Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Emotional Intelligence

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
The Palgrave Encyclopedia of the Possible

  • 42 Accesses

Abstract

Emotional intelligence (EI) is here analyzed as a construct referring to the individual differences in perceiving, regulating, managing, and exploiting emotions, assuming in particular a trait approach to the exploration of the phenomenon. Specifically, the role of trait EI in the definition of the possible in space and in time is addressed, analyzing how individual differences in the management and use of emotions can explain the emerging of different pasts, different futures, as well as different possible worlds. Moreover, the role of trait EI in the expression of the individual potential is explored, taking as example two research topics (i.e., prosocial behavior and creative performance) to understand how emotional intelligence can help in understanding the emerging of possible selves. Finally, future possible research scenarios are offered to explore the use of trait EI as a study variable in the investigation of the possible.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 849.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 899.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Agnoli, S., Mancini, G., Pozzoli, T., Baldaro, B., Russo, P. M., & Surcinelli, P. (2012). The interaction between emotional intelligence and cognitive ability in predicting scholastic performance in school-aged children. Personality and Individual Differences, 53(5), 660–665.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Agnoli, S., Pittarello, A., Hysenbelli, D., & Rubaltelli, E. (2015). “Give, but give until it hurts”: The modulatory role of trait emotional intelligence on the motivation to help. PLoS One, 10, e0130704.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Agnoli, S., Franchin, L., Rubaltelli, E., & Corazza, G. E. (2019). The emotionally intelligent use of attention and affective arousal under creative frustration and creative success. Personality and Individual Differences, 142, 242–248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andrei, F., & Petrides, K. V. (2013). Trait emotional intelligence and somatic complaints with reference to positive and negative mood. Psihologija, 46(1), 5–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andrei, F., Mancini, G., Baldaro, B., Trombini, E., & Agnoli, S. (2014). A systematic review on the predictive utility of the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue). BPA Applied Psychology Bulletin, 271(62), 2–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Andrei, F., Siegling, A. B., Aloe, A. M., Baldaro, B., & Petrides, K. V. (2016). The incremental validity of the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue): A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Personality Assessment, 98(3), 261–276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andrei, F., Nuccitelli, C., Mancini, G., Reggiani, G. M., & Trombini, E. (2018). Emotional intelligence, emotion regulation and affectivity in adults seeking treatment for obesity. Psychiatry Research, 269, 191–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aspinwall, L. G., Richter, L., & Hoffman, R. R. (2001). Understanding how optimism works: An examination of optimists’ adaptive moderation of belief and behaviour. In E. C. Chang (Ed.), Optimism and pessimism: Implications for theory, research and practice (pp. 217–238). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Brackett, M. A., Rivers, S. E., & Salovey, P. (2011). Emotional intelligence: Implications for personal, social, academic, and workplace success. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 5(1), 88–103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fiori, M., & Vesely-Maillefer, A. K. (2018). Emotional intelligence as an ability: Theory, challenges, and new directions. In Emotional intelligence in education (pp. 23–47). Cham: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Gallitto, E., & Leth-Steensen, C. (2019). Moderating effect of trait emotional intelligence on the relationship between parental nurturance and prosocial behaviour. Journal of Adolescence, 74, 113–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glăveanu, V. P. (2018). The possible as a field of inquiry. Europe's Journal of Psychology, 14(3), 519.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. London: Bloomsbury.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guilford, J. P. (1967). The nature of human intelligence. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lea, R. G., Davis, S. K., Mahoney, B., & Qualter, P. (2019). Does emotional intelligence buffer the effects of acute stress? A systematic review. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 810.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, J. D., Salovey, P., & Caruso, D. R. (2008). Emotional intelligence: New ability or eclectic traits? American Psychologist, 63(6), 503.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mikolajczak, M., Roy, E., Luminet, O., Fillée, C., & de Timary, P. (2007). The predictive and incremental validity of trait emotional intelligence regarding the subjective and cortisol responses to a laboratory stressor. