Centennial, CO — Jan. 31
A study recently published in Psychological Science has found evidence that people from higher-class backgrounds have lower emotional intelligence (EQ) than people from lower-class backgrounds. That could be bad for business, according to EQ experts at The Tracom Group.
A sample of more than 300 upper- and lower-class people was asked to interpret the emotions of people in photos and of strangers during mock job interviews. In both cases, those with more education, money and self-defined social status were significantly less able to determine if a person was angry, happy, anxious or upset as their lower-class colleagues.
A body of research indicates a strong relationship between business performance and emotional intelligence. EQ impacts a variety of business measures, including recruiting and job selection, sales results and leadership performance. Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive, control and evaluate emotions to improve work and personal life.
One important element of emotional intelligence is empathy and the ability to create effective relationships with others. A key to improving emotional intelligence is understanding behavioral preferences, not just of one’s self but of others and understanding how to adapt behaviors to achieve the desired outcome.
“This new study is consistent with other research showing that people in positions of leadership or influence often have performance blind spots or shortcomings in their ability to work effectively with others,” says Dr. Casey Mulqueen, Tracom’s director of research. “Fortunately, emotional intelligence and interpersonal effectiveness skills can be learned and developed with practice.”
