IQ? EQ?

I was reading several article about the IQ and EQ and decided to re-post those article here.

Different between IQ and EQ?

IQ, also known as Intelligence Quotient, is a score or number derived from a standardized intelligence test. IQ scored are used as predictors of educational achievement, job performance, special needs, or even income. and 95% of the populations scores an IQ between 70 - 130.

EQ is a measure of a person's level of emotional intelligence. This refers to a person's ability to perceive, control, evaluate, and express emotions. Studies have shown that high EQ people have greater mental health, exemplary job performance, and more potent leadership skills.

As an individuals, our success and the success of the profession today depend on our ability to read other people's signals and react appropriately to them. Personally, i believe EQ is more important compared to IQ, although people with IQ is still recognized as an important element of success, particularly when it comes to academic achievement. "Your EQ is the level of your ability to understand other people, what motivates them and how to work cooperatively with them," says Howard Gardner, the influential Harvard theorist. Therefore, we must develop the mature Emotional Intelligence skills required to better understand, empathize and negotiate with other people - particularly as the economy has become more global.

i remember i did an IQ test back in my school day when i was around 15-16 years old. i can't exactly remember what is the score of my IQ test back then, but however, the scores predicted that i'm suitable for Civil Engineering.

However, i just did Emotional Intelligence Online Test, which presents a mix of self-report and situational questions related to various aspects of emotional intelligence. My results indicate an above average score on emotional intelligence. According to the result shown, people with a better than average score on Emotional Intelligence tend to be good at interpreting, understanding, and acting upon emotions. They are usually quite good at dealing with social or emotional conflicts, expressing their feelings, and dealing with emotional situations.

Salovey and Mayer proposed a model that identified four different factors of emotional intelligence:

1. Perceiving Emotions - the ability to detect, perceive and decipher emotions in faces, pictures, voices, body language, and cultural artifacts.
2. Using Emotions - the ability to think and cognitive activity, such as; solving problems. Emotions help prioritize what we pay attention and react to; we respond emotionally to things that garner our attention.
3. Understanding Emotions - the emotions that we perceive can carry a wide variety of meanings. if someone is expressing angry emotions, the observer must interpret the cause of their anger and what it might mean. For example, if your boss is acting angry, it might mean that he is dissatisfied with your work; or it could be because he got a speeding ticket on his way to office, or that he's been fighting with his wife.
4. Managing Emotions - the ability to manage emotions effectively, responding appropriately, both in ourselves and in others. Therefore, the emotionally intelligent person can harness emotions, even negative ones, and manage them to achieve intended goals.

According to Akers and Porter, This 5 major categories of emotional intelligence skills are equally important:

1. Self-awareness - the ability to recognize your own emotions and their effects, and sureness about your self-worth and capabilities.
2. Self-regulation - the ability to control your self-experience emotions, such as anger, anxiety or even depression. this involves self-control, trustworthiness, conscientiousness (Taking responsibility for your own performance), adaptability, and innovation.
3. Motivation - to motivate yourself for any achievement requires clear goals and a positive attitude. Motivation is made up of; Achievement drive, commitment, initiative, and optimism.
4. Empathy - the ability to recognize how people feel is more important to success in your life career. An Empathetic person excels at: Service orientation (anticipating, recognizing and meeting clients' needs), leveraging diversity, political awareness and understanding others.
5. Social Skills - includes; communication, influence, leadership, problem solving, building bonds, collaboration and cooperation, team player.

However, it's important to remember that no matter how good your score is, there's always room to improve your emotional intelligence. consider areas where you are not as strong and think of ways that you can learn and grow. take stock of your strong points and find ways to continue to develop and apply these skills.

References:
Gardner, H. (1975) "The Shattered Mind", NewYork: Knopf.

Kendra, Cherry "IQ or EQ: Which One Is More Important?". psychology.com

Michael Akers & Grover Porter. (2007). "What is Emotional Intelligence (EQ)?". Psychcentral.com

Mayer, J.D., Salovey, P., & Caruso, D. R. (2000) "Models of emotional intelligence". In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.). Handbook of intelligence (pp. 396-420). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.