Emotional intelligence predicts individual differences in social exchange reasoning

When assessed with performance measures, Emotional Intelligence (EI) correlates positively with the quality of social relationships. However, the bases of such correlations are not understood in terms of cognitive and neural information processing mechanisms. We investigated whether a performance measure of El is related to reasoning about social situations (specifically social exchange reasoning) using versions of the Wason Card Selection Task. In an fMRI study (N=16), higher El predicted hemodynamic responses during social reasoning in the left frontal polar and left anterior temporal brain regions, even when controlling for responses on a very closely matched task (precautionary reasoning). In a larger behavioral study (N=48), higher El predicted faster social exchange reasoning, after controlling for precautionary reasoning. The results are the first to directly suggest that El is mediated in part by mechanisms supporting social reasoning and validate a new approach to investigating El in terms of more basic information processing mechanisms. (c) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.