Emotional Intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ

Philosophers and social and developmental psychologists have long debated the nature of empathy (eg, Batson et al., 1991; Eisenberg & Miller, 1987; Thompson, 2001) and whether the capacity to share and understand other people's emotions sets humans apart from other species (eg, de Waal, 2005). Here, we consider empathy as a construct to account for a sense of similarity in feelings experienced by the self and the other without confusion between the two individuals (Decety & Jackson, 2004; Decety & Lamm, 2006).