History of Emotional Intelligence, Part Two
1983: Robert Sternberg – Non-Academic Intelligence
Psychologist Robert Sternberg believes that the focus on specific types of measurable mental abilities is too narrow. He believes that studying intelligence in this way leads to an understanding of only one part of intelligence and that this part is only seen in people who are school smart or book smart.
1983: Reuven Bar-On – Coined Term EQ and Created EQ-i®
Reuven Bar-On is a pioneer and internationally acknowledged expert in emotional intelligence. He has been involved in defining, measuring, and applying this concept since 1980, and was responsible for the term EQ as well as creating the EQ-i®, which is the first measure of emotional intelligence to be published. He co-edited the Handbook of Emotional Intelligence in 2000. His work has been described in encyclopedias, books, and articles.
1989: Peter Salovey & Jack Mayer – Emotional Intelligence as an Intelligence
In 1990, two American psychologists (Dr. Jack Mayer and Dr. Peter Salovey) were having a conversation about Gary Hart, a current political candidate who (although brilliant) seemed to consistently mess up because he couldn’t manage his emotions. He would misread situations and react in ways that did not help his political career. They purported that if there was a cognitive intelligence or IQ then there must be an emotional intelligence (sometimes known as EQ). They wrote a white paper article on emotional intelligence based on their findings.
1995: Daniel Goleman – Book on Emotional Intelligence
With a Ph.D. from Harvard, Dr. Daniel Goleman was working as a science writer for the New York Times. He chanced upon the whitepaper article written by Dr. Mayer and Dr. Salovey and he was intrigued by the concept.
Goleman sums up his position like this: “… emotional and social skills give people advantages in realms where such abilities make the most difference, like love and leadership. EI trumps IQ in ‘soft’ domains, where intellect matters relatively little for success.” (Source: http://www.danielgoleman.info/when-emotional-intelligence-does-not-matter-more-than-iq/)
This means that in a competitive marketplace, and where intelligence levels are equal, EQ can be the determining factor for success.
1997: MHS – Publishes Bar-On EQ-i®
In 1997, Multi-Health Services (MHS) published the first fully validated test on emotional intelligence that was developed by Dr. Reuven Bar-On. Since that time many tests have been developed. The Bar-On EQ-i still remains the most widely used and highly validated test of social and emotional functioning.
2001: MSCEIT is published
The Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) is the first published EI ability-based test. It uses the Multifactor Emotional Intelligence Scale (MEIS) to evaluate the four branches of emotional intelligence.