Emotional intelligence is a person's ability to understand his feelings and emotions. Psychologists do not yet have one generally accepted definition of the term "emotional intelligence". Modern scientists believe that emotions are an instrument that must be learned to use. Emotional-intelligent people know how to master themselves in any situation and effectively establish relationships with others. The ability to understand and manage one's emotions often depends on success in work and personal life. As studies in the sphere of emotional intelligence have shown, the most expressive and sensitive to people's emotions succeed.
American psychologists P. Salovei and J. Meier proposed to consider emotional intelligence as a substructure of social intelligence. In their opinion, these two intellects overlap. They have a common focus on the social and personal spheres. But they differ in that the social intelligence is aimed at understanding social phenomena, and emotional - to understand their feelings, and the feelings of others. The structure of emotional intelligence proposed by Salovay is as follows:
- recognition and expression of emotions;
- emotional regulation;
- Use of the received emotional information in thinking and activity.
This is the first and most famous model of emotional intelligence in scientific psychology.
As we see, the ability to recognize emotions is a necessary basis for the development of emotional intelligence.
Methods of diagnosing emotional intelligence
The main method of diagnosis is testing. Several tests have been developed in the framework of trainings and programs to develop emotional intelligence. Test results are given on the following scales:
- behavior;
- motivation;
- knowledge;
- emotional penetration into oneself;
- expression of emotions;
- social intuition and empathy.
The RAS Institute of Psychology has developed a different method of diagnosis. There was created a questionnaire that corresponded to the division of emotional intelligence into the intrapersonal and interpersonal. As a result of testing, a person can learn about their abilities to interpret their own and others' emotions.
How to develop emotional intelligence?
In order to develop your emotional intelligence it is necessary to develop self-perception and self-management skills.
- Correct self-perception will give you the opportunity to really understand your emotions, comprehend them, understand the reasons for their occurrence. People who are well versed in their emotions, often become leaders, because they are able to trust their feelings and make difficult decisions.
- Self-management is the second key component of emotional intelligence. It will teach you to control yourself in any situation, help to keep the emotional balance, so that fear, anger or anxiety does not interfere with clarity of thinking and do not let you get into a stupor.
- In addition, it is necessary to develop a social
competence. It is based on social receptivity and relationship management. - Social competence is the ability to understand others, the ability to put oneself in someone's place to understand other people's thoughts and feelings. Social consciousness means the ability to identify and satisfy the needs of the surrounding people.
- The relationship management allows you to establish contacts and interact with other people.
All these four components form the basis for the development of emotional intelligence. Raising them in yourself can achieve success and effectiveness in any activity.