How Feelings Make Us Smarter

Emotions and Cognition Are Interconnected, Not Opposing Forces

Shankar Vedantam challenges the common belief that emotions hinder our rational minds, stating that emotions are not obstacles but essential for understanding, focus, and prioritization. He notes that emotions provide crucial data that guide our decisions and responses. Peter Salovey expands on this, pointing out that Western philosophy and religion, including the teachings of stoic philosophers and various traditions, have historically maintained a division between thought and emotion. Emotions were often viewed as a primitive vestige, something to be suppressed in favor of rational thought.

However, recent advances in brain imaging upend this dualism. Through fMRI scans, researchers observe that brain regions associated with emotion, cognition, decision-making, and problem-solving are densely interconnected. When individuals are engaged in cognitive tasks, areas involved in emotion are also activated, demonstrating that these processes are not isolated. Salovey notes that studies of patients who have suffered brain damage, particularly strokes affecting the emotional centers of the brain, reveal resulting impairments in cognitive functions as well. This evidence shows that emotion and cognition are intertwined, and emotions are integral to rational thought.

Emotional Intelligence: A Cognitive Ability to Perceive, Understand, and Manage Emotions

The concept of emotional intelligence emerged from the work of psychologists Peter Salovey and Jack Mayer. They observed that some individuals possess a superior ability to read emotional cues and navigate social situations. Noticing that people approached social and emotional challenges with varying degrees of skill, they questioned whether these abilities constituted a distinct form of measurable intelligence—emotional intelligence.

Their initial discussions on this subject did not take place in a laboratory but while painting Salovey's living room. Their research had explored how mood and emotion impacted memory, judgment, and decision-making. They envisioned a framework to organize such abilities and hypothesized that, like tr ...

The MESKETE (Meyer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test) is developed as a measure of emotional intelligence, assessing how well people read others’ expressions, understand their own emotional states, and regulate emotions. Research using the MESKETE shows that emotional intelligence (EI) is a powerful predictor of success across social, academic, and professional realms.

Emotional Intelligence Test Predicts Success

Assessment on Facial Interpretation, Emotional Transitions, and Conflict Resolution

The MESKETE test evaluates individuals on their ability to interpret facial expressions, manage emotional transitions, and navigate conflict resolution. These skills form the core components of emotional intelligence.

Research: Higher Meskate Scores Predict Better Ratings in Listening, Empathy, Sociability, and Friendship Potential

Studies show that participants with higher MESKETE scores are rated more favorably by strangers during interactions. They are seen as better listeners, more connected, and more empathic. When videos of these interactions are shown to third parties, those with high MESKETE scores are also rated as more sociable and better at building friendships.

Video Analysis: High-Scoring Meskate Participants Seen As More Socially Competent and Better at Building Relationships

Through both direct interaction and video review, individuals with high MESKETE scores are frequently identified as better able to connect with others, exhibiting increased sociability and competence in relationship-building.

Emotional Intelligence Predicts Friendship, Prosocial Behavior, and Conflict Reduction Outcomes

Emotionally Intelligent People Build Larger Social Networks, Engage More In Helping Behaviors, and Encounter Fewer Conflicts

Correlational studies reveal that people with higher emotional intelligence typically have larger friend networks and are more likely to participate in prosocial behaviors such as helping and sharing. These individuals also report fewer arguments and conflicts.

Empathy and Understanding Emotions Reduce Friction and Attract Connections With Emotionally Intelligent People

Emotionally intelligent individuals stand out as desirable friends because they listen attentively, empathize deeply, accurately reflect feelings, and possess intuition about others' overlooked experiences. This ability to "walk a mile" in others' shoes reduces friction and draws people to form connections with them.

Emotionally Intelligent Individuals Are Chosen As Friends for Their Emotional Attentiveness, Accuracy In Reflecting Emotions, and Intuition in Sensing Overlooked Experiences

The capacity to tune into subtle emotional cues makes emotionally intelligent people more likely to be chosen as friends and confidantes, fostering deeper bonds within social groups.

Emotional Intelligence Curbs Risky, Self-Destructive Adolescent Behaviors

Teens With Higher Emotional Intelligence Exhibit Lower Drug and Alcohol Use due to Better Management of Negative Emotions

Research finds that adolescents with higher MESKETE scores are less likely to use drugs or alcohol. This is attributed to their stronger ability to manage negative emotions without relying on substances for regulation.

Emotionally Intelligent Youth Avoid Delinquency, Stay Engaged In Learning

Emotionally intelligent young people are less likely to engage in delinquent behaviors and are more comfortable and successful within the school environment. They build friendships more easily, experience less frustration, and are less likely to drop out.

Empathy Reduces Aggression in Emotionally Intelligent Youth

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Emotional Intelligence Transforms Tense Situations for Constructive Outcomes

Emotional Intelligence: Easing Distress and Building Rapport

Peter Salovey recounts meeting Bill Clinton while nervous about the interaction. Clinton, picking up on Salovey's anxiety, extends a warm greeting and references an earlier incident where Salovey inadvertently cut off Clinton's limo. Clinton charms Salovey by playfully claiming they had already "met" and reassures him with familiarity. Clinton's firm handshake, eye contact, and storytelling directly address Salovey's anxiety, making him feel at ease. Clinton's ability to read and manage Salovey's emotions shifts the moment from tense to comfortable, demonstrating how emotional intelligence can build immediate rapport and ease distress in socially challenging encounters.

