THRESHOLD HYPOTHESIS: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND EMOTIONAL CREATIVITY

Abstract

The previous study (Ivcevic et al., 2007) related to the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and emotional creativity (EC) showed that these two constructs represent interrelated but  independent sets of abilities. It was proposed that the connection between those emotional traits could  be the same as the association between general intelligence and creativity is (Averill, 1999). Howev- er, it is still not clear whether this relationship is determined by the threshold hypothesis. The present  work aims to explore the specificity of the relationship between emotional intelligence and emotional  creativity – namely, to examine the threshold hypothesis. 342 individuals participated in the study,  aged from 17 to 49 (M=21.87, SD=5.84). Results indicate that emotional intelligence and emotional  creativity are independent but related constructs. Emotional intelligence as a unitary construct as well  as its factors predicts emotional creativity. And this relationship is explained by the threshold hypoth- esis. Namely, segmented regression showed that sociability and well-being predict emotional creativ- ity when scores on those factors are higher than the threshold is. Emotionality and self-control predict  emotional creativity only when scores on mentioned emotional intelligence factors are less than the  threshold is. The relationship between emotional creativity and emotional intelligence is explained by  the threshold hypothesis. The obtained data sheds light on the specificity of the relationship between  trait emotional intelligence and the creativity in emotional domain.