What is Emotional Intelligence? 

Emotional intelligence (EI) is one’s ability to identify, understand, use, and manage emotions in positive ways. Emotional intelligence relieves stress, helps one communicate effectively and empathize with others, overcome challenges, prevent and defuse conflict.

 Emotional intelligence can greatly impact your work life and career, especially as a teacher. Our work as an educator is comprised of children with different strengths, personalities, and emotions, which can greatly affect the way they learn.

 Emotional Intelligence Test Now that we have defined what emotional intelligence is and how important it is, we need to find out how emotionally intelligent you are. Our emotional intelligence quiz is composed of twenty questions covering your emotional reactions and responses. 

Additionally, you are given situations you may encounter in your personal and professional life and choices of ways to handle them. Make sure you answer completely and honestly. When you add up your score, you will find out how emotionally intelligent you are. 

Then we will give you clues on how to work on increasing your emotional intelligence. We hope you will follow our guidelines for doing so.

 Section A: REACTIONS The following two questions determine your emotional reactions.

 1. When criticized, I: A. Ignore the criticism B. Listen and learn C. Become defensive D. Get angry.
 Give yourself 3 points for A, 4 for B, 2 for C, and 1 for D. 

2. In a difficult situation, I: A. Get scared B. Retreat if possible C- Maintain a positive attitude D. Let others take the lead 
Give yourself 1 point for A, 2 for B, 4 for C, and 3 for D. 

Your score for this section: __________ 

 Section B: RESPONSES When faced with situations, we react emotionally. 

3. When pursuing a goal, I can manage anxiety, anger, fear, and stress. A. Strongly Disagree B. Disagree C. Neither Agree nor Disagree D. Agree 

4. I am able to utilize feedback and criticism to grow personally and professionally. A. Strongly Disagree B. Disagree C- Neither Agree nor Disagree D. Agree 

5. I maintain a sense of humor at appropriate times and inappropriate places, without using sarcasm or hurting the feelings of others.
 A. Strongly Disagree B. Disagree C- Neither Agree nor Disagree D. Agree 

6. I am able to see things from another person’s perspective. 
A. Strongly Disagree B. Disagree C_ Neither Agree nor Disagree D. Agree 

7. I recognize how my behavior affects others emotionally.
A. Strongly Disagree B. Disagree C_ Neither Agree nor Disagree D. Agree

 8. When I have a complaint, I am capable of expressing it properly.
A. Strongly Disagree B. Disagree C. Neither Agree nor Disagree D. Agree

 9. I listen to others with patience and understanding. 
A. Strongly Disagree B. Disagree C. Neither Agree nor Disagree D. Agree 

Give yourself 1 point for each A, 2 point for each B, 3 points for each C, and 4 points for each D. Your score for this section: __________ 

When presented with a situation, we can describe our emotional reaction. The following questions help you do so. 

10. I have a great deal of discipline and I am self-motivated.
 A. Never B. Sometimes C. Often D. Always 

11. In stressful situations, I do not get irritated easily and I am able to contain my emotions.
 A. Never B. Sometimes C. Often D. Always

 12. Even if I believe I am right about something, I make an effort to listen to other people’s viewpoints. A. Never B. Sometimes C. Often D. Always

 Give yourself 1 point for each A, 2 points for each B, 3 points for each C, and 4 points for each D. 

Your score for this section: __________

 Section C: SITUATIONAL Now we are going to look at some situations and determine how you would react. 

13. Two of your friends are having an argument. Your response is to . . . A. Try to help each one understand the other’s one’s point of view B. Avoid both of your friends until they quit fighting C. Choose a side and bad-mouth the other person D. Let both of them vent their emotions to you.
Give yourself 4 points for A, 2 points for B, 1 point for C, and 3 points for D. 

 14. Your friend tells you her mother has died. Your response is to . . . A. Allow your friend to express her emotions and offer your support B. Convince your friend to go out somewhere with some friends to get her mind off her loss C. Give your friend some time alone D. Spend time with her, but avoid talking about her loss.

