Part One: What Type Practictioners Need to Know About Emotional Intelligence and Type

By Roger R. Pearman, Ed.D.
Founder and President, Leadership Performance Systems and Qualifying.org

The question was so simple and shocking that it rendered me silent for a few moments. A long-time user of psychological type asked me, “What could type possibly have to do with emotional intelligence (EQ)?” With this series of postings, I want to share with you some possible answers to that question. There are theoretical and empirical issues related to this question that has practical implications for our use of type.

Let’s agree that in research circles the nature of emotional intelligence continues to be controversial.[i] There are as many articles in professional literature declaring the EQ concept bankrupt as there are research reports showing the critical role of supposed emotionally intelligence constructs in performance. Of those who are believers, two schools of research have emerged, both claming to have massive data to prove the pre-eminence of their position.

Now after 1,549 published research studies since 1994, the two schools of thought that have developed are a traditional abilities model and a behavior-competency model. The abilities model suggests eight specific abilities that operate much like the capacities we bring to cognitive intelligence. Due to various research assumptions, I’ll add the neuroscience researchers to the traditional abilities school. There are a number of behavior-competency models which identify specific measurable behaviors that affect interpersonal effectiveness.

You need certain abilities to effectively use emotions. You must be able to identify the emotion, decode the emotion, understand its potential outcome if (and when) expressed, and translate the information into a constructive choice. For example, you have to be able to see that an individual has had a slight change in their facial expression that signifies a change in emotion if you are going to respond appropriately. The list below outlines the eight capabilities we rely on in emotional intelligence[ii]:

Abilities to perceive emotions:
· Recognizing your emotions
· Identifying contexts of your emotions
· Recognizing others’ emotions
· Anticipating others’ emotions depending on context

Abilities to manage emotions:
· Identifying an appropriate emotional response
· Matching the emotion with the situation
· Evaluating the emotional needs of others
· Demonstrating appropriate interpersonal behavior

Please note that we will return to this list of eight abilities, given that they so conveniently parallel the use of the functions of psychological type.

The second school of thought suggests that whatever the abilities may be, it is the way behavior is expressed that makes the biggest difference. Depending on the researcher, various competencies are listed as since there is no common nomenclature. For the sake of economy, I’ve summarized the typical abilities in the following list. I’ve selected terms to reflect common ground among theorists and researchers:

Self-Management Competencies/Perceiving
· Emotional self-awareness
· Recognizing “hot buttons” and sources of “emotional comfort”
· Stress-awareness

Relationship Competencies/Perceiving

· Awareness of others’ emotions
· Identifying values, perspectives, and intentions of others
· Emotional independence and perspective-taking

Self-Management Competencies/Managing

· Self-control and emotional regulation
· Intentional energy
· Optimism and confidence

Relationship Competencies/Managing

· Interpersonal savvy
· Adaptability
· Empathy

The casual user of psychological type can immediately hypothesize that each of these behaviors is affected by one’s psychological type. For example, the ways in which we express and demonstrate empathy vary by type.[iii] I’ve added a table at the end of this article which links various EQ topics and research in the MBTI® Manual (1998).

As tempting as it is to explore in detail how type is interrelated to these two schools, I think it is more useful in this brief article to step back to the foundations of emotional intelligence. Many writers and researchers in the field accept the premise that whatever emotional intelligence is, it must be an ability to decode and constructively use the information in emotions.


[i] Conte, Jeffrey. (2005) A review and critique of emotional intelligence measures. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26, 433-440.
[ii] These were identified by researchers of the abilities of EQ and measured by the MSCEIT™. See Mayer, J., Salovey, P., Caruoso, D.(2002) MSCEIT™ Manual. Toronto: MHS, Inc.
[iii] The research that produced Introduction to Type and Emotional Intelligence (2002) used a random sampling of the database from the Center for Creative Leadership which allowed for an equal distribution of each of the sixteen types. Using various measures of interpersonal and intrapersonal variables, the styles of each of the sixteen types were analyzed and reported. It is this research which so thoroughly revealed the differences among the sixteen types on such variables as empathy.


Next posting...Decoding and Using the Information in Emotions