Why Measure Emotional Intelligence?
Some people ask whether emotional intelligence should be measured at all. Often, people who take this position equate emotional intelligence with maintaining a sense of sensitivity and respect toward humanity. The idea of assigning a number to a person’s quality, and particularly an emotion-related quality such as emotional intelligence seems highly problematic. For example, Keith Beasley, Director of Pintados Healing,* discusses the issue of measuring people on his web site. There, he distinguishes between measuring objects and measuring people. He argues: When it come to actual things . . . like buying food or measuring distance then feet or meters have a use. In engineering and technology too there is perhaps a need for fixed units and agreed ways of measuring an array of factors. But humans!? I find the idea that I can be classified like a nut or a bolt and measured like a Volt or Amp offensive. We are all unique human beings. To measure or categorise us is to consider us as any ot
