EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND THE DARK TRIAD

Abstract

In previous literature, emotional intelligence has been largely regarded as a prosocial behavior, and it’s potential in the workplace has been widely studied. The purpose of this study is to add to the growing body of work researching a potential ‘dark side’ of emotional intelligence. The primary hypothesis was that Machiavellianism, characterized by intentional manipulation of another person/s, could exist independently from emotional intelligence (EI). 447 participants completed questionnaires measuring their trait EI, ability EI, Dark Triad personality traits, general intelligence and more. Resulting correlational analysis showed no association between Machiavellianism and ability EI, thus supporting the hypothesis that they exist independently of each other, and can coexist. Machiavellianism was additionally found to significantly positively correlate with general intelligence, and significantly negatively correlate with trait EI. Narcissism, which is characterized by an inflated view of self, was significantly positively correlated with trait EI, despite not being associated with ability EI or general intelligence. Psychopathy, characterized by impulsivity, lack of remorse and lack of empathy, showed negative correlations with both ability and trait EI measures.