Summary

Emotional intelligence (EI) is one of the most widely discussed topics in current psychology. Although first mentioned in the professional literature nearly two decades ago, in the past five years it has received extensive media attention. The term emotional intelligence refers to the ability to identify, express and understand emotions; to assimilate emotions into thought; and to regulate both positive and negative emotions in oneself and others. Yet despite the flourishing research programs and broad popular interest, scientific evidence for a clearly identified construct of EI is sparse. It remains to be seen whether there is anything to EI that researchers in the fields of personality, intelligence and applied psychology do not already know.