Adaptive Emotional Functioning: A Comprehensive Model of Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence describes adaptive emotional functioning. Perceiving, understanding and managing emotions effectively in the self and others are core elements of emotional intelligence. The model of emotional intelligence presented in this chapter organizes the numerous promising categories of research findings on emotional intelligence through a dimensional framework that describes aspects of emotional intelligence, possible antecedents of emotional intelligence, and likely consequences of emotional intelligence. Aspects of emotional intelligence are the core dimension of the model and include ability emotional intelligence, emotional self-efficacy, and trait emotional intelligence. Ability emotional intelligence is the potential to show emotional competency. Emotional self-efficacy is the expectation that one can bring about good outcomes in emotional functioning. Trait emotional intelligence describes the extent to which individuals actually show emotional competence in their daily lives. The dimension of antecedents of emotional intelligence consists of the categories of individual difference characteristics and situational factors. Possible individual-difference antecedents of emotional intelligence include genetically and neurologically determined dispositions, cognitive abilities, emotion-related mastery experiences, processing style, characteristic states of consciousness such as mindfulness, and motivation. Antecedent situational factors include priming and social networks. The dimension of consequences of emotional intelligence consists of categories reflecting functioning in different realms of life. These realms of life include subjective well-being, mental and physical health, relationships, work, and personality. Several intervention studies designed to increase emotional intelligence provide evidence for the causal role of emotional intelligence in bringing about improvements in these realms of life. The dimensional model of emotional intelligence provides a framework for understanding discoveries already made regarding emotional intelligence as well as a guide for future research.