Calvin needs to learn self-regulation.

Watterson, B. (2011, Aug. 8). Calvin and Hobbes. [Cartoon]. Retrieved from gocomics.com

Emotional Intelligence (EI), it is what young Calvin lacks in the above cartoon and in many of the cartoon Watterson created in the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip. Of course, it is natural that Calvin, portrayed as a six-year-old, is developing these skills. But, what is emotional intelligence? Why is it important? Is it really intelligence or knowledge? And, how does it relate to academic and job performance and overall happiness?

Emotional Intelligence is composed of the following five qualities: self-awareness, empathy, motivation, self-regulation, and social skills. While in class, intelligence has been defined as an innate ability to acquire and use skills, emotional intelligence is composed of a variety of skill sets that can be learned through observation and example or can be taught. Intelligence may be required to attain these skills, but the skills themselves are not necessarily innate.

McKinlay, L. (2018, July 4). Get smart about emotional intelligence. [image] Cognitive Institute. https://www.cognitiveinstitute.org/get-smart-about-emotional-intelligence/

Daniel Goleman (1995) published a book called Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More than IQ which catapulted the concept to the forefront of people's minds. Changes in education soon followed, including the use of more group work, the teaching of social-emotional learning or "soft skills", and the recognition that these skills are needed now more than ever with more instruction and communication taking place online (MacCann, et al., 2020). These skills are seen as desirable attributes for students to develop at all levels, often touted as skills more desired than intelligence in the workplace.

However, according to a meta-analysis by MacCann, et al. (2020) overall intelligence is still a better indicator of job performance. In fact, the authors cite intelligence and conscientiousness as both being higher indicators in the workplace. Though, they did find a small positive correlation between EI and academic performance, especially in self-rated EI. 

While EI may not be the highest indicator of job performance, it is a strong indicator of overall happiness (Extremera, et al., 2020). Which begs the question, what is more important- job performance or happiness?

Watterson, B. (n.d.). Calvin and Hobbes. [Cartoon]. Retrieved from https://fractalenlightenment.com/31307/life/10-beautiful-life-lessons-from-calvin-and-hobbes

References:
Extremera, N., Sánchez-Álvarez, N., & Rey, L. (2020). Pathways between ability emotional intelligence and subjective well-being: bridging links through cognitive emotion regulation strategies. Sustainability, 12(5), 2111. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12052111

Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than
IQ. London, UK: Bloomsbury.

MacCann, C., Jiang, Y., Brown, L. E. R., Double, K. S., Bucich, M., & Minbashian, A. (2020). Emotional intelligence predicts academic performance: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 146(2), 150. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000219

Watterson, B. (2011, Aug. 8). Calvin and Hobbes. [Cartoon]. Retrieved from gocomics.com

Watterson, B. (n.d.). Calvin and Hobbes. [Cartoon]. Retrieved from https://fractalenlightenment.com/31307/life/10-beautiful-life-lessons-from-calvin-and-hobbes