Emotional intelligence test

What is emotional intelligence?

Emotional intelligence (EQ or EI) is the ability to notice, understand and manage emotions, your own and other people's. Psychologists Peter Salovey and John Mayer introduced the idea in 1990, and Daniel Goleman's 1995 book made it famous. This test uses the four areas common in workplace models:

• Self-awareness: knowing what you feel and why.
• Self-management: handling stress, anger and setbacks.
• Social awareness: reading other people's feelings and the mood in a room.
• Relationship skills: calming conflict, giving feedback and building trust.

Self-report vs ability tests

This is a self-report test: it shows how you see your own emotional skills. Ability tests, such as the MSCEIT, instead score right and wrong answers about emotions and often disagree with self-reports. Ask someone who knows you well whether your result rings true.

The statements are our own. Want to know how sharp your reasoning is too? Try the IQ test.

Questions people ask

What is a good EQ score?

On this test, 65 or more out of 100 is high and 45 to 64 is average. There is no single official EQ scale.

Is EQ more important than IQ?

Both matter. IQ is the stronger predictor of academic results; EQ helps with relationships, leadership and coping with stress. Claims that EQ matters "twice as much" are not well supported.

Can you improve emotional intelligence?

Yes. Training in skills like naming emotions, active listening and calming down has raised EQ scores in many studies.