Cited by 163Emotional Intelligence and PerformanceSocial Skills and EducationEmotions and Moral Behavior

Levels of Emotional Awareness: Theory and Measurement of a Socio-Emotional Skill

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Lane, Richard D., Smith, Ryan·2021·Journal of Intelligence

Abstract

Emotional awareness is the ability to conceptualize and describe one’s own emotions and those of others. Over thirty years ago, a cognitive-developmental theory of emotional awareness patterned after Piaget’s theory of cognitive development was created as well as a performance measure of this ability called the Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale (LEAS). Since then, a large number of studies have been completed in healthy volunteers and clinical populations including those with mental health or systemic medical disorders. Along the way, there have also been further refinements and adaptations of the LEAS such as the creation of a digital version in addition to further advances in the theory itself. This review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of the evolving theoretical background, measurement methods, and empirical findings with the LEAS. The LEAS is a reliable and valid measure of emotional awareness. Evidence suggests that emotional awareness facilitates better emotion self-regulation, better ability to navigate complex social situations and enjoy relationships, and better physical and mental health. This is a relatively new but promising area of research in the domain of socio-emotional skills. The paper concludes with some recommendations for future research.

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  • The attention-appraisal model has overlooked the role of imaginal activity as a component of the alexithymia construct.

    “Moreover, the attention-appraisal model has overlooked the role of imaginal activity as a component of the construct, which is also a critical factor in therapeutic interventions [23].”

    From Psychological Treatments for Alexithymia: A Systematic Review (2024) · cites this paper as [23]

    The Neuroimaging Studies section discusses attention and emotional awareness, and the Clinical Intervention Studies section discusses psychotherapy, but neither says that an attention-appraisal model overlooks imaginal activity in alexithymia. Searches for “attention-appraisal,” “imaginal activity,” and related fantasy and imagination terms did not locate that assertion in our copy; page numbers were unavailable. (LLM, conf=0.74)

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  5. Loevinger Jane Wessler Ruth Measuring Ego Development, Vol. I: Construction and Use of a Sentence Completion Test Jossey-Bass San Francisco 1970 vol. 1
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Authors
Lane, R. D., & Smith, R.
Affiliations
  • University of Arizona (US)
  • Laureate Institute for Brain Research (US)
Corresponding author
Lane, Richard D.
Venue
Journal of Intelligence
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2021-08-19
Volume
9
Issue
3
Pages
42
ISSN
2079-3200 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3195074401
Cited by
163
References
192
Citations by year
2026: 41 · 2025: 46 · 2024: 43 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 1 · 2014: 1
FWCI
2.95
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Intelligence (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UA Campus Repository (The University of Arizona) (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Emotional Intelligence and Performance
  • Social Sciences › Education › Social Skills and Education
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Emotions and Moral Behavior
Keywords
emotional awareness, Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale, socioemotional skills, emotion regulation, Piagetian theory, emotion recognition, mental health, physical health, relationship quality

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