Facial Recognition and Emotional Intelligence

I have quite a few of my doctoral students who are working on their dissertation on emotional intelligence. In our book, It’s Not You It’s Your Personality, Toni Rothpletz and I include a chapter about emotional intelligence. When I wrote my dissertation on the relationship between emotional intelligence and sales performance, I found one book to be particularly useful in explaining the different models. If you are researching emotional intelligence, I would suggest reading: Emotional Intelligence: Key Readings on the Mayer and Salovey Model. I think another very interesting and useful thing to read on the topic is this article by Mayer, et al, Human Abilities: Emotional Intelligence. It has some very comprehensive information about emotional intelligence, the difference approaches and measurement techniques, as well as what it does and does not predict. No list of important reading in the area of emotional intelligence would be complete without mentioning Daniel Goleman’s book as well . . . See: Emotional Intelligence: Why it Can Matter More than IQ.

One of my students is looking into adding the facial recognition aspect to her studies. If you missed my blog about taking facial recognition quizzes, click here. For those of you who have seen the TV show Lie to Me, they have some interesting research they tie into that show about facial recognition. Dr. Paul Ekman’s work was the inspiration for this show. On his site, he discusses whether you can be like the show’s character Cal Lightman. Ekman does a review of the show on a blog where he points out what is based on truth and what is not. Eckman has produced some courses for facial recognition called the Microexpression Training Tool or METT and the Subtle Training Expression Tool SETT. Click here for more information. To find out more about Dr. Ekman’s books, including one he wrote with the Dalai Lama, click here.

You May Be Looking For A Job But Your Emotional Intelligence May Be What Needs Work

The job market is over-crowded with applicants all applying for the few coveted jobs. What makes one person stand out in the crowd over another? One thing may be their emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence (EI) has become a buzz word in the last 10-15 years, thanks mostly to Daniel Goleman who has popularized EI through several mainstream books. Goleman’s definition of EI is not the only definition of EI. In fact, there are several authors who have defined EI in slightly different ways. I think one of the basic and most easily understood definitions is: Emotional Intelligence is the ability to understand one’s own emotions as well as those of others.

Why do employers care about this? By having the ability to understand other people’s emotions, you can have more empathy, social intelligence and interpersonal skills. In my dissertation, I examined the relationship between emotional intelligence and sales performance. I did indeed find that a correlation existed between the two. Those with higher EI levels did produce more sales. Employers know about the importance of having EI now and are looking for it in their potential employees.

What if your emotional intelligence quotient or EQ is low? The good news is that Goleman and others have shown that EI can be improved. I would recommend reading Daniel Goleman’s book, Emotional Intelligence: 10^th Anniversary Edition, Why it Can Matter More Than IQ. Another important book is by Authors such as Hughes, Patterson, and Terrell, who offer training activities that help develop specific areas of emotional intelligence. Although their book, Emotional Intelligence in Action, is aimed at leaders, it would be helpful to those looking for exercises to develop their emotional intelligence.