What is emotional intelligence?

Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to recognize, understand, and manage our own emotions as well as the emotions of others. This skill includes the capacity for emotional awareness, which involves identifying what one is feeling and understanding how those emotions affect one's thoughts and behaviors. Additionally, it encompasses the ability to regulate emotions, respond to others empathetically, and handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically.

The other choices, while related to aspects of interpersonal interactions, do not encompass the full definition of emotional intelligence. For example, cognitive intelligence is a different construct focused on intellectual capabilities rather than emotional understanding. Focusing solely on empathy limits the broader scope of emotional intelligence, which includes self-regulation and emotional management. Effective communication is an important skill related to emotional intelligence, but it is just one application of these broader emotional competencies, rather than the entirety of what emotional intelligence entails.