Research Review:Emotional Intelligence predicts components of subjective well-being beyond personality: A two-country study using self- and informant reports

 The Journal of Positive Psychology, 2012; 7 (2), 107 – 118.

Special thanks to Sam Turner, PhD for preparing this piece

The aim of coaching is to produce positive results with our clients. One possible way to consider a positive outcome is to take into consideration the roles of subjective well-being and emotional intelligence.

What is subjective well-being?

Subjective wellbeing, or simply SWB, refers to both cognitive well-being (judgments of life satisfaction) and affective well-being (the presence of positive feelings and the absence of negative feelings). Clients high in subjective well-being are likely to demonstrate a connection between activities and overall satisfaction with life and a consistent state of affective balance with more positive than negative feelings.

What is emotional intelligence?

Emotional intelligence, or simply EI, refers to the ability to accurately perceive, express, and regulate emotions to effectively cope with problems. Not surprisingly, people who are higher in EI tend to be higher in overall well-being.

This study aimed to test the notion that EI could predict the cognitive and affective components in subjective well-being using two international samples.

What are the implications for coaching?

• The authors suggest that, “Individuals who are good at identifying, understanding, and regulating emotions in both themselves and others typically feel better about themselves.”
• Beyond personality, emotional intelligence demonstrated value in predicting subjective well-being.
• Clients from different cultures can show differences in EI and SWB. One way to consider how this plays out, clients from individualistic cultures such as Germany may present with higher emotional expression than from more traditionally collectivistic cultures such as Turkey.
• With the absence of tools to measure EI and SWB, coaches should look for effective coping strategies, reliance on a broad social network, and an awareness and effective regulation of emotions in clients and those around them.