ETS Research Scientist Co-Authors New Book on Emotional Intelligence

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Princeton, N.J. (April 20, 2009) —

Emotional intelligence (EI) — the ability to perceive, regulate and communicate emotions, and to understand emotions in ourselves and others — has been the subject of best-selling books, magazine cover stories and countless media mentions. But the media hype has far outpaced the scientific research on emotional intelligence. Now a new book by three experts who are actively involved in EI research offers a state-of-the-art account of EI in theory and practice. They tell us what we know about EI based not on anecdote or wishful thinking but on science.

What We Know about Emotional Intelligence is co-authored by Richard D. Roberts, Principal Research Scientist at the Center for New Constructs at Educational Testing Service; Moshe Zeidner, Professor of Educational Psychology and Human Development at the University of Haifa; and Gerald Matthews, Professor of Psychology at the University of Cincinnati. The book looks at current knowledge about EI and explores the various possible uses for EI testing.

“The authors of this primer note that a search on Google yields more than three million hits under the heading ‘emotional intelligence,’ of which they estimate fewer than 1,000 are linked to scientific publications,” says James R. Averill, noted researcher and author. “The authors are rightly troubled by the way the popular literature has far outpaced scientific research.”

“If a person were to read one scientific article a day, taking off only Sundays and holidays, it would require more than three years to cover the extant literature,” Averill adds. “And by the end of three years there would perhaps be another thousand articles to read. These accomplished researchers provide an excellent summary of what is — and is not — known about emotional intelligence.”

“Many people believe that EI promises a new means for achieving success and personal happiness,” says Roberts. “Coaches and consultants offer EI training and administer EQ tests — despite the lack of any agreement on how to measure EI, the usefulness of testing for EI and even how to define EI. We looked at current knowledge about EI with the goal of translating it into practical recommendations in work, school, social and psychological contexts. We wanted to provide clear guidance on what is and what isn’t EI, why the concept has such appeal today, how EI develops, and the usefulness of EI in the real world — in school curricula, the workplace and treating psychological dysfunction.”

Over 12 chapters, Roberts and his co-authors introduce the topic of EI and explore such areas as:

  • Mapping Out the Terrain
  • Emotional Intelligence: A New Construct?
  • Developing Emotional Intelligence: From Birth to Earth
  • Schooling Emotional Intelligence
  • Emotional Intelligence and the Toxic Work Environment
  • Emotional Intelligence: Known, Unknown and Future Directions

What We Know about Emotional Intelligence is available from The MIT Press for $29.95.  Further information is available at: http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=11705

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