The science of intelligence
EQ vs IQ: what is the difference?
Short answer
IQ measures reasoning and problem solving on standardized tests scored against people your age. EQ, or emotional intelligence, is about handling emotions and is measured either as an ability or as self-reported traits. They are different constructs. In meta-analyses, general mental ability predicts job performance at about 0.51, and EI measures at about 0.24 to 0.30.
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Two different things
An IQ is a score on a standardized test of reasoning, knowledge, memory and speed. Modern tests set the average for each age group at 100 with a standard deviation of 15 (Wikipedia: Intelligence quotient). A 1994 statement signed by 52 researchers described the intelligence behind it as a very general mental capability involving the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas and learn from experience (Gottfredson, 1997).
Emotional intelligence was framed by Salovey and Mayer in 1990 as a set of skills for appraising and expressing emotion, regulating it, and using feelings to motivate and plan (Salovey & Mayer, 1990). Since then the label has come to cover two different constructs: ability-based EI and mixed-based EI (Joseph & Newman, 2010). Trait EI, measured by self-report, is treated as part of personality rather than as a cognitive ability (Petrides & Furnham, 2001).
EQ vs IQ at a glance
| IQ | Ability EI | Trait EI | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | General reasoning and problem solving | Skill at solving emotion problems | Traits and self-perceived abilities |
| How it is measured | Standardized tests with right answers | Performance tests such as the MSCEIT | Self-report questionnaires |
| Scale | Mean 100, SD 15, normed by age | Test-specific | Test-specific |
| Link with job performance | 0.51 | Mixed: depends on emotional labor | Self-report streams within 0.24 to 0.30 |
| Evidence status | Large, long research base | Smaller, debated | Debated overlap with personality |
Sources for the table: IQ scale (Wikipedia: Intelligence quotient); MSCEIT (Mayer et al., 2003); job performance figures (Schmidt & Hunter, 1998) (O'Boyle et al., 2011) (Joseph & Newman, 2010).
Try one · Abstract Reasoning
Which tile completes the grid?
Tap the option you think is right, or show the answer.
Show the answer
The missing tile has a large hatched diamond (option 8).
How to solve it
- Start with the first row and name what changes from tile to tile.
- Every row and every column contains each shape (square, diamond and star) exactly once.
- Every row and every column contains each fill (hatched, outline and solid) exactly once.
- The size (large) stays the same in every tile.
- Check the rules on the second row, then apply them to the third.
- So the missing tile has a large hatched diamond.
That was 1 puzzle. The full test has 25.
Which predicts job performance better?
A meta-analysis of 85 years of personnel research estimated the validity of general mental ability for job performance at 0.51 (Schmidt & Hunter, 1998). The APA task force on intelligence put raw correlations between test scores and job performance between .30 and .50 before correction, and cautioned that tests predict considerably less than half the variance of job-related measures (Neisser et al., 1996).
For EI, a 2011 meta-analysis found corrected correlations of 0.24 to 0.30 with job performance across three streams of measures (O'Boyle et al., 2011). That is smaller, but it is not nothing, and the self-report and mixed-model streams added the most prediction beyond cognitive ability and the Five Factor Model (O'Boyle et al., 2011). Ability EI was the least consistent: it predicted performance positively in high emotional labor jobs and negatively in low emotional labor jobs (Joseph & Newman, 2010).
These figures come from different meta-analyses with different samples, so the comparison is rough. The fair summary is that IQ-type ability has the larger and better established link with job performance, and some EI measures add a little on top of it.
Does a high IQ mean low EQ?
This is a popular idea, but we found no research support for it among the studies we rely on. The concern researchers actually raised points the other way: Joseph and Newman questioned whether EI is partly redundant with cognitive intelligence and Big Five personality (Joseph & Newman, 2010). Redundancy would mean the two overlap, not that they trade off. How large the overlap is remains an open question, and we do not quote a single number for it.
What neither score tells you
The 1994 mainstream statement said IQ tests do not measure creativity, character or personality, and that a high IQ no more guarantees success than a low IQ guarantees failure (Gottfredson, 1997). Both scores describe group tendencies, not destinies. For more on what IQ predicts, read IQ and life outcomes and does IQ predict success. For EI in depth, see what emotional intelligence is, and for the bigger picture, what intelligence is. If you want the IQ side, the free test gives an estimated IQ from 25 visual puzzles.
Sources
- Intelligence quotient. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligence_quotient
- Gottfredson, L. S. (1997). Mainstream science on intelligence: An editorial with 52 signatories, history, and bibliography. Intelligence, 24(1), 13-23. doi.org/10.1016/S0160-2896(97)90011-8
- Salovey, P., & Mayer, J. D. (1990). Emotional intelligence. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 9(3), 185-211. doi.org/10.2190/DUGG-P24E-52WK-6CDG
- Joseph, D. L., & Newman, D. A. (2010). Emotional intelligence: An integrative meta-analysis and cascading model. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(1), 54-78. doi.org/10.1037/a0017286
- Petrides, K. V., & Furnham, A. (2001). Trait emotional intelligence: Psychometric investigation with reference to established trait taxonomies. European Journal of Personality, 15(6), 425-448. doi.org/10.1002/per.416
- Mayer, J. D., Salovey, P., Caruso, D. R., & Sitarenios, G. (2003). Measuring emotional intelligence with the MSCEIT V2.0. Emotion, 3(1), 97-105. doi.org/10.1037/1528-3542.3.1.97
- Schmidt, F. L., & Hunter, J. E. (1998). Psychological Bulletin, 124(2), 262-274. doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.124.2.262
- Neisser, U., Boodoo, G., Bouchard, T. J., Jr., Boykin, A. W., Brody, N., Ceci, S. J., Halpern, D. F., Loehlin, J. C., Perloff, R., Sternberg, R. J., & Urbina, S. (1996). Intelligence: Knowns and unknowns. American Psychologist, 51(2), 77-101. doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.51.2.77
- O'Boyle, E. H., Humphrey, R. H., Pollack, J. M., Hawver, T. H., & Story, P. A. (2011). The relation between emotional intelligence and job performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 32(5), 788-818. doi.org/10.1002/job.714