Emotional Intelligence:

Skills for living healthier, happier,

more compassionately, and more effectively

Susan E. Rivers, PhD

Deputy Director, Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence

ARISTOTLE

“Anybody can become angry—that is

easy, but to be angry with the right

person and to the right degree and at the

right time and for the right purpose, and

in the right way—that is not within

everybody’s power and is not easy.”

Emotions Matter

Attention, memory,

& learning

Decision-making

& judgment

Effectiveness at school & work

Relationship

quality

Emotions

Physical &

mental health

Socio-Emotional Skills Matter

Social competence

• Cooperates with peers

• Helpful to others

• Very good at

understanding feelings

• Resolves problems on own

Outcomes

• Education success

• Employment success

• Less public assistance

• Less criminal activity

• Less use of substances

• Use of medication for

emotional or behavioral

issues

Kindergarten 25 years old

Jones, Greenberg, & Crowley (2015;

American Journal of Public Health)

Design Schools to

Promote Positive

Youth Development

Our Goal

Setting

Our Approach

Skills +

Emotionally

supportive

classroom

climate

Greater interest,

enjoyment, & engagement

Choose more complex

cognitive activities

Higher academic performance

Effective Teaching

Better behavior

Brackett, Reyes, Rivers, Elbertson, & Salovey (2011)

Reyes, Brackett, Rivers, White, & Salovey (2012)

Emotional Intelligence

Youth with More Emotional Intelligence

Anxious

Depressed

Abuse of drugs, alcohol, & cigarettes

Aggressive

Less

Hyperactive

Youth with More Emotional Intelligence

Leadership

skills

Attentive

Academic

success

More

Youth Home & School

Culture/Community

State/Nation

Youth Develop in Systems

Adults Matter

To help youth, we need to make sure the

the adults who encircle them are

Supporting

Teaching

Encouraging

Modeling

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE FOR

SCHOOL LEADERS

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE FOR EDUCATORS

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE FOR

STUDENTS (PreK-12)

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE FOR FAMILIES

Our Approach

11:1

“…interventions for improving SEL shows

measureable benefits that exceeds its costs,

often by considerable amounts. There is a

positive return on investments for all of these

educational reforms on social and emotional

learning…a substantial economic return.”

The Economic Value of Social and Emotional Learning

Belfield et al., 2015

Center for Benefit-Cost Studies in Education

Teachers College, Columbia University

Emotions Matter

EMAIL: susan.rivers@yale.edu

WEBSITE: ei.yale.edu

TWITTER: @rulerapproach @susanerivers

FACEBOOK: the RULER Approach

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkZ

d2VKpFrU