AUTHOR=Truninger Margarida , Fernández-i-Marín Xavier , Batista-Foguet Joan M. , Boyatzis Richard E. , Serlavós Ricard 

TITLE=The Power of EI Competencies Over Intelligence and Individual Performance: A Task-Dependent Model

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01532

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01532

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<p>Prior research on emotional intelligence (EI) has highlighted the use of incremental models that assume EI and general intelligence (or <italic>g</italic>) make independent contributions to performance. Questioning this assumption, we study EI's moderation power over the relationship between <italic>g</italic> and individual performance, by designing and testing a task-dependent interaction model. Reconciling divergent findings in previous studies, we propose that whenever social tasks are at stake, <italic>g</italic> has a greater effect on performance as EI increases. By contrast, in analytic tasks, a compensatory (or negative) interaction is expected, whereby at higher levels of EI, <italic>g</italic> contributes to performance at a lesser extent. Based on a behavioral approach to EI, using 360-degree assessments of EI competencies, our findings show that EI moderates the effect of <italic>g</italic> on the classroom performance of 864 MBA business executives. Whilst in analytic tasks <italic>g</italic> has a stronger effect on performance at lower levels of EI competencies, our data comes short to show a positive interaction of EI and <italic>g</italic> in affecting performance on social tasks. Contributions and implications to research and practice are discussed.</p>