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Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ Paperback – September 27, 2005
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“A thoughtfully written, persuasive account explaining emotional intelligence and why it can be crucial.”—USA Today
Everyone knows that high IQ is no guarantee of success, happiness, or virtue, but until Emotional Intelligence, we could only guess why. Daniel Goleman's brilliant report from the frontiers of psychology and neuroscience offers startling new insight into our “two minds”—the rational and the emotional—and how they together shape our destiny. But why is emotional intelligence important?
Drawing on groundbreaking brain and behavioral research, Goleman shows the factors at work when people of high IQ flounder and those of modest IQ do surprisingly well. These factors, which include self-awareness, self-discipline, and empathy, add up to a different way of being smart—and they aren’t fixed at birth. Although shaped by childhood experiences, emotional intelligence can be nurtured and strengthened throughout our adulthood—with immediate benefits to our health, our relationships, and our work.
The twenty-fifth-anniversary edition of Emotional Intelligence could not come at a better time—we spend so much of our time online, more and more jobs are becoming automated and digitized, and our children are picking up new technology faster than we ever imagined. With a new introduction from the author, the twenty-fifth-anniversary edition prepares readers, now more than ever, to reach their fullest potential and stand out from the pack with the help of EI.
- Print length352 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherBantam
- Publication dateSeptember 27, 2005
- Dimensions5.5 x 0.7 x 8.2 inches
- ISBN-109780553383713
- ISBN-13978-0553383713
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book engaging and useful. It provides insights and perspectives that enrich their understanding of emotional intelligence. They appreciate the well-researched information and practical techniques presented in a clear manner. Many consider it a classic that remains relevant today. However, some readers found the later chapters repetitive and boring. Opinions differ on the scientific content, with some finding it interesting and well-written, while others feel it's more scientific and difficult to understand.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book engaging and useful. They appreciate the author's clear explanation of the scientific basis and how relationships impact life. The book is described as an easy read that resonates with the concept of handling relationships.
"...studies and experiments, and intelligent and non-pedantic descriptions of complex phenomenon with ease...." Read more
"Great read highly recommend" Read more
"...Emotional Intelligence is an insightful, enlightening look at how awareness of the emotions and their physiology can help us to manage them when..." Read more
"...Thus it is easy to resonate with the concept that life is about handling relationship, which as per Mr. Goleman is about being able to manage the..." Read more
Customers find the book helpful for understanding emotional intelligence. It provides perspectives and useful tools to help with counseling students. The book complements spiritual studies of mindfulness and helps them better understand and manage their internal environment. They say it has had a significant impact on them and provides a roadmap to accessing the life they desire.
"...This is a thoughtful, sober, and careful analysis of specific issues related to character formation and the steady slide of young people in society..." Read more
"...Citing research, Goleman suggests that the ability to recognize and manage emotions and emotional response, primarily learned from parents, family,..." Read more
"...In short, solutions include methods such as self-awareness, cognitive reframing, and distraction techniques to fight toxic trains of thought before..." Read more
"...I love how it gives people the inner workings of the human brain and the social effects of the individual...." Read more
Customers find the book provides valuable information on emotional intelligence. It explains the scientific background and practical techniques. They describe it as a guide to making sense of the senseless and an introduction to different aspects of understanding the physical world. The book answers many questions and opens their eyes to patterns they may not have noticed. Overall, customers find it a solid book covering the basics of EQ.
"...The book details interesting scientific discoveries, data from studies and experiments, and intelligent and non-pedantic descriptions of complex..." Read more
"...and emotions help us stay motivated, optimistic, resilient, and resourceful...." Read more
"...be developed and strengthened through practice, making this book a helpful guide for anyone looking to improve their emotional intelligence and, in..." Read more
"...The approach to handling PSTD was also interesting...." Read more
Customers find the book's content classic and timeless. It provides a guide for personal and social growth, with some new insights and reminders. Readers describe it as an original and definitive work that is one of their favorite books.
"The classic textbook from the father of the 'EQ' concept. This is one of the must reads on anyone's reading list...." Read more
"...It's a classic for a reason, and is well worth a read for yourself or to better understand a loved one or friend who seems to have lower emotional..." Read more
"...Classic book and author that shows the path to personal and social improvement" Read more
"A good classic" Read more
Customers appreciate the book's depth. They find it explains topics in a clear way, with thorough research and content.
