Increasing emotional intelligence: (How) is it possible?

Delphine Nelis*, J. Quoidbach, Moïra Mikolajczak, Michel Hansenne

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Indexed journal article Articlepeer-review

398 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The construct of emotional intelligence (EI) refers to the individual differences in the perception, processing, regulation, and utilization of emotional information. As these differences have been shown to have a significant impact on important life outcomes (e.g., mental and physical health, work performance and social relationships), this study investigated, using a controlled experimental design, whether it is possible to increase EI. Participants of the experimental group received a brief empirically-derived EI training (four group training sessions of two hours and a half) while control participants continued to live normally. Results showed a significant increase in emotion identification and emotion management abilities in the training group. Follow-up measures after 6 months revealed that these changes were persistent. No significant change was observed in the control group. These findings suggest that EI can be improved and open new treatment avenues.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)36-41
Number of pages6
JournalPersonality and Individual Differences
Volume47
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2009
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Emotional intelligence
  • Emotional skills
  • Intervention
  • Training

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Increasing emotional intelligence: (How) is it possible?'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this