Emotional Intelligence

Psychology

First published: 1995
Print length: 352 pagesBantam Books, 1995

Description

Daniel Goleman asks why people with strong conventional intelligence do not always manage work, relationships, pressure, or personal setbacks effectively. His answer is emotional intelligence: the interconnected capacities to recognize one’s own feelings, understand the emotions of others, regulate reactions, collaborate, and act with empathy. Drawing on psychology and neuroscience, he argues that these abilities affect judgment and performance rather than merely supplementing intellectual skill. Their absence can disrupt careers and prevent people from using their other talents, while their development can improve how they respond to conflict and stress. The book reframes intelligence as a set of learnable emotional competencies with consequences for private life, education, and the workplace.

Reading profile

About this profile

Collected’s assessment, not reader ratings. Complexity runs from 1 (least demanding) to 5 (most demanding).

Writing: How much attention the sentences and language require.
Ideas: How much interpretation or abstract reasoning the book asks of you.
Structure: How much you need to keep track of speakers, timelines and connections.
Background knowledge: Prior knowledge needed to follow the book, beyond what it explains.
Emotional intensity: Emotional pressure, from gentle (1) to intense (5). Separate from difficulty.

Writing style

Direct · Journalistic · Technical

Pace

Moderate

Tone

Cerebral · Earnest · Hopeful

Structure

Argumentative

Focus

Argument · Ideas · Information

Emotional intensity

2 / 5

Reading complexity

1–5 · higher means more demanding

Writing: 3 / 5
Ideas: 3 / 5
Structure: 3 / 5
Background knowledge: 2 / 5

Themes

IdentityKnowledge and truthMental healthReligion and faithTransformationWork

About Daniel Goleman

Daniel Goleman is an American psychologist and science journalist who brings research on the mind and behavior into ordinary settings. His twelve years reporting on the brain and behavioral sciences for The New York Times shaped a method built on clear explanation, research synthesis, and concrete cases. He is chiefly concerned with capacities that conventional measures of intelligence overlook, including self-awareness, emotional regulation, empathy, attention, and cooperation. Emotional Intelligence develops this argument by moving between psychology, neuroscience, education, work, and private life, treating emotional skills as abilities that can be learned. Social Intelligence widens the frame from individual competence to encounters among families, colleagues, leaders, lovers, and strangers, tracing how repeated interactions affect bodies, brains, and later relationships. Goleman also varies his structure when the subject requires it. Destructive Emotions records an extended exchange among the Dalai Lama and specialists in science, philosophy, education, and Buddhist practice, allowing definitions, research findings, and practical questions to be tested through dialogue. His wider subjects include meditation, creativity, self-deception, ecological awareness, and social and emotional learning.

Book details

For the print edition listed above.

Publisher: Bantam Books
Language: English
ISBN: 9780553095036

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