Emotional Intelligence May Be Associated with Some Forms of Creative Potential

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Cognitive Science
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Previous research suggests a link between creative potential and emotional intelligence.
• The specific nature of divergent thinking tasks and emotional intelligence components may influence this relationship.
• Understanding these nuances is crucial for accurately assessing creative potential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between divergent thinking (DT) and emotional intelligence (EI) in gifted and non-gifted high school students.
• To compare the association of two different DT tests (Social Games vs. Titles Games) with EI.
• To determine if specific EI subscales (Interpersonal, Intrapersonal) are more related to DT than others (Adaptability, Stress Management).

Main Methods:

• Administered the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory: Youth Version (EQ-i: YV) to measure EI.
• Utilized two divergent thinking tests: Social Games and Titles Games.
• Employed canonical correlation analysis and path analysis on a sample of 244 Saudi high school students (125 gifted, 119 non-gifted).

Main Results:

• The Social Games divergent thinking test demonstrated a stronger association with emotional intelligence compared to the Titles Games test.
• This pattern held true for both the total sample and the gifted subsample.
• Interpersonal and Intrapersonal EI subscales showed a higher correlation with divergent thinking fluency and originality scores from the Social Games test.

Conclusions:

• The type of divergent thinking task significantly impacts its relationship with emotional intelligence.
• Social-contextual divergent thinking tasks appear more strongly linked to emotional intelligence components.
• Findings suggest tailoring assessments and interventions based on the specific nature of creative potential and emotional intelligence measures.