The differential effects of general mental ability and emotional intelligence on academic performance and social interactions

Abstract

This study considers the debate about whether emotional intelligence (EI) has incremental validity over and above traditional intelligence dimensions. We propose that EI and general mental abilities (GMA) differ in predicting academic performance and the quality of social interactions among college students. Using two college student samples, we find support for the notion that EI and GMA each have a unique power to predict academic performance, and that GMA is the stronger predictor. However, the results also show that EI, but not GMA, is related to the quality of social interactions with peers. The theoretical contributions and implications of the study and some recommendations for future studies are discussed.