Addresses criticisms of the authors’ previous linking of emotion and intelligence by explaining that many intellectual problems contain emotional information that must be processed. Using P. Salovey and J. D. Mayer’s (1990) definition of emotional intelligence as a type of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use the information to guide one’s thinking, it is argued that intelligence is an appropriate metaphor for the construct. The abilities and mechanisms that underlie emotional intelligence are described. These mechanisms are (1) emotionality itself, (2) facilitation and inhibition of emotional information flow, and (3) specialized neural mechanisms. Emotionality contributes to specific abilities, and emotional management influences information channels and problem solving. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
