Block 2.8 Performance at Work: Problem 2, Who would you hire? (English Summary)

PROBLEM 2. WHO WOULD YOU HIRE? 1



Emotional Intelligence, Cognitive Intelligence, and
Job Performance
Stéphane Côté, Christopher T. H. Miners


Know and understand the arguments that are used in the article for
why EI relates to job performance and how it interacts with general
intelligence.
Background information
Emotional intelligence: set of abilities that includes abilities to perceive
emotions in self and others, use emotions to facilitate performance,
understand emotions and emotional knowledge and regulate them in self
and others.
 Included in organizational programs or training in business schools
 Limited knowledge  criticism of its status
Past research
Mixed results: some studies found that EI is positively, no or inconsistent
association with job performance (explained by compensatory model)
 Expectation: linear effect of EI and cognitive intelligence on job
performance (independent & complementary)
The Compensatory Model
The model: Cognitive intelligence moderates the association between EI
and job performance so that the association becomes more positive when
cognitive intelligence decreases.
 Mayer and Salovey’s EI model
1) abilities to perceive emotions
2) use emotions to facilitate performance
3) understand emotions and knowledge and
4) Regulate emotions.
 Focus on the broad construct of multidimensional EI
Emotional Intelligence as an Intelligence
 Consistent with the definitions of intelligence = ability to grasp
and reason correctly with (emotional) abstractions (emotional concepts)
and solve (emotional) problems
o General intelligence VS (specific) Intelligence
 EI meets the conceptual, correlational and developmental
criteria of intelligence
o Conceptual: strict focus on abilities not personality
o Correlational: EI correlates but is still different from other intelligences
o Developmental: improves over time (older ppl score better on EI)

, PROBLEM 2. WHO WOULD YOU HIRE? 2


Emotional & Cognitive Intelligence
General intelligence (“g”): general efficacy of intellectual processes,
subsumes several broad sets of abilities that represent specializations
of general intelligence
 EI & CI specialization of general intelligence in area of emotions
and cognition
 Could be positively correlated (high-high/low-low) but also they
are separate constructs that do not correspond perfectly
(high EI, low CI or v.v)- because of familial environment (e.g.
parents talking about emotions)
Emotional / Cognitive Intelligence & Job Performance
 CI is positively associated with job performance (task/technical and
OCB)
 Individuals with low CI might attain good job performance through
EI (c.effect)
1. Expertise at identifying and understanding emotions:
accurate detection of others emotions  high task performance
and frequent OCB.
2. Regulating emotions-Social relationships: abilities to manage
emotions  good social relationships  helps task performance
and OCB.
3. Effects of emotions on how people think and act:
understand the effect of emotions (e.g. anger-more risks, positive
emotions- motivation)  better task and OCB
Hypotheses
1. The association between emotional intelligence and task
performance becomes more positive as cognitive intelligence
decreases.
2. The association between emotional intelligence and organizational
citizenship behavior (OCB) becomes more positive as cognitive
intelligence decreases.
Method
Participants & Procedure
 175 full-time university employees, Mage = 41, 67% female, avg of 19y
experience
 Covers many occupations e.g. business and financials, ground cleaning
etc.
 Representative of the organization expt from education and avg age
 Recruitment: email, permission from supervisor and monetary
incentive response rate of 23% (205)
 Data collection: i) 100-min session where the participants completed
different tests and questionnaires, ii) e-mail to the supervisor after one