Defining Emotional Intelligence

When looking at emotional intelligence, because of the many possible ways to conceptualize and operationalize this concept, it is imperative they keep the parameters of what is and isn't emotional intelligence tight. I believe psychologists should look at the ability of an individual to assess and properly label an emotional experience of another person. Moreover, they would have to look at how the individual deals with others emotional states; are they passive, do they get confrontational, or do they look for a reasoned emotional reaction in themselves that could stabilize a tense emotional situation. Finally, I would think that researching why an individual thinks others are in such emotional states would be appropriate. Does the individual think someone in a negative emotional state is like that because they are mad at them, or is it just because they had a bad sleep and work is going wrong. And can they understand their emotional state and the causes for how they are feeling emotionally. I believe emotional intelligence reflects nurture more than it does nature; though nature does have a role to play. This because of the fact that to understand emotions you must understand other people and how they work, which takes extended interactions with others and learning about how what you do plays into how they feel, and vice versa.