A - Emotional Intelligence Glossary

Alexithymia: This is a condition in which the individual experiences difficulty in recognizing, understanding and/or distinguishing between his/her emotions. The name is also associated with the field which studies this condition. The first papers describing this phenomenon appeared in the professional literature in the late 1940s with articles published by Ruesch and MacLain. In 1967, Sifneos first defined “alexithymia” on the pathological end of the EI continuum. The opposite of alexithymia would appear to be “psychological mindedness” (“PM”), which was first conceptualized by Appelbaum in 1973; and PM can be seen as the emotionally healthy end of EI continuum. Both alexithymia and PM have had an impact on the ongoing development of the Bar-On model.

Applying emotional intelligence: This refers to the application of emotional intelligence at home, school and in the workplace as well as in other settings such as in healthcare and sports.

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