About Emotional Intelligence (EQ) and the "Theory of Multiple Intelligences"... (part 2)

Although EQ was already addressed in the previous article, there is still a sense that this concept was not sufficiently clarified, as that post was somewhat monopolized by the attempt (hopefully a successful one) to explain the concept of the intelligence quotient.

The topic will therefore be revisited, with a stronger emphasis than before on the history of the EQ concept and its rise to prominence.

The various “types” of intelligence will also be detailed and—as expected—the reasons why these are regarded as imaginative fabrications.

The history of the EQ concept

In 1950, Maslow introduced the concept of “emotional strength”, followed later by the term “emotional intelligence”, which appeared in a paper by Michael Beldoch in 1964 and a paper by B. Leuner in 1966.

In 1983, Howard Gardner introduced, through his book Frames of Mind: Theory of Multiple Intelligences, the theory that traditional types of intelligence fail to fully explain cognitive ability. He put forward the idea of multiple intelligences, including intrapersonal intelligence (the ability to understand and manage one’s own emotions, thoughts, and motivations) and interpersonal intelligence (the ability to understand and interact effectively with others).

The word EQ was first used in an article written by Keith Beasley for the British magazine Mensa in 1987. In 1989, Stanley Greenspan proposed a model (a definition) to describe emotional intelligence.

In 1990, psychologists Peter Salovey and John Mayer introduced the concept of emotional intelligence in an academic article, and later, in 1995, the term was popularized by Daniel Goleman’s book Emotional Intelligence – Why It Can Matter More Than IQ.

At the end of 1998, Goleman’s article in the Harvard Business Review, titled What Makes a Leader?, argued that EQ encompassed the skills and traits that lead to leadership performance. In subsequent research, emotional intelligence was criticized for its alleged role in leadership and business success.

As a brief clarification, it turns out that agreeableness, a trait frequently associated with high emotional intelligence, does not predict job performance as well as IQ or conscientiousness and, in some cases, can even negatively affect it.

The hazard represented by the theory of multiple intelligences

As mentioned in the previous chapter, the theory of multiple intelligences was formulated by Howard Gardner in 1983. Within this theory, he proposed that there are 8 types of intelligence: visual-spatial, logical-mathematical, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, verbal-linguistic, naturalistic, intrapersonal, and interpersonal.

Nevertheless, it remains just a theory, and one of the main criticisms directed at it is the lack of evidence presented to support the concept of “multiple intelligences”.

Furthermore, the theory of multiple intelligences is problematic because it is so vague and lacking in substance. If the word “intelligence” is used to designate the aptitudes and talents with which people are endowed, the term itself loses its meaning; thus, if previously intelligence was directly proportional to an individual’s cognitive capacity, after accepting a term such as “bodily-kinesthetic intelligence”, the definition of intelligence, in its current form, no longer exists.

It may be noted that the use of a well-established term, and then its correlation with another, not as well-established term, devoid of empirical evidence, in some cases even subjective, leads to the invalidation of the first term, which is "widened" to encompass the second.

The failure of representatives of the woke ideology to provide a definition for the word "woman" is perhaps the best example of this; by accepting men (transgenders) among women, the term "woman" has lost its meaning, being practically adopted by anyone who feels that it is one.

However, in schools around the world these "types of intelligence" are pushed by the administration. One possible reason would be that if some children are recognized as "Low-IQ", the school can tell them that although they have gaps in logical-mathematical intelligence, they are otherwise intelligent.

This is a mistake! We cannot completely discredit scientific consensus when it comes to psychological concepts, especially if they are then integrated into the school curriculum!

The conclusion I have come to, and which I have endeavored to argue throughout this article, is that these types of "intelligence" are not actually new ways of thinking, but rather different skills, talents, and ways of manifesting the same cognitive ability.

It is extremely easy to ignore scientific consensus when we want to quickly reach a conclusion. Through this post, the intention was to bring out a vague and insufficiently substantiated theory, but also to encourage critical and careful documentation before accepting any idea as truth.

Bibliography

Beldock, M. (1964). Sensitivity to expression of emotional meaning in three modes of communication. In J. R. Davitz (Ed.), The communication of emotional meaning (pp. 31–42). New York City: McGraw-Hill.

Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligence. New York City: Basic Books.

Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. New York City: Bantam Books.

Goleman, D. (1998). What makes a leader? Harvard Business Review, 76(6), 93–102.

Greenspan, S. I. (1989). Emotional intelligence: The growth of the emotions and the meaning of infancy. The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 44(1), 227–249. https://doi.org/10.1080/00797308.1989.11822957

Leuner, B. (1966). Emotional intelligence and emancipation. Practice of Child Psychology and Child Psychiatry, 1(4), 133–136.

Maslow, A. H. (1950). Self-actualizing people: A study of psychological health. Personality Symposium, 1, 11–34.

Mayer, J. D., & Salovey, P. (1990). Emotional intelligence. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 9(3), 185–211. https://doi.org/10.2190/DUGG-P24E-52WK-6CDG

Mayer, J. D., Salovey, P., & Caruso, D. R. (2008). Emotional intelligence: New ability or eclectic? American Psychologist, 63(6), 503–517. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.63.6.503

Murphy, K. R. (Ed.). (2006). A critique of emotional intelligence: What are the problems and how can they be fixed? Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Waterhouse, L. (2006). Multiple intelligences, the Mozart effect, and emotional intelligence: A critical review. Educational Psychologist, 41(4), 207–225. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326985ep4104_1