Gender Differences and Similarities in the Relationship of Emotional Intelligence with Impulsivity and Self-Control

Abstract

<p>Past studies have found that women have higher average scores on different dimensions of emotional intelligence than men (Taksic & Mohoric, 2006). There is also evidence that emotional intelligence predicts higher self-control and impulsiveness (West, 2013), but no past studies examined whether gender differences exist in these effects. The goal of this research was to explore if gender moderates the relationship of emotional intelligence with impulsivity and self-control. A cross-sectional survey study was conducted. The sample consisted of 582 young adults from Croatia (67% female, average age 20 years). The participants completed measures of emotional intelligence (EISCQ; Taksic, 1998, Taksic & Mohoric, 2006), impulsiveness (BIS-11; Patton, Stanford & Barrat, 1995), self-control (SCS; Tanganey et al., 2004) and demographic information. Women had significantly higher scores on emotional intelligence and lower scores on impulsivity than men. Gender differences were also found in how emotional intelligence relates to impulsivity and self-control. For women, emotional intelligence predicted lower impulsiveness and greater self-control. For men, emotional intelligence predicted higher self-control but was unrelated to impulsiveness. These findings support the predictions of emotion intelligence theory (Mayer, Salovey & Caruso, 2008) and suggest that emotional intelligence relates to increased self-control both among men and among women.</p>