Selective joint attention as an indicator of emotional intelligence level

Abstract

This study examines selective joint attention as an indicator of emotional intelligence in adults. Joint attention is a voluntary cognitive process that involves tracking another person’s gaze and sharing focus of attention. While the role of joint attention in the development of social cognition in children is well-established, its relationship with emotional intelligence in adults remains less explored. The present research aims to investigate whether the selectivity of joint attention correlates with emotional intelligence in an adult population. The study involved a total of 40 participants, aged 19 to 61, with normal uncorrected vision. During the experiment, participants were asked to determine, within a limited time frame, whether the majority of characters in a stimulus material were focusing on a specific point on a circle, and if so, to identify its location. Participants also completed the Lyusin Emotional Intelligence Test to assess their emotional intelligence. The results revealed a significant positive correlation between performance on the selective joint attention task and scores on the emotional intelligence test (r = 0.38, p = 0.026). Further analysis identified significant correlations between joint attention and several subscales of emotional intelligence, including Intrapersonal Emotional Intelligence, Understanding Emotions, and Understanding One’s Own Emotions. These findings suggest that in adulthood the development level of joint attention may be also associated with emotional intelligence and its specific components. Based on these results, we propose that selective joint attention can serve as a useful diagnostic tool for evaluating emotional intelligence, particularly when used in conjunction with other established assessment methods. Our ongoing work aims to refine and validate a reliable measure of joint attention.