Emotional Intelligence May Help Us Make Better Decisions, Study Finds

Amy Taylor November 25, 2013

What and where we are now is often a reflection of the decisions we make. Now, working on our emotional intelligence could be the key towards smarter decisions in life, a new study suggests.

Emotional intelligence is defined in psychology as the ability to manage our own emotions and the emotions of others. Most experts agree that it plays a big role in a person’s quest for success in life and career. For instance, "people are driving and it’s frustrating. They get to work and the emotions they felt in their car influences what they do in their offices. Or they invest money based on emotions that stem from things unrelated to their investments," study researcher Stéphane Côté, a professor in the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, said.

“Our investigation reveals that if they have emotional intelligence, they are protected from these biases."

Published in the journal Psychological Science, the study involved several experiments to evaluate how different levels of emotional intelligence affect people’s decision-making abilities. In one experiment, researchers found that anxiety seemed to be blocked in people with high emotional intelligence. On the other hand, it seemed to affect the decision-making skills of people with low emotional intelligence.

According to the researchers, the role of emotional intelligence may extend way beyond controlling our emotions. It may actually help us stop any emotion – good or bad – which is not helpful in making a specific decision.

"People who are emotionally intelligent don’t remove all emotions from their decision-making," Côté said. "They remove emotions that have nothing to do with the decision."

In 2008, a similar study published in the Journal of Consumer Research also showed that emotional intelligence may aid in decision-making by helping people realize their emotions can affect the choices they make. For example, compulsive eaters may understand nutrition, but they may not realise their emotions affect their food choices.

Source of this article:

How Emotional Intelligence Can Improve Decision-Making