The ability to monitor one's own and other's emotions, to discriminate among them and to use the information to guide one's thinking and actions is called:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Emotional intelligence
Option (1) Social intelligence — Incorrect. Social intelligence is the ability to understand people and to act wisely in social relations, such as getting along with others and handling a group. It is about dealing with people, not about monitoring and using one’s own and others’ emotions.
Option (2) Emotional intelligence — Correct. The concept was first introduced by Salovey and Mayer, who described emotional intelligence as ‘the ability to monitor one’s own and other’s emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use the information to guide one’s thinking and actions’. It is the feeling side of intelligence and is expressed as the Emotional Quotient (EQ).
Option (3) Interpersonal intelligence — Incorrect. In Gardner’s theory it is the ability to understand the motives, feelings and behaviours of other people so as to bond into a comfortable relationship with them. It looks outward at others only; the definition in the question also covers one’s own emotions and their use in guiding thought.
Option (4) Abstract intelligence — Incorrect. Abstract intelligence is the ability to deal with ideas and symbols such as words, numbers and formulas, as in solving a mathematics problem. It has nothing to do with emotions.
Note 1: The concepts in Options (1) and (4), ‘social intelligence’ and ‘abstract intelligence’, are not in the NCERT book (2023-24), which NTA followed in 2025, and not in NCERT (2025-26) either; they are explained here for the benefit of the students.
Note 2: A similar question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2022 on 25-08-2022 (Slot 2).
NCERT (2025-26): “Theory of Multiple Intelligences … This is the ability to understand the motives, feelings and behaviours of other people so as to bond into a comfortable relationship with others.…” “Emotional Intelligence … Emotional intelligence is a set of skills that underlie accurate appraisal, expression, and regulation of emotions. It is the feeling side of intelligence. A good IQ and scholastic record is not enough to be successful in life. You may find many people who are academically talented, but are unsuccessful in their own life. They experience problems in family, workplace and interpersonal relationships. What do they lack? Some psychologists believe that the source of their difficulty may be a lack of emotional intelligence. This concept was first introduced by Salovey and Mayer who considered emotional intelligence as ‘the ability to monitor one’s own and other’s emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use the information to guide one’s thinking and actions’. Emotional Quotient (EQ) is used to express emotional intelligence in the same way as IQ is used to express intelligence.…” |