
9. EI versus IQ
Here’s another important fact about emotional intelligence: It’s entirely separate from other kinds of mental ability, including the intelligence quotient (IQ) measured by standardized intelligence tests. A person can have a high IQ but a low EI, or vice versa.
- The idea that there are many different kinds of intelligence was first popularized by psychologist Howard Gardner in the 1980s. He identified at least eight different types of intelligence and later supposed that others may exist.
- The theory of emotional intelligence—sometimes called emotional quotient (EQ)—began to develop in the 1990s, and since then many researchers have studied how it works.