Journal of Organizational Behavior J. Organiz. Behav. 26, 425-431 (2005) Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/job.318 Why emotional intelligence is an invalid concept EDWIN A. LOCKE* Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, U.S.A. Summary In this paper I argue that the concept of emotional intelligence (EI) is invalid both because it is not a form of intelligence and because it is defined so broadly and inclusively that it has no intelligible meaning. I distinguish the so-called concept of EI from actual intelligence and from rationality. I identify the actual relation between reason and emotion. I reveal the funda- mental inadequacy of the concept of EI when applied to leadership. Finally, I suggest some alternatives to the EI concept. Copyright C 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Why Emotional Intelligence Is an Invalid Concept The concept of intelligence refers to one's ability to form and grasp concepts, especially higher-level or more abstract concepts. The observations on which the concept of intelligence is formed are that some people are simply able to 'get' things better than others; that is, they are able to make connec- tions, see implications, reason deductively and inductively, grasp complexity, understand the meaning of ideas, etc., better than other people. Motivation obviously plays a role in understanding concepts and can partly compensate for low ability, but even highly motivated people differ in intellectual ability. Those who are better able to grasp higher-level concepts are better able to handle complex tasks and jobs. Intelligence must be clearly distinguished from rationality. Whereas intelligence refers to one's capacity to grasp abstractions, rationality refers to how one actually uses one's mind. A rational indi- vidual takes facts seriously and uses thinking and logic to reach conclusions. A person can be very intelligent and yet very irrational (cf. many modern philosophers; Ghate & Locke, 2003). For example, a person's thinking may be dominated by emotions, and they may not distinguish between what they feel and what they can demonstrate to be true. The concept of emotional intelligence (EI) was introduced by Salovey and Mayer (1990), although related ideas such as 'social intelligence' had been introduced by earlier writers-originally by E. L. Thorndike. Salovey and Mayer (1990, p. 189) defined emotional intelligence as 'the ability to monitor one's own and others' feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information * Correspondence to: Edwin A. Locke, 32122 Canyon Ridge Drive, Westlake Village, CA 91361, U.S.A. E-mail: elocke@rhsmith.umd.edu Accepted 5 January 2005 Copyright C 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
426 E. A. LOCKE to guide one's thinking and actions.' (Note: definitions of EI are constantly changing, an issue I will return to later.) There are several problems with this definition. First, the ability to monitor one's emo- tions does not require any special degree or type of intelligence. Monitoring one's emotions is basi- cally a matter of where one chooses to focus one's attention, outwards at the external world or inward at the