Emotional intelligence, coping with stress, and adaptation

This chapter examines two prominent concepts in modern day psychological research, emotional intelligence (EI) and coping with psychological stress. EI may be defined as a set of inter-related abilities for identifying, expressing, understanding, and managing emotions (e.g., [1-3]). Coping refers to the process of managing various demands that are appraised as personally threatening, challenging, or otherwise demanding [4]. Spurred by Goleman’s best-selling book [5] drawing parallels between the two concepts, researchers have posited that effective coping with the demands, pressures, and conflicts evident in the home, at work, and in social life is central to the EI construct [6]. Indeed, the scientific merit of EI plausibly rests in demonstrating that it is a coherent quality of the person that underpins adaptive coping.