Alexithymia: This is a condition in which individuals experience difficulty in recognizing, understanding and/or distinguishing between their emotions. The name is also associated with the field which studies this condition. The first papers describing this phenomenon appeared in the professional literature in the late 1940s with articles published by Ruesch and MacLain. In 1967, Sifneos first defined “alexithymia” on the pathological end of the EI continuum. The antithesis of alexithymia would appear to be “psychological mindedness” (“PM”), which was first conceptualized by Appelbaum in 1973; and PM can be seen as the emotionally healthy end of EI continuum. Both alexithymia and PM have had an impact on the ongoing development of the Bar-On model.

Applying emotional intelligence-social intelligence: This refers to the application of emotional intelligence at home, school and in the workplace as well as in other settings such as in healthcare and sports.