 Give yourself 4 points for A, 1 point for B, 2 points for C, and 3 points for D. 

15. You are faced with an unpleasant task. Your response is to . . .
 A. Make a plan and work on the task a bit each day B. Put completion of the task off until the last minute C. Get the task over with as soon as possible D. Not do the task at all.

 Give yourself 4 points for A, 2 points for B, 3 points for C, and 1 point for D. 

16. You find yourself involved in a heated discussion. Your response is to . . . 
A. Ask for a short break before resuming the discussion B. Give in and apologize because you want to end the argument C. Insult the other person D. Get quiet and stop responding to the other person 

Give yourself 4 points for A, 3 points for B, 1 point for C, and 2 points for D. 

17. Although you work hard on an assignment, you get a bad grade. Your response is to.
 A. Think about ways you could have improved your work and received a better grade B. Confront the teacher, asking for a better grade C. Feel disappointed and criticize your own work D. Decide the class is stupid and stop putting working hard on assignments

 Give yourself 4 points for A, 3 points for B, 2 points for C, and 1 point for D. 

18. Your friend at work has an annoying habit. Every day he/she seems more annoying and worse. Your response is to . . . A. Tell your friend about his/her annoying habit and why it bothers you B. Make a complaint to his/her supervisor C. Talk about your coworker’s annoying habit to others D. Suffer silently.

Give yourself 4 points for A, 3 points for B, 1 point for C, and 2 points for D.

 19. You are already involved in many tasks and projects and feel overworked when your boss assigns you big new project. You feel . . . A. Worried that you will never get all the work done B. Completely overwhelmed by the task before you C. Angry at your boss because he has not noticed how overworked you are D. Deeply depressed and sure you will never finish it all 

Give yourself 4 points for A, 3 points for B, 2 points for C, and 1 point for D. 

 20. You work hard on a project and the person with whom you are working publicly takes credit for work you did. Your response is to . . . A. Immediately and publicly confront the person about the ownership of the work B. Take the person aside and tell them you want them to credit you when talking about your work C. Do nothing D. After the person finishes speaking, thank her immediately for sharing your work and then give the group more details.

 Give yourself 2 points for A, 3 points for B, 1 point for C, and 4 points for D. 

Your score for this section: _________ 
 
Now add up all of your points to see how high your emotional intelligence is. 
Put your score here _____. 

 Result interpretation 

A. If your score is between 68 and 80: You have extremely high emotional intelligence. You are skilled at understanding, interpreting, and acting appropriately upon your emotions and those of others. You deal effectively with emotional and social situations and conflicts, and express your feelings without hurting the feeling of others.

B. If your score is between 60 and 68: Although you score relatively high, you do have room for improvement. Watch the reactions of others to determine when you are using your emotional intelligence effectively and when you are not. Objectively looking at social and personal situations where emotions run high and analyzing your success will help you improve your already high emotional intelligence even more. 

C. If your score is between 48 and 60: You fall in the middle range when it comes to your emotional intelligence. Although you are responding appropriately in most situations, your still find yourself losing it sometimes. You also get impatient with others and are sometimes uncomfortable in emotional situations. Don’t worry. Next section on developing your emotional intelligence will help you reach a high level. 

D. If your score is between 40 and 48: Your emotional intelligence is a bit low. You probably struggle to manage your emotions in high pressure situations or when you get angry. You have some work to do to improve. Begin by trying to express your emotions after you are calm. Our section on developing your emotional intelligence will help you a great deal. 

E. If your score is below 40: Your emotional intelligence is extremely low. You are probably experiencing anxiety and stress on a daily basis. Additionally, you are probably having difficulty in school or at work, not making the progress you wish to. Read carefully through our section on developing your emotional intelligence and follow our advice to improve your EI and have a happier, more meaningful and successful life. 


No matter how high or low your score, you can increase your emotional intelligence by learning more about how you respond in various situations. Additionally, an increase in emotional intelligence can help you do better in your job or in school.


 LOOK FORWARD TO OUR EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE CLASS THIS WEEKEND