanasy, N. M. 2005. The case for the ability-based model of emotional intelligence in organizational behavior. Journal of
Organizational Behavior, 26(4): 453.
Druskat, V.U., Sala, F., & Mount, G. (Eds) 2006. Linking emotional intelligence and performance at work: Current research evidence with
individuals and groups. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Emmerling, R. J. & Goleman, D.; Emotional Intelligence: Issues and common misunderstandings; http://www.eiconsortium.org/index.html; 23 June
2005, 2005.
Goleman, D. 1995. Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. New York: Bantam Books.
Jordan, P. J., Ashton-James, C. E., & Ashkanasy, N. M. 2006. Evaluating the claims: Emotional intelligence in the workplace. In K. R. Murphy (Ed.),
A critique of emotional intelligence: What are the problems and how can they be fixed? Mahway, NJ: Erlbaum.
Jordan, P. J., Ashkanasy, N. M., & Ascough, K. W. In press. Emotional intelligence in organizational behavior and industrial-organizational
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groups: xlvii, 292 p. :. Mahwah, N.J. :: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates,.
Mayer, J. D. & Salovey, P. 1997. What is emotional intelligence? In P. Salovey & D. J. Sluyter (Eds.), Emotional development and emotional
intelligence: Educational implications: 3-31. New York: Basic Books.
Mayer, J. D., Salovey, P., Caruso, D. R., & Sitarenios, G. 2003. Measuring Emotional Intelligence with the MSCEIT V2.0. Emotion, 3(1): 97-105.
Zeidner, M., Matthews, G., & Roberts, R. D. 2004. Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace: A Critical Review. Applied Psychology, 53(3): 371