Measures emotional skills across five areas: self-awareness, self-management, motivation, empathy and social skills. Parent, student and adult versions for every age.
EQ is short for Emotional Quotient and is used to mean emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is the ability to notice, understand and manage emotions — your own and other people's. It is not a personality label but a set of skills that can be learned. Neon Selfcheck measures it across five areas: self-awareness, self-management, motivation, empathy and social skills, in age-appropriate versions from preschool to adult.
Not a report card but a growth map — a learnable set of skills.
Emotional intelligence is the ability to notice, understand and manage one's own and others' emotions. It is not a personality label — a set of skills that can be learned and developed.
The concept of emotional intelligence was defined in 1990 by Peter Salovey and John Mayer of Yale University: “the ability to monitor one's own and others' feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one's thinking and actions.” In 1995, Daniel Goleman's book “Emotional Intelligence” popularized the concept and, in 1998 with “Working with Emotional Intelligence,” brought it into the business world.
EQ is not a personality label or a report card. As Goleman notes, “the brain is remarkably plastic... each of these domains can be improved with the right effort.” So EQ is a starting point: a little awareness and a few new habits. A new response usually takes a few months of regular practice to settle in.
Neon Selfcheck EQ builds on Goleman's 1998 “Working with Emotional Intelligence” framework: five core areas, each with five facets — 25 in total. This structure is cross-validated by Salovey-Mayer's academic framework, Bar-On's EQ-i model and the Yale RULER approach (Marc Brackett). The result is not a report card but a starting point for self-knowledge and growth.
According to Goleman, IQ explains at best about 20% of success in life; the rest depends not on a single factor but on many, emotional skills among them.
| IQ (cognitive intelligence) | EQ (emotional intelligence) | |
|---|---|---|
| What does it describe? | Reasoning, problem solving, processing information | Noticing, understanding and managing emotions and using them in relationships |
| How is it measured? | With ability tests that have right and wrong answers | Mostly with self-report questionnaires; ability-test style scales also exist (MSCEIT) |
| Does it change? | Relatively stable in adulthood | Can develop with awareness and practice |
| Where does it stand out? | In academic tasks and technical work | In relationships, teamwork and moments of pressure |
| Together | Neither replaces the other | They work together: knowledge pays off when emotions are managed |
From leadership to child development, from academic success to stress management — six concrete wins.
Goleman argues that the higher the leadership level, the more technical knowledge becomes a given and the more emotional competencies make the difference (Goleman 1998). A team's climate starts with the leader managing their own emotions.
Goleman reports that emotional competencies appear more often than technical skills in companies' competency lists (Goleman 1998). Most of the “soft skills” sought in hiring are in fact EQ areas.
Among high-schoolers, the correlation between emotional-social intelligence and academic achievement is .41 (Parker 2004); about 17% of academic performance is explained by these skills.
High EQ protects against depression, anxiety and burnout. In adolescents, high EQ — particularly against suicidal behavior — is a meaningful protective factor (Brackett et al.).
Children of emotionally skilled parents are more capable at labeling and regulating their emotions (Brackett). The home is the strongest teacher of a child's EQ.
Emotions are often carried not by words but by tone of voice, facial expression and body language (Goleman 1995). Empathy, conflict management and bond-building are the foundation of healthy family, team and customer relationships.
Each area has 5 facets; 25 in total. All measured by self-report on a 1–6 Likert scale.
Goleman calls self-awareness “the keystone of emotional intelligence” — recognizing a feeling as it happens opens every other door. If you can't notice your emotion, you're at its mercy.
Choosing what to do with a feeling rather than being run by it. Four-year-olds who can delay the marshmallow grow up more capable (Mischel, Stanford). The capacity to pause an impulse is the root of many a success.
EQ's fuel for staying on the road without an immediate reward. Optimistic salespeople sell 37% more (Seligman, MetLife); the will to endure short-term discomfort for a long-term goal is shaped here.
Sensing another's feeling — what Goleman calls “built on self-awareness.” The skill of reading non-verbal cues in tone of voice, facial expression and body language; the backbone of healthy relationships and effective leadership.
Using emotion consciously in relationships: expressing oneself, managing conflict, forging bonds. According to Goleman, these skills become more decisive the higher the leadership level (Goleman 1998).
A self-assessment with no right or wrong answers.
An EQ test is a self-assessment questionnaire that brings out, through systematic questions, how you perceive your own emotional skills. The aim is not to grade you but to show where to start.
For each statement you mark how much you agree on a scale of 1 to 6. The questionnaire reflects not the actual skill but how a person perceives their own skill; so the result is not a grade but a mirror for getting to know yourself.
For preschool to grade 4, a parent observes the child and fills in a 25-item form. Middle-school students and adults from high school up answer their own 50-item version. The wording and examples of each version are written for the daily life of that age.
In the student and adult versions, the same skill is asked at different points in the questionnaire, both positively and in reverse. If the answers contradict each other the report says so, so a questionnaire filled in hastily or at random is not misread.
The report shows the five areas and 25 facets on a radar chart. What matters is not a single total score but the balance between areas: which is strong and which is open to growth. The result should not be used on its own for a hiring or class-placement decision.
Filled by a parent; observes the emotional development of a preschool–grade 4 child.
For middle-school students; a three-layer consistency check for reliable results.
For high-schoolers, university students and employees; ready for institutional use.
Not a checklist: everyone is strong in some areas and still growing in others.
Six small practices tried and tested in the literature.
A few times a day, ask yourself two questions: Is this feeling pleasant or unpleasant? Is my energy high or low? Then find the most accurate word. This naming skill lies at the heart of Yale's RULER approach (Brackett 2019).
Each evening, write down the day's strongest emotion, the bodily sensation that came with it and the thought that crossed your mind. After a few weeks, recurring triggers become visible.
In a moment of strong reaction, ask yourself: Where is the evidence for this? Could there be another explanation? What would I say to a friend going through this? (Stein & Book 2000)
The aim is not to erase the emotion but to lower its intensity: turning rage into annoyance, panic into concern. Postponing the conversation or taking a short break makes this shift easier.
In a conversation, listen without interrupting and without preparing your reply; then say back what you heard in your own words. Empathy grows stronger through small habits like this.
Don't try to change everything at once. Pick one area, choose three small strategies for it and expect progress, not perfection (Bradberry & Greaves 2009). A new response usually takes a few months of regular practice to settle in.
A practical guide for parents: How Can You Develop Your Child's Emotional Intelligence?. For adults: Managing One's “State” and Emotional Intelligence in the Modern World. The link between skills and emotion: The Impact of Life Skills and Their Connection to Emotional Intelligence. (Articles in Turkish.)
Our model rests on the field's foundational sources: Daniel Goleman's five areas, Salovey & Mayer's founding definition, Bar-On's emotional-social model and Yale University's RULER approach (Marc Brackett).
This foundation also shapes the report's non-judgmental, growth-focused language: the result is not a diagnosis but a starting point for understanding a person.
A radar chart showing all five areas at a glance, a 25-facet breakdown, strengths and growth areas, and an actionable plan.
Draw your emotional intelligence map
The questionnaire is free. Your result comes as a personal PDF report showing the five areas and 25 facets.
For individual use: return to the Individual page — see the version for your age and the ICF coaching together, from preschool to adult. For organizations: go to the Institutional page — explore solutions for educational institutions, companies and coaching centers.
Our model rests on these frameworks; the items are a self-report scale developed by Neon Selfcheck. Goleman offers a theoretical framework rather than a scale — hence “our survey based on Goleman's five areas”, never “the Goleman test”.
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