Emotional knowledge - the missing link of emotional intelligence

Abstract

The paper is of a review nature. It revisits the existing definitions of emotional intelligence and emotional knowledge. While the constructs of emotional intelligence and emotional knowledge have existed in parallel in the literature for quite some time, researchers studying emotional intelligence seem to take little, if any, note of emotional knowledge, and those focusing on emotional knowledge rarely relate it to emotional intelligence. It should be noted that the definitions of both emotional intelligence and emotional knowledge refer to emotional information processing, and a comparison of the elements of the two constructs and their operationalizations reveals significant similarities. Indeed, different researchers have included the same elements in the scope of either emotional intelligence  or emotional knowledge. The paper indicates the need to clarifying the relationship between the two constructs and determining the degree of their interdependence and autonomy. Based on the literature review, a new definition of emotional intelligence was proposed. Emotional intelligence has been defined as a set of abilities used to acquire emotional knowledge, that is, to assimilate and analyze emotional information, to incorporate it into one’s cognitive system, as well as to efficiently apply it in understanding and solving emotional problems. The proposed definition emphasizes the cognitive nature of emotional intelligence. It does not go beyond the generally accepted understanding of abilities, in contrast to some models. The definition also clarifies the relationship between emotional abilities and emotional knowledge.  Adoption of the proposed definition of emotional intelligence has several major ramifications for an understanding of the development of emotional intelligence, its role in human functioning, as well as the operationalization of the construct. All these issues are discussed in the last part of the article.