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 32, 1000–1012.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mikolajczak, M., Roy, E., Verstrynge, V., & Luminet, O. (2009). An exploration of the moderating effect of trait emotional intelligence on memory and attention in neutral and stressful conditions. British Journal of Psychology, 100(4), 699–715.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Milojević, S., Dimitrijević, A. A., Marjanović, Z. J., & Dimitrijević, A. (2016). Bad past, gloomy future: The trait emotional intelligence profile of juvenile offenders. Personality and Individual Differences, 94, 295–298.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Connor, P., Nguyen, J., & Anglim, J. (2017). Effectively coping with task stress: A study of the validity of the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire–Short Form (TEIQue–SF). Journal of Personality Assessment, 99(3), 304–314.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petrides, K. V. (2009). Psychometric properties of the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire. In C. Stough, D. H. Saklofske, & J. D. Parker (Eds.), Advances in the assessment of emotional intelligence (pp. 85–101). New York: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Petrides, K. V., & Furnham, A. (2003). Trait emotional intelligence: Behavioural validation in two studies of emotion recognition and reactivity to mood induction. European Journal of Personality, 17(1), 39–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petrides, K. V., Pita, R., & Konakki, F. (2007). The location of trait emotional intelligence in personality factor space. British Journal of Psychology, 98, 273–289.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petrides, K. V., Mikolajczak, M., Mavroveli, S., Sanchez-Ruiz, M. J., Furnham, A., & Pérez-González, J. C. (2016a). Developments in trait emotional intelligence research. Emotion Review, 8(4), 335–341.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petrides, K. V., Siegling, A. B., & Saklofske, D. H. (2016b). Theory and measurement of trait emotional intelligence. In The Wiley handbook of personality assessment (pp. 90–103). Hoboken: Wiley.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Pittarello, A., Conte, B., Caserotti, M., Scrimin, S., & Rubaltelli, E. (2017). Emotional intelligence buffers the effect of physiological arousal on dishonesty. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 25, 1–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rubaltelli, E., Agnoli, S., & Franchin, L. (2016). Sensitivity to affective information and investors’ evaluation of past performance: An eye-tracking study. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 29(2–3), 295–306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rubaltelli, E., Priolo, G., Scrimin, S., & Moscardino, U. (2020). Media exposure to terrorism and perception of immigrants as a threat: The role of emotional intelligence and psychophysiological self-regulation. Risk Analysis, 40(8), 1666–1676.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salovey, P., & Mayer, J. D. (1990). Emotional intelligence. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 9, 185–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sternberg, R. J. (1990). Metaphors of mind: Conceptions of the nature of intelligence. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stewart, S. L., Wright, C., & Atherton, C. (2019). Deception detection and truth detection are dependent on different cognitive and emotional traits: An investigation of emotional intelligence, theory of mind, and attention. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 45(5), 794–807.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thorndike, E. L. (1921). Intelligence and its measurement: A symposium. Journal of Educational Psychology, 12(3), 124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van der Linden, D., Pekaar, K. A., Bakker, A. B., Schermer, J. A., Vernon, P. A., Dunkel, C. S., & Petrides, K. V. (2017). Overlap between the general factor of personality and emotional intelligence: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 143(1), 36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van der Linden, D., Schermer, J. A., de Zeeuw, E., Dunkel, C. S., Pekaar, K. A., Bakker, A. B., … & Petrides, K. V. (2018). Overlap between the general factor of personality and trait emotional intelligence: A genetic correlation study. Behavior Genetics, 48(2), 147–154.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marconi Institute for Creativity, University of Bologna, Sasso Marconi, Italy

    Sergio Agnoli

Authors
  1. Sergio Agnoli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sergio Agnoli .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland

    Vlad Petre Glăveanu

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy

    Alice Chirico

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Agnoli, S. (2022). Emotional Intelligence. In: Glăveanu, V.P. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of the Possible. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-90913-0_33

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation