The Bar-On Concept of EI

The Bar-On Concept of EI:

The Encyclopedia of Applied Psychology states that there are three major models of emotional intelligence:

(i) the Mayer-Salovey model which defines this construct as the ability to perceive, understand, manage and use emotions to facilitate thinking;

(ii) the Goleman model which views it as an assortment of emotional and social competencies that contribute to managerial performance and leadership; and

(iii) the Bar-On model which describes EI as an array of interrelated emotional and social competencies, skills and behaviors that impact intelligent behavior.

The Bar-On model of emotional-social intelligence can be divided into two basic parts as it were. The first part is the conceptualization, or theory, of this construct; and the second part is the psychometric aspect of this model which is, essentially, the measure of emotional-social intelligence which was based on the theory and designed to assess it. These two parts of the model have also been referred to as (a) “the Bar-On conceptual model of emotional-social intelligence” and (b) “the Bar-On psychometric model of emotional-social intelligence” respectively, while (c) “the Bar-On model of emotional-social intelligence” refers to both the conceptual and the psychometric components of this model combined together into one inseparable entity.

In contrast to what appears in some publications on the Bar-On EQ-i from time to time, there is no “EQ-i model of emotional intelligence” – more succinctly, the EQ-i is based on the “Bar-On model of emotional and social intelligence” as is clearly explained in this section and throughout the professional literature.

This section includes the following topics:

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