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Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ December 30, 2004
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But the concept, which basically says that it's important to understand and appreciate the emotions of others and yourself, has gotten quite a foothold and I thought it was time I actually read something about it before forming an opinion.
From Amazon:
There was a time when IQ was considered the leading determinant of success. In this fascinating book, based on brain and behavioral research, Daniel Goleman argues that our IQ-idolizing view of intelligence is far too narrow. Instead, Goleman makes the case for "emotional intelligence" being the strongest indicator of human success. He defines emotional intelligence in terms of self-awareness, altruism, personal motivation, empathy, and the ability to love and be loved by friends, partners, and family members. People who possess high emotional intelligence are the people who truly succeed in work as well as play, building flourishing careers and lasting, meaningful relationships. Because emotional intelligence isn't fixed at birth, Goleman outlines how adults as well as parents of young children can sow the seeds.
I'm actually about a third of the way through the book as I write this, and I'm unimpressed so far. It smacks of sensationalism the way it starts off (and continues) with the use of horror stories about emotions gone awry in domestic abuse and nightclub killings. It also overextends itself in its critique of traditional IQ testing, relying on the tautology that since IQ (or g, or general mental ability ) doesn't predict everything 100% of the time that it's useless and ripe for displacement by something newer, sexier, and fuzzier. I imagine that my opinion after reading this will be the same as before: "Sounds possible, but call me back when you've got more science and less sensation."
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Tags: Book Review, Emotional Intelligence, I/O Psychology, Nonfiction