"...CONCLUSION Overall, the chapters I read had much greater depth of research than I expected. And that was a really good thing...." Read more
"...A long deep psychological treatment of human emotions. Deep, weighty, has incredible "thud" power using behavioral research to explain why..." Read more
"This is the original text and the most in depth. Start here, if this topic interests you...." Read more
"Very deep...I bought one for my father as well. It's made a great way for him and I to connect and chat about something we both love...." Read more
Customers find the book's science content interesting and well-written. They appreciate the author's ability to convey scientific information in an easy-to-read manner that brings biology into a soft science field. However, some readers feel the book is too scientific and lacks practical insights. There are also concerns about redundant research and evidence references.
"...He also leaves out facts, such as that several knives were used, instead saying that the killer "slashed and stabbed them over and over with a..." Read more
"...The book details interesting scientific discoveries, data from studies and experiments, and intelligent and non-pedantic descriptions of complex..." Read more
"...skills of life to every child , however, there are not many new insights coming out. I would go with three stars on this...." Read more
"...Tell Susan Kane that. Sheesh! I could not really get past these inaccuracies and false judgments about introverts, but to me they were big red..." Read more
Customers find the book dull and repetitive. They find it hard to follow and difficult to enjoy the topic with the writing style. Some readers have difficulty with their minds wandering while reading textbooks.
"...There are only two drawbacks to this book. For one, it is quite repetitive...." Read more
"I had to return this book because the font was so small it hurt to try to read...." Read more
"...Only half negative comment: it becomes a little repetitive towards the end, and you'll predict what the next page will tell you before you get there..." Read more
"...that I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5 was that it was hard to focus on the book and it was a little dry at times...." Read more
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Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2024I don't usually find myself buying or reading books labeled "Self-Help." Not that I don't like myself, or consider myself unworthy of help--or beyond the realm of needing help--but I find the books labeled and marketed this way to be largely vapid and boring.
This was not the case with Daniel Goleman's Emotional Intelligence. This is a thoughtful, sober, and careful analysis of specific issues related to character formation and the steady slide of young people in society into a situation of being incapable of articulating, let alone controlling, their passions--as they would have been called in the 18th century--and directing their attentions and efforts in pursuits likely to lead to productive, healthy, and contented lives. What could be more urgent and important?
The book details interesting scientific discoveries, data from studies and experiments, and intelligent and non-pedantic descriptions of complex phenomenon with ease. While offering ideas for solutions, Goleman is never so obnoxious as to pretend that providing training in emotional intelligence to young people will solve all of society's ills. In an age of mass shootings, youth nihilism and despair, and generations lacking the ability to toss their phones aside and pay attention to something for more than two minutes, focusing on a way to drive home the usefulness and almost unlimited upside of character formation (which Goleman concedes is actually what he's talking about at the end) seems a tremendous imperative. While the book begins with philosophy--where the answers ultimately lay--Goleman hopes to avoid that field by keeping the majority of the book in the hard(ish) sciences.
However, if he wishes to succeed in reforming education along the conservative/classical (though thoroughly secular and traditionally liberal) lines he proposes here, he will need to get a bit more explicitly philosophical. There, I fear he will collapse into a heap of utilitarianism and collectivism and squander the good that this book hints towards and wishes to promise.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2025Great read highly recommend
- Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2006You know the feeling--your spouse says something that strikes you the wrong way, and involuntarily you tense up. You can almost feel your blood pressure rise. Without thinking, you respond emotionally, and soon what may have been intended as an innocuous comment has sparked a full-fledged marital battle that may leave as its aftermath lingering feelings of anger and resentment.
In Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman describes the physiological processes that drive and are driven by emotion and their purpose, the ability of emotions to hijack rational thought and the short- and long-term physiological and psychological effects, and the personal and social benefits of teaching and learning how to manage the emotions.
In the opening chapters, Goleman discusses in simplified terms the complex interactions of the brain when emotion-causing stimuli are perceived, with the emotional mind reacting more quickly than the rational. For example, the sight of a snake may start the fight-or-flight response; the structures of the emotional brain prime the body to strike out at the snake or to flee from it. Then, after the body is tensed, the rational mind notices that it is a harmless garter snake. The efficiency of the brain circuitry, along with its emotional memory and associative abilities, helps to explain the power of the emotions. Citing research, Goleman suggests that the ability to recognize and manage emotions and emotional response, primarily learned from parents, family, friends, school, and the community, is a greater indicator of success in relationships, work, and society than intelligence tests. It is not necessarily how well you learn or what you know, but indeed how well you play with others.
