What Is This Thing Called Emotional Intelligence

The term emotional intelligence (EI) was first used in a German paper by B. Leuner. However, the first formal definition of EI, along with the first model appeared in P. Salovey and J. D. Mayer, who also carried out the first empirical studies. Goleman's international best-seller propelled EI into the limelight and influenced most subsequent conceptualizations of EI. One difficulty with the operationalization of ability EI is that emotional experiences are inherently subjective and, consequently, lack the objectivity required to make them amenable to robust, valid, and reliable maximum performance measurement. The primary basis for discriminating between trait EI and ability EI is to be found in the type of measurement approach used and not in the elements of the sampling domains of the various conceptualizations. Although purists would no doubt be outraged by the overuse and abuse of the term intelligence, it seems a popular way of introducing new individuals by different variables rather than in terms of skills or traits.