An HPE person is better at detecting, understanding and managing emotions than normal.
We often hear about high intellectual potential (HPI), but less about high emotional potential (abbreviated HPE). What are the signs of high emotional potential? What test to know if you are HPE? How to live with an HPE? As a couple? When and who to consult? Decryption with Dana Castro, psychologist.
Definition: what is high emotional potential (HPE)?
“High emotional potential is the fact to have above average emotional intelligence. The person with an HPE knows recognize, understand and manage the emotions and motivations of your interlocutor. She also has a good understanding of herself, her own emotions and how she will act in each situation.“, immediately defines our interlocutor. It is a kind of giftedness in understanding feelings and emotionsboth his own and others. Attention, HPE people do not necessarily have above average cognitive intelligence (IQ).
What are the signs of high emotional potential?
Being HPE means having particularly developed skills in the recognition and understanding of feelings and emotions, in others, but also in oneself.
They don’t necessarily need external validation because they have good self-knowledge.
- Individuals with high emotional potential have a strong interpersonal skills and are very comfortable with others.
- They are attentive and open to others.
- They experience a real interest in others and are interested in their way of thinking and functioning, without being overwhelmed by their emotions (at not to be confused with empathy which attests to a great capacity for observation and active listening, these are two close but not entirely similar concepts).
- They are usually very careful details of non-verbal communication (gestures, gaze, hand movements, facial expressions, etc.) and know how to use them wisely to recognize and understand them.
- They have a great capacity for adaptation : they know how to adapt their behavior to their interlocutor or within a group.
- They often have a leadership natural And a sense of collective.
- They are fromeven mood and constant.
- They are patients and to thelisten.
- They do not necessarily need, unlike many of us,external validationbecause they are comfortable with who they are, have good knowledge of themselves and an awareness of their values. In the case of an HPE, the validation is therefore internal: they know themselves, accept themselves and validate themselves.
- They are generally humble and do not have no need to show off.
- They generally have a developed sense of justice And can’t stand injustice.
“Even in a relationship, the person with HPE knows how to adapt to their partner. Moreover, she does not need constant reassurance. She knows how to detect the signs of love: she is not going to ask her partner if he loves her all the time for example or if she is up to it. She also has more resources to protect yourself in the event of a crisis couple or breakup”, explains Dana Castro.
What test to detect a HPE?
“In the scientific community, there are plenty of scales that measure high emotional potential: they are used in different contexts, particularly in the teaching environment. In practice, HPE is easily detected, by a teacher at school for example (in a child or adolescent) or a psychologist who will notice, in everyday behavior, particular ease in managing emotions“, indicates Dana Castro. However, to “officially” detect a HPE, we can measure emotional intelligence quotient (EQ) which brings together different questions divided into several categories (self-perception, individual expression, stress management, decision-making, human relations, etc.). The result gives an overall overview of the level of emotional intelligencebut it needs to be refined with scenarios that cannot be measured with a tool. The most recognized and used EQ test in the world would be the diagnosis EQi 2.0 (Emotional Quotient inventory) developed in 1997. Please note, some websites (often paid) propose to carry out psychological assessments or personality tests in order to diagnose HPE: they are not not officially validated by the scientific community and are not representative of a person’s emotional intelligence. At best, they can only determine a probability of being HPE.
“It’s pretty easy to live with an HPE”
“People with HPE are people who are generally quite appreciated, happier, more balanced and it’s easy to understand why. We easily place our trust in themso it’s pretty easy to live with an HPEindicates our interlocutor. However, there may be a downside to all this. A person with high emotional potential can sometimes to be manipulated by a cynical or opportunistic person. The other negative elements are that these people are often envied or jealous, for all the reasons previously mentioned“. Finally, by understanding others too much, she can also become anxious or stressed. She may also feel different or out of step with others. Regardless, a person who feels bad in their daily life can consult a psychologistwho will be able to guide him and better help him understand his situation.
What is the difference between HPE and hypersensitivity?
“They are two different things. The hypersensitive is overflowing with emotions and cannot control them. On the contrary, the person with an HPE knows detect, recognize, understand, manage and control your emotions“, explains our psychologist.
Who to consult in case of HPE?
As there are not many disadvantages to being HPE, few consult for this reason. They are more balanced people than normal. “Personally, I have not encountered many among my patients for all the reasons I have cited. However, they may consult for another reason and in this case, their HPE becomes a lever in the therapeutic process. Finally, if it is a innate characteristic in some people, high emotional potential is something that can be acquiredin particular through a psychological work“, explains our interlocutor, working notably on taking a step back, intuition, listening to others, non-judgment, stress managementthe fear of failure, repression, making everything relate to oneself…
Thanks to Dana Castro, psychologist.