How "so smart can be so dumb" -- School smarts vs Street smarts

Have you known individuals who despite their school smarts seem to fail in life?  While they may be off the charts in traditionally accepted IQ scores, some of these individuals seem to lack the common sense and creativity that has allowed others, who may have fallen farther down the IQ curve, to start a successful business, write a best seller, or find other success in life.

Peter Salovey and John Mayer, coined the phrase emotional intelligence when they were discussing the antics of a well-known politician, which caused them to speculate how someone "so smart could be so dumb."  They hypothesized that there must be more to intelligence than merely a high IQ and coined the term emotional intelligence to describe what they believed made up this missing component in current depictions of human intellect.

While our society has traditionally attributed intelligence with high IQ, a high level mental state involving linear solving processes, there is another form of intelligence to consider.    According to Robert Goleman, emotional intelligence (EQ), refers to the capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves, and for managing emotions well in ourselves and in our relationships.

EQ can be equated with the "aha" moments we experience in life which are characterized by exhilarating leaps in intuition when everything is suddenly clear.  High levels of emotional intelligence have been shown to have a significant impact on important life outcomes including mental and physical health, work performance, and social relationships. 


In fact, a high level of emotional intelligence has been found to be more effective in determining leadership skills, self-improvement, academic success, raising children and communication in general than IQ alone.  The correlation between high IQ and real-world success may be a small as 4 to 10 percent.  This would suggest that other types of intelligence, including emotional intelligence, account for more than 90 percent of the success people experience in their lives.

One of the most common misrepresentations by those critical of emotional intelligence, is that EQ is synonymous with giving free reign to one's emotions and  letting it all hang out.   To the contrary, an individual with a high level of EQ effectively manages emotions and feelings so that they are expressed accurately and appropriately.   Individuals, on the other hand, who are on the low end of the EQ continuum will almost surely stumble through life filled with frustrations, miscommunications, and failed social and intimate relationships.

The theories of emotional intelligence are answering questions that have never before been able to be answered.  And, while most experts do not suggest that EQ should be viewed as a replacement for IQ,  they do agree that the scientifically based concept of emotional intelligence, should be studied as an additional and complementary component of human understanding.  And, contrary to traditional views that intelligence (IQ) is genetically predetermined, the skills associated with EQ can be learned.  Granted, some people find it easier than others to do so.   

Emotional intelligence, when studied and applied allows us to address the real-world dichotomy between school smarts and street smarts.   Four specific building blocks or foundational skills if understood allow each of us independently to become more emotionally intelligent.  These building blocks include:  self awareness, self management, social awareness and relationship management.

Some of these building blocks may harken back to days of old when we learned basic skills of how to get along in elementary school.  In fact Robert Fulgham wrote an essay, All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, outlining lessons and skills learned in the first year of school such as sharing, playing well with others, and cleaning up after themselves.  Wouldn't we agree that the world would be a better place if each of us individually and collectively continued to play by these rules?  These skills, so important back in kindergarten, are rooted in emotional intelligence.

The application of science within the realm of emotional intelligence has opened a whole new world of possibilities as we mesh traditional intelligence standards with emotional standards of intelligence.  Learning to identify emotional cues and manage relationships effectively under the umbrella of emotional intelligence is a process that takes time, practice, patience and true commitment.  But, the good news is -- they can be learned!  Developing your personal emotional intelligence is essential for true competence in most areas of life and may be the deciding factor in personal success whether it be in business, social or interpersonal relationships.

Works cited:

Kemper, C.L. (1999) . EQ vs. IQ.  Communication World, 15-19.

Robertson, S.S. (2007) Got EQ? Increasing Cultural and Clinical Competence Through Emotional Intelligence.  Communication Disorders Quarterly, 29, 14-18.