Emotional intelligence glossary

By EQTiger Editorial. Review status: needs-expert-review. Qualified review is pending; the date records an editorial check.

Use the distinction behind the word

Some terms name a skill you can practice, such as affect labeling or cognitive reappraisal. Others describe a research model (ability, trait, and mixed models of emotional intelligence), a relationship habit (validation, repair attempts), or a measurement problem (self-report bias, social desirability). Reading the definition and the example together matters, because a familiar word can mean something narrower in a research paper than in conversation.

Each entry gives a two to four sentence definition first, then an example, the closest related terms, and the research the term comes from. Sources were opened and checked, and the Research notes block at the end of each entry says in one sentence what each source found. A citation supports the concept beside it. It does not validate EQTiger or turn a practice suggestion into a treatment.

Turn vocabulary into a useful question

When a term seems relevant, ask what it helps you tell apart. Are you describing what you feel, guessing at another person's state, choosing a response, or reading an assessment result? Keeping those jobs separate stops a useful concept from becoming an overconfident label for yourself or someone else. Terms that sound clinical, such as alexithymia, are explained as research concepts only. EQTiger does not diagnose.

For feeling words, browse emotions A to Z. For named tests, see the EI instruments library, and for EQTiger's own design, read the methodology and limitations. You can also start the free assessment for adult self-reflection.

Terms A to Z

• Ability EI

  Ability emotional intelligence treats EI as performance on emotion problems with better and worse answers. See how it is tested and how it differs.

• Active listening

  Active listening means paraphrasing and asking follow-up questions before responding. See what a conversation study found and phrases you can use today.

• Affect labeling

  Affect labeling means naming what you feel in words. See what the brain imaging research found, its limits, and how to use a tentative label.

• Affective empathy

  Affective empathy means feeling some of what another person feels. Learn how it differs from compassion and empathic distress, and how to stay steady.

• Alexithymia

  Alexithymia is a research term for difficulty identifying and describing your own feelings. Learn how it is measured and why it varies by degree.

• Appraisal

  In emotion research, appraisal is your evaluation of what a situation means for you, which shapes the emotion you feel. See it with an example.

• Basic emotions

  Basic emotions theory says a few emotions, such as fear and anger, evolved with their own signals. Learn the argument and the main criticisms.

• Co-regulation

  Co-regulation is when two people's emotional states influence each other in ways that help both stay steady. Learn the definition and its limits.

• Cognitive empathy

  Cognitive empathy is understanding another person's feelings without necessarily sharing them. Learn how it differs from affective empathy.

• Cognitive reappraisal

  Cognitive reappraisal means rethinking what a situation means so it feels different. See the research on it versus suppression, an example, and its limits.

• Constructed emotion

  The theory of constructed emotion says the brain builds emotions from body signals, experience, and concepts. Learn the idea and why it matters.

• Core affect

  Core affect is the basic sense of feeling good or bad and energized or drained. Learn how it relates to mood and emotion and how to check in.

• Display rules

  Display rules are cultural norms about which emotions to show, to whom, and when. Learn what a 32-country survey found and why it matters.

• Emotion regulation

  Emotion regulation is how people influence which emotions they have and how they show them. See the five-step process model with everyday examples of each.

• Emotional awareness

  Emotional awareness is noticing and describing feelings in yourself and others. Learn how researchers measure its levels and how to practice it.

• Emotional contagion

  Emotional contagion is catching other people's emotions through automatic mimicry. Learn how it works and how it differs from empathy.

• Emotional granularity

  Emotional granularity is how finely you tell feelings apart. Learn what research links it to, see an example, and practice with nearby feelings.

• Emotional intelligence

  What emotional intelligence means, where the term came from, how the three research models differ, and what an EQ score can and cannot tell you.

• Emotional labor

  Emotional labor is managing your feelings and expressions because a job requires it, like staying cheerful with rude customers. Learn its costs.

• Emotional vocabulary

  Your emotional vocabulary is the set of words you use for feelings. See what a large language study found, its limits, and simple ways to widen your range.

• Empathic accuracy

  Empathic accuracy is how correctly you infer what another person thinks and feels. See how researchers measure it and the habit that helps most.

• Empathic concern

  Empathic concern is warm, other-focused feeling for someone who is struggling. See how it differs from personal distress and why that matters.

• Expressive suppression

  Expressive suppression means holding back the outward signs of a feeling. Learn what research says it costs and when it still makes sense.

• Expressive writing

  Expressive writing means writing about a hard experience for a few short sessions. Learn how it works and what a meta-analysis of 146 studies found.

• Interoception

  Interoception is the sense of your body's internal state, like heartbeat, breath, and hunger. Learn how it relates to emotion and how to notice it.

• Mixed emotions

  Mixed emotions are two opposite feelings at once, like happy and sad at a graduation. Learn what research found and why mixed feelings are normal.

• Mixed model of EI

  A mixed model of EI bundles emotional skills with traits like optimism or motivation. Learn what that means when you compare EQ test scores.

• Mood

  A mood is a longer, more diffuse feeling state, while an emotion is usually briefer and about something. See what separates the two in practice.

• Perspective taking

  Perspective taking means imagining a situation from someone else's side. In experiments, asking beat imagining for accuracy. Learn how to use both well.

• Psychological safety

  Psychological safety is a shared belief that a team is safe for interpersonal risks like admitting mistakes. Learn the research and what it looks like.

• Repair attempt

  A repair attempt is any word or gesture that stops a conflict from escalating. Learn the definition, examples that work, and what the research supports.

• Rumination

  Rumination is repetitive, passive dwelling on distress. Learn how it differs from reflection, what research links it to, and how to break the loop.

• Self-compassion

  Self-compassion means treating yourself with the kindness you would offer a friend. Learn its three parts and how it differs from self-esteem.

• Self-distancing

  Self-distancing means reflecting on your experience as an observer would, even using your own name. Learn what research found and how to try it.

• Self-report bias

  Self-report bias is the gap between how people describe themselves and how they act. See what studies found about rating your own EQ.

• Situational judgment test

  A situational judgment test asks how you would handle realistic scenarios and scores your choices. Learn how SJTs measure EI and their limits.

• Social desirability bias

  Social desirability bias is the pull to answer questionnaires in ways that look good. Learn where the idea comes from and how it skews EQ results.

• Trait EI

  Trait emotional intelligence describes how you see your own emotional tendencies. Learn how it is measured and where self-report falls short.

• Validation

  Emotional validation means acknowledging that someone's feelings make sense given their situation. See what an experiment found and its limits.

• Window of tolerance

  The window of tolerance is a metaphor for the zone where you can feel strong emotions and still think clearly. Learn its origin and its limits.