News & announcements from the ‘Q & A’ category
“Design emotional maturity”
Sunday, November 20th, 2011Q: I have read 3 of your books and I am writing my graphic design thesis investigating my “design emotional maturity” and how it will help me to overcome my fears in order to create better communication work. How can our emotional intelligence affect our performance as a designer? A: The answer is in your…
What motivates you, Dr. Goleman?
Thursday, October 27th, 2011Q: What has motivated you to accomplish so much in your lifetime? I am doing a short presentation focusing on bringing your name from the text book to real life, so any interesting facts from your childhood till now would be greatly appreciated. A: I credit much of my motivating drive to my parents, both…
Howard Gardner & multiple intelligences
Thursday, October 20th, 2011Q: I am currently doing a research on Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences and I hope to ask if you feel that the identification of Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Intelligences in Gardner’s theory is, in essence, Emotional Intelligence? A: Yes. When I wrote Emotional Intelligence, I was building on Howard Gardner’s model of multiple intelligence. As I…
Is there such a thing as too young for SEL?
Thursday, October 13th, 2011Q: Is there a danger of teaching social and emotional issues to young children aged 4 to 7? I am wondering if they are developed enough to understand and isn’t there a danger of socializing impressionable minds and how do you teach when there are so many cultures in each class? A: No danger, if…
Emotional response levels: low vs. high
Thursday, October 6th, 2011Q: If psychopaths are people who can’t experience emotion or have low levels of emotional response, are there people with inappropriately high levels of emotional response? A: One place way psychology categorizes people who have inappropriately high levels of emotional response is in terms of the “affective disorders,” like depression and anxiety. Both diagnoses refer…
EI & education: where to begin?
Thursday, September 29th, 2011Q: After 20+ years in public & private education, I had to get out in order to redirect my energies for the last decade of service. My expertise has always been developing holistic education and emotional intelligence while struggling to maintain academic standards. I am now searching to get a certification to allow reentry to…
EI as a job performance predictor
Thursday, September 22nd, 2011Q: Is it true that a major problem with the idea of EI is that studies have failed to show that EI predicts job performance above and beyond the “Big five” personality dimensions or beyond ‘g’, the shorthand for core intelligence? A: That criticism was made early in the history of EI, but has been…
Emotional intelligence & the obesity epidemic
Thursday, September 15th, 2011Q: Does emotional intelligence offer any solutions for the epidemic of obesity?
A: Emotional intelligence abilities can help tackle obesity in certain ways. For the overweight individual, the self-mastery abilities – self-awareness and self-regulation – work hand in hand. Here mindfulness, an application of self-awareness, can help a person tune in to their thoughts and feelings while eating, and use the body’s signals for satiety to know when to stop – an act of self-regulation.
Key EI topics & content for youth programs
Thursday, September 8th, 2011Q: I have read a lot about emotional intelligence and now I am designing a program for youth which will help them to explore, understand and manage their emotions positively. What are the key topics and core content that should be addressed in the program?
Emotional intelligence & language acquisition
Thursday, September 1st, 2011Q: Can a person who has a high EQ learn a second language easier and faster or not? A: There is no necessary relationship between emotional intelligence and a cognitive ability like language learning. As I detailed in The Brain And Emotional Intelligence, the neural circuits that govern self-management and relationship skills – the two…








Welcome to the website and blog of psychologist Daniel Goleman, Ph.D., author of the New York Times bestseller Emotional Intelligence and Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships. Dr. Goleman is an internationally known psychologist who lectures frequently to professional groups, business audiences, and on college campuses. Working as a science journalist, Goleman reported on the brain and behavioral sciences for The New York Times for many years. His 1995 book, Emotional Intelligence (Bantam Books) was on The New York Times bestseller list for a year-and-a-half; with more than 5,000,000 copies in print worldwide in 40 languages, and has been a best seller in many countries.