Some psychologists have further explored our social intelligence—the know-how involved in understanding social situations and managing ourselves successfully (Cantor & Kihlstrom, 1987). Psychologist Edward Thorndike first proposed the concept in 1920, noting that “the best mechanic in a factory may fail as a foreman for lack of social intelligence” (Goleman, 2006, p. 83).
A critical part of social intelligence, emotional intelligence, consists of four abilities (Mayer et al., 2002, 2016):
Emotionally intelligent people are both socially aware and self-aware. They avoid being hijacked by overwhelming depression, anxiety, or anger. They can read others’ emotional cues and know what to say to soothe a grieving friend, encourage a workmate, and manage a conflict. They can delay gratification in pursuit of long-range rewards. Thus, emotionally intelligent people more often succeed in relationship, career, and parenting situations than do academically smarter but less emotionally intelligent people (Cherniss, 2010a,b; Czarna et al., 2016; Miao et al., 2016). They also tend to be happy and healthy (Sánchez-Álvarez et al., 2016; Schutte et al., 2007, 2016). Aware of these benefits, school-based programs have sought to increase teachers’ and students’ emotional intelligence (Nathanson et al., 2016).
Some scholars, however, are concerned that emotional intelligence stretches the intelligence concept too far (Visser et al., 2006). Howard Gardner (1999b) includes interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences as two of his multiple intelligences. But he notes that we should respect emotional sensitivity, creativity, and motivation as important but different. Stretch intelligence to include everything we prize and the word will lose its meaning.
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For a summary of these theories of intelligence, see Table 60.1.
| Theory | Summary | Strengths | Other Considerations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spearman’s general intelligence (g) | A basic intelligence predicts our abilities in varied academic areas. | Different abilities, such as verbal and spatial, do have some tendency to correlate. | Human abilities are too diverse to be encapsulated by a single general intelligence factor. |
| Thurstone’s primary mental abilities | Our intelligence may be broken down into seven distinct factors. | A single g score is not as informative as scores for seven primary mental abilities. | Even Thurstone’s seven mental abilities show a tendency to cluster, suggesting an underlying g factor. |
| Gardner’s multiple intelligences | Our abilities are best classified into eight or nine independent intelligences, which include a broad range of skills beyond traditional school smarts. | Intelligence is more than just verbal and mathematical skills. Other abilities are equally important to our human adaptability. | Should all our abilities be considered intelligences? Shouldn’t some be called less vital talents? |
| Sternberg’s triarchic theory | Our intelligence is best classified into three areas that predict real-world success: analytical, creative, and practical. | These three domains can be reliably measured. | These three domains may be less independent than Sternberg thought and may actually share an underlying g factor. |
| Emotional intelligence | Social intelligence is an important indicator of life success. Emotional intelligence is a key aspect, consisting of perceiving, understanding, managing, and using emotions. | These four components predict social success and emotional well-being. | Does this stretch the concept of intelligence too far? |