Article: IQ vs EQ

IQ vs. EQ

Nabila Ben Slimane
Pharmacy-Jeddah

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” - Charles Darwin

Before analyzing EQ and IQ, I would like to shed some light on the exact meaning of these terms.

IQ, Intelligence Quotient, is a number that signifies the level of intelligence a person possesses to understand, interpret and implement knowledge in different situations. It involves primarily the neo cortex or top portion of the brain.

•         Over 140 - Genius or almost genius

•         120 - 140 - Very superior intelligence (Gifted)

•         110 - 119 - Superior intelligence

•         90 - 109 - Average or normal intelligence

•         80 - 89 - Dullness

•         70 - 79 - Borderline deficiency in intelligence

•        Under 70 - Feeble-mindedness

EQ, Emotional Quotient, is a measure of one’s emotional intelligence, as defined by the ability to use both emotional and cognitive thought. It includes but is not limited to empathy, leadership, integrity, ability to identify, understand, assess, and control the emotions of oneself, of others, and of groups. It involves the lower and central sections of the brain.

Emotional intelligence goes back to the year 1980 when quality researchers were looking for leaders skills that contribute to their success and support them in performing their roles and duties. It has become one of the essential topics in many leadership training courses, where they help managers and leaders understand and develop emotional intelligence competencies. Center of Creative Leadership training center “noticed that key leadership skills and perspectives are related to aspects of emotional intelligence and the absence of emotional intelligence was related the career derailment”.

Mayer a professor of psychology at the University of New Hampshire worked closely with David Caruso, a management psychologist, and came out with four branch model of emotional intelligence. The model shows four branches of skills that are related to emotional intelligence. The first two known as experiential emotional intelligence, are related to feelings, while the third and fourth are strategic emotional intelligence:

1.       Perception (perceive emotions in others accurately)

2.       Facilitation (ability to use emotions to enhance how we think)

3.       Understanding emotions (how they change as well as how they influence people’s behaviors with time)

4.       Emotional management (how to integrate logic and emotion for effective decision-making)

 

Comparing IQ vs. EQ using examples:

•        Appealing to emotions to convince someone rather than using facts alone

•        Using emotions in addition to cognitive abilities to function rather than relying solely on logic

•        Knowing how and why vs. knowing what

•        Knowing how to motivate separate individuals as opposed to treating everyone the same way

•        Understanding and controlling your emotions to use them for something vs. letting your emotions control you because you do not know how to deal with them when hiring.

Many companies around the world look at an individual’s EQ rather than IQ. Having a high IQ will help build interpersonal and intrapersonal skills to a certain extent, unlike EQ, which talks about one’s character based on the way he or she writes or replies to mail, collaborates and networks with peers and subordinates and works towards attaining company goals.