Empathy & Imagination

"Emotional Intelligence (EI), often measured as an Emotional Intelligence Quotient (EQ), describes an ability, capacity, or skill to perceive, assess, and manage the emotions of one's self, of others, and of groups. It is a relatively new area of psychological research. The definition of EI is constantly changing."

Why would this matter in crime and intelligence analysis? I imagine it matters in many ways!

The most obvious reason to be emotionally intelligent would be to understand criminals and terrorists. The less obvious reason, but as or MORE important, is to understand the needs of decision-makers. Analysts must analyze the decision-makers!

What good is your analysis if your audience doesn't use it? Maybe they don't need what you produce. Maybe they don't understand its value. Maybe you don't understand their values. If you want your work to be relevant, you MUST understand those who will use it. This requires informed imagination.

The more you understand yourself, the more likely you can understand others. Self-awareness and the need to monitor one's thinking is advocated in Richards Hueur's seminal work, The Psychology of Intelligence Analysis.

"Not enough training is focused in this direction—that is, inward
toward the analyst’s own thought processes. Training of intelligence analysts generally means instruction in organizational procedures, methodological techniques, or substantive topics. More training time should be devoted to the mental act of thinking or analyzing. It is simply assumed, incorrectly, that analysts know how to analyze." Heuer, page 4

I know of no one stressing training in understanding the decision-makers perspectives and the need for analysts - in truth, absolute necessity - for analysts to know what it is their decision-makers need. It is well-known in the profession that the decision-makers do not know what they need from analysts - analysts must learn how to be emotionally intelligent - using imagination, empathy, and insight to deliver actionable knowledge for their particular "customers." How will you know something is actionable unless you understand the persons who will be the actors?

There is a silly game called "Imagine Iff" that asks players to put themselves in others' shoes - to guess what other people would choose in various circumstances. Perhaps we could imagine a similar sort of "game" that would help analysts learn how to think like decision-makers - since the decision-makers are less likely to be motivated to think like analysts.

Analysts can start from where they are - and look at some simple ways to become more self-aware - then transfer that knowledge to imagining what others may be like - by taking these tests and reflecting on the different ways people think and feel:

VIA Inventory of Signature Strengths -"The VIA Inventory of