Goleman covers a variety of topics: depression, mania, anxiety, PTSD, drug abuse, teenage pregnancy, relationship issues, abuse, and others. For example, a feeling of sadness can be transformed in the brain into a lingering mood and ultimately into a full-blown clinical depression. He shows how emotional intelligence can be used to control the brain's circuitry so that pathological conditions like depression, mania, and PTSD can be managed or at least controlled.
Citing an increase worldwide in indicators of emotional and social problems, Goleman focuses on children and the importance of pilot programs that teach such skills as empathy, assertiveness without aggression, self-awareness and self-control, conflict resolution, and so forth. He discusses several studies that show measurable, long-term benefits of such programs, and the negative results when children do not have the opportunity to learn these skills at home, at school, on the playground, or in the community.
Goleman does not always seem trustworthy. His description of the 1963 "Career Girl" murders, intended to illustrate an emotional hijacking, does not match other accounts in key areas. He also leaves out facts, such as that several knives were used, instead saying that the killer "slashed and stabbed them over and over with a kitchen knife." He does not mention the sexual assaults in "those few minutes of rage unleashed." The crime he depicts fits his picture of an emotional hijacking, but other accounts show it to have been a more deliberate crime of longer duration. In a section on empathy, he says that one-year-olds "still seem confused over what to do about [another child's tears]," citing an instance where a "one-year-old brought his own mother over to comfort the crying friend, ignoring the friend's mother, who was also in the room." There is no confusion here, but a logical, pre-verbal assumption: "My mother is comforting to me when I am upset; therefore, she will be comforting to you, too." This kind of thinking is not limited to one-year-olds; for example, how many times has a friend recommended an action movie or horror novel to you, saying that you will "love it," even though your known preference is historical romance or another completely different genre? Even adults assume that "what works for me will work for you."
Goleman also discusses school bullies and outcasts in detail. He places so much emphasis on the probability that their peers are reacting to their lack of emotional intelligence that he misses some important exceptions and nuances, such as children who are social outcasts for socioeconomic and racist reasons or because they are nonconformist individualists, in which cases it is the other children who display a lack of empathy and emotional intelligence. On the flip side, there are children (and adults) who are not empathetic or emotionally intelligent but who are well liked, even popular, for other reasons, tangible and intangible (e.g., socioeconomic status, influence, some mysterious force of personality or charisma). Many successful, popular people exhibit little emotional intelligence, which Goleman could have addressed. In addition, while Goleman cites a wealth of research supporting his arguments, he does not present any dissenting opinions, or whether any exist. This weakens his presentation.
Emotional Intelligence is an insightful, enlightening look at how awareness of the emotions and their physiology can help us to manage them when they affect our lives negatively or when they become pathological (e.g., depression). I found the book to be a practical guide to recognizing when I am reacting rather than listening to others or hearing them correctly. It has helped me to cope with colleagues who are lacking in emotional intelligence and to give them subtle guidance. While most of Emotional Intelligence is intuitive to a perceptive mind, the book serves as a guide and reminder that even a little emotional intelligence can make relationships, situations, and life more positive, more productive, and less stressful.
Top reviews from other countries
Bogdan BartosReviewed in Canada on January 6, 20255.0 out of 5 stars Good price
Very good book. Love it. I recommend.
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MaypromptReviewed in Mexico on October 23, 20245.0 out of 5 stars Excelente
Es un libro bien fundamentado y muy claro.
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Cliente KindleReviewed in Brazil on February 3, 20245.0 out of 5 stars Leitura indispensável para a vida
É um livro fundamental para a vida de todos nós. Não é um best-seller de autoajuda, mas uma reflexão profunda, assertiva e baseada em pesquisas com rigor científico conduzidas por décadas. É uma leitura transformadora à medida que abre nossos olhos para verdades pouco difundidas ou completamente negligenciadas sobre inteligência emocional, cuja ausência propicia a maior parte dos problemas de relacionamento, de segurança e de saúde nas nossas sociedades contemporâneas.
pshtiwanReviewed in the United Kingdom on December 26, 20245.0 out of 5 stars Interesting purchase on this topic
Timely delivery value for money
This is a great product and much value for the money. It arrived on time and I am very satisficed with this product, the price was reasonable, the item was suitable for me and I recommend it for others who are looking for the same item. I wish you all the best.
Deepika meenaReviewed in India on November 30, 20245.0 out of 5 stars Art of knowing your Emotional Self
Well written, well supported by scientific researches, you won't regret a bit about purchasing this book. Just worth every penny

