About
David R Caruso, PhD
David is a co-author of the Mayer, Salovey, Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT), The Emotionally Intelligent Manager (with Peter Salovey), A Leader’s Guide to Solving Challenges With Emotional Intelligence (with Lisa Rees), Educator's Practical Guide to Emotional Intelligence (with Lisa and David Adams) and co-author of the Ruler program Anchors of Emotional Intelligence (with Marc Brackett and Robin Stern). He developed the Mood Meter and EI Blueprint, core aspects of EI training around the world. He has co-authored 50 or so chapters and scientific articles.
David is the senior advisor to the Dean of Yale College and a research affiliate at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence.
Previously, David held positions in market research, strategic planning, and product management. He was a National Institute of Child Health and Human Development pre-doctoral fellow and received a Ph.D. in Psychology from Case Western Reserve University. He was then awarded a National Institute of Mental Health fellowship and spent two years as a post-doctoral fellow in Developmental Psychology at Yale University.
What I am not and various disclosures: We should be more transparent about who we are! While I have taught classes, given lectures at various universities, including Yale, I do not teach and I am not a professor. I conduct research and have a bunch of publications. My part-time Yale role is in OD/HR. My work for EI Skills Group is independent and my workshops are not Yale courses. I receive royalties on the MSCEIT, on my books and on Mood Meter posters. Thank you!
About EI
The Ability Model of EI
Many people are aware of EI by reading a book by journalist Dan Goleman. The theory of EI was developed by Jack Mayer and Peter Salovey in 1990. They modified their theory in 1997: "Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive emotions, to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, to understand emotions and emotional knowledge, and to reflectively regulate emotions so as to promote emotional and intellectual growth". EI is a set of hard skills, it predicts important life outcomes - although it is not the most important skill or attribute. The ability model is a great theory with incredible practical, everyday applications.
The four hard skills are the ability to Perceive, Facilitate, Understand and Manage emotions. Each ability has its own characteristics and all work together to form emotional intelligence. We use the more memorable labels of Map (Perceive), Match (Use/Facilitate), Meaning (Understand) and Move (Manage), for better retention. We define EI as a broad intelligence and we measure it objectively. This is critical because most people overestimate their EI and the more they overestimate their EI the less interested they are in developing the skills.
It's a very practical theory and we've been using the EI Blueprint for more than 20 years. You first Perceive or Map emotions (yours and others) and then you Match those emotions to the task or to other people (connect with them). These experiences are further analyzed, and you Understand the meaning of emotions - what caused them, what they are called, how they may change. Finally, you Move and Manage these emotions. If the emotions are helpful you still need to make slight adjustments to maintain them and if the emotions are not helpful you engage in strategies to alter them.
EI Training
More than 20 Years of Hands-On, Practical Training
What do managers and professionals need to succeed? They need to be smart, they need superb technical skills and they need to work hard. But beyond analytical intelligence and technical skills, professionals need other skills to better lead people, communicate effectively, adapt to different cultures, read people, and handle stressful situations. It is an effective professionals who can accurately map how you and others feel, match the feelings to the task at hand, understand the meaning of these feelings and how they will change, and then move these feelings to achieve a positive outcome.
Our best clients are those who are very skeptical about emotions and emotional intelligence. The reason for our success is that emotions, in our approach, contain data and information which must inform our thinking in order for us to make optimal decisions and take effective action.
The ability approach to EI respects the importance of traditional or analytical intelligence (IQ). The ability approach to EI has a solid grounding in basic and applied research. We demonstrate the role emotions play in decision making and in leadership which allows participants to buy into the concept. Our training applies emotions and EI to the everyday work life of participants.
And, it "works" - from the US, Canada, Brazil, Chile and Argentina - to China, Japan and Korea - to Russia, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK and Ireland - managers start out skeptical but learn important hard skills they can immediately apply.
EI training for educators!
For Teachers and Students
Interested in teaching teachers about EI? Looking for EI training for your students? Interested in the RULER approach to SEL? The basic building blocks, or anchors, of this program come from the Mayer-Salovey ability model of EI. The Mood Meter and EI Blueprint were in our 2004 book.
We base this training on our new book on how educators can apply EI to classrooms and to schools.
I began this work in schools in 2001 and am a co-author of the RULER “anchors” training. My colleagues and I can deliver high-quality training events, parent discussions and teacher in-service training (but not Ruler training per se).
