Global Emotional Intelligence Scores Decline by Nearly 6% Between 2019 and 2024, Study Reveals
A recent study tracking 28,000 adults across 166 countries from 2019 to 2024 indicates a nearly 6% decline in global emotional intelligence scores. The research, which utilized the Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence Assessment (SEI), found that all eight competencies measured within the assessment showed a decrease. The most significant drops were observed in optimism, intrinsic motivation, and the ability to pursue noble goals, which collectively form the 'Drive' strand of emotional intelligence. These capacities fell by approximately seven to eight percent, compared to a four to six percent decline in other areas like emotional literacy, recognizing patterns, and empathy. The study's authors describe this trend as an 'emotional recession,' noting that the downward movement was concentrated in the earlier part of the 2019-2024 period, with later averages appearing to plateau. While the timing aligns with the COVID-19 pandemic, the study does not definitively attribute the decline to any single cause, ackn... 
