• Tayebeh Fani

  Author

The topic of EI has witnessed unparalleled interest since the publication of the bestselling
book Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman (1995). The emotional intelligence (EI)
construct is a relatively new concept with little empirical research. This study was an attempt to
find the relationship between EI, gender, major, and reading comprehension ability of Iranian
EFL learners. For this purpose, 268 students completed the Bar-On EQ inventory (1997) which
included 133 items and took a reading comprehension test. It was found that females
outperformed males in the reading comprehension test. However, no significant relationship was
found between gender and major on one hand and reading comprehensions ability on the other
hand. The relationship between major and reading comprehension ability was also statistically
significant. This study showed no significant relationship between EI scales (interpersonal,
stress management, adaptability, and general mood) except for the intrapersonal intelligence.
The intrapersonal intelligence of females in general, regardless of major, was found to be
significantly higher than males. The implications of the study and suggestions for further
research are discussed.

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