The dark side of emotional intelligence

So far, most of our thinking about emotional intelligence has been with a positive outlook: how better emotional knowledge and improved skills might help us in our lives and at work.

However, Justin Bariso (2018) argues that emotional intelligence is not ‘inherently virtuous … and can be used for good or evil’.

The negative side of emotional intelligence

Take a look at the article and consider the following examples of the ‘dark side’ of emotional intelligence:

• ‘In 2010, a group of scientists found that individuals who demonstrated certain narcissistic traits (in essence, a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, self-focus and self-importance) made better first impressions on their peers by using humour and charming facial expressions. That is to say: people with their own interests at heart are more talented at gaining others’ support, at least at first.
• A 2011 study indicated that ‘Machiavellians’ (people who show a tendency to manipulate others for personal gain) who rated high in knowledge of emotion-regulation were more likely to engage in deviant actions, such as publicly embarrassing someone at work.
• A 2013 study found that those who tended to exploit others for personal gain were also good at reading those people’s emotions, especially negative ones.’

(Bariso 2018)

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Reference

_{Bariso, J. (2018) ‘There’s a Dark Side to Emotional Intelligence: Here’s How to Protect Yourself. Time [online] Available from http://time.com/5300642/dark-side-emotional-intelligence/ [26 July 2018]}