Leaders Shifting Focus From Debate to Human Impact Enables Understanding Beyond Logic

Salovey describes a meeting with an African-American student who grew up in South Carolina. She shares her discomfort with attending a college permeated by symbols of slavery and the name of John C. Calhoun. Her emotional perspective reframes the issue from an abstract debate about historical honor versus erasure to the concrete, present-day impact on students’ feelings of belonging and safety.

Emotionally Intelligent Decision-Makers Value Emotional Data, Pausing to Examine Gut Feelings and Intuitive Reactions

Salovey reflects on how engaging with the student's deeply personal testimony and emotional metaphor allows him to process these feelings, pause, and reconsider previously held views about the college’s name. Rather than relying solely on logical argument or precedent, he values the emotional data provided, leading to increased empathy and a reassessment of what best serves the student body.

Emotional Intelligence Fosters Growth Through Self-Awareness and Empathy

Emotions Enhance Clarity and Conclusions

Salovey describes "a moment of emotional understanding and deep empathy," which triggers a new clarity about what is at stake for the students. By processing his emotions and those expressed by the student, he experiences a shift in perspective, underpinning the argument that emotions can enhance clarity and the quality of final decisi ...

Peter Salovey introduces the RULER framework as a set of five skills designed to help K-12 students learn about and develop emotional intelligence. RULER stands for Recognizing, Understanding, Labeling, Expressing, and Regulating emotions, offering a stepwise approach to navigating one’s own feelings and those of others.

Ruler's Five Key Emotional Intelligence Competencies For K-12 Students

Emotion Recognition: Identifying Internal Feelings and Detecting Others' Signals

The first step, recognizing emotion, involves being able to identify what one is feeling internally and discerning how others are feeling, whether through nonverbal cues or verbal communication. This foundational awareness helps students interpret emotional states in themselves and in the people around them.

Understanding Emotion Involves Knowing What Emotions Mean, Their Evolution, and how They Affect Thinking and Behavior

Understanding emotion is the ability to grasp what an emotion signifies, how it evolves over time, and how it can shift from something minor, such as irritation, to something stronger, like rage. Understanding also encompasses recognizing the effect emotions have on thought processes and motivation, as well as on behavior.

Labeling Emotions Requires Precise Vocabulary to Communicate Experiences Accurately

Labeling emotions focuses on finding and using precise vocabulary to describe feelings. Proper labeling allows individuals to communicate emotional experiences to others and interpret others’ feelings accurately. This also involves situating emotions within dimensions of pleasantness and energy, providing nuance in how emotions are discussed and understood.

Emotion Expression Awareness and Modulation

Expressing emotion refers to how feelings are shown on one’s face and through body language, as well as how these expressions are modulated in different contexts, such as at work, at home, at joyful events, or at somber occasions like funerals. This competency includes developing cultural awareness around emotional expression, recognizing that norms for expressing emotions can vary significantly across societies.

Emotion Regulation: Aligning Personal and Influencing Group Dynamics

Regulating emotion is about managing one’s own emotional states and, at times, influencing the emotions of others. For example, an individual might strive to cheer themselves up for a creative task or calm down ...

Developing emotional intelligence relies on deliberate, multi-modal experiences that expand our ability to recognize, understand, and manage emotions. Peter Salovey outlines several approaches involving literature, the arts, and active practice, all of which help cultivate these skills in nuanced ways.

Literature Boosts Emotional Intelligence in Adults Without Formal Instruction

Analyzing Fiction: Understanding Characters' Motivations and Emotional Complexity

Reading great literature often involves deeply considering characters’ motivations and why they act in sometimes conflicted or nuanced ways. Engaging with fiction in this manner exercises one’s ability to comprehend and interpret emotional complexity, fostering a sophisticated understanding of both emotions themselves and the subtleties of human behavior.

Literary Analysis Exercises Real-World Emotional Intelligence Through Fictional Scenarios

By analyzing fictional scenarios, readers practice recognizing and labeling emotions in contexts outside their own lives. This process translates into improved emotional management, offering readers the tools to deal with complex feelings and situations in the real world.

Arts Exposure Enhances Emotional Intelligence

Viewing Art in Museums Deepens Understanding of Aesthetic Experiences and Human Emotions

Salovey emphasizes that viewing visual art—such as paintings in museums—encourages emotional reactions and reflection. Dedicated spaces like a museum in Santander, Spain, use the art-viewing experience to help visitors practice interpreting and expressing emotions, thus exercising emotional intelligence in an aesthetic context.

Theater and Method Acting Teach Performers to Link Actions With Emotions, Demonstrating how Actions Evoke Feelings

In the realm of theater, observing or participating in performances helps individuals witness how emotions connect to actions and cognition. Method acting, for example, often involves consciously enacting behaviors associated with emotions—such as pretending to cry—which can actually evoke the corresponding feeling. Repeated exposure to this relationship on stage refines performers’ understanding of emotional and behavioral links.

Music Enhances Emotional Intelligence By Expanding Emotional Repertoire and Recognition

Listening to music is another powerful approach, giving people the opportunity to feel emotions that may be rare or unfamiliar in daily life. This not only broadens their emotional repertoire but also improves their ability to recognize and articulate subtle feelings in themselves and others.

Role-Playing and Repetition Strengthen Emotional Intelligence Like Physical Practice Develops Skills

Practicing Tough Scenarios Helps Observe how Words Evoke Emotional Responses

Role-playing real-life situations—such as asking a boss for a raise—provides invaluable practice in navigating challenging emotional scenarios. Observing how specific words trigger emotional responses builds both self-awareness and control.

Practicing Emotional Awareness to Avoid Poor Choices ...