Getting the Measure of Emotion - and the Cautionary Tale of Emotional Intelligence

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Abstract
This article examines critically the recent growth of emotion measurement in organizational behaviour. The epistemological and phenomenological consequences of psychometrically ‘boxing’ emotion are, it is argued, problematic and restrictive. This may be seen in the power and professional prestige it affords to the measurers and in the consequences to those classified by measurement. This is particularly so when an emotion is presented as key to personal or organizational success. Emotional intelligence is a strong illustration of these issues, where ‘experts’ ascribe positive value to people with high emotional intelligence quotients (EQ), and low EQs are regarded as suitable cases for training. How can emotion be ‘known’, other than through measurement and numbers? The article suggests some different approaches towards researching an important, but enigmatic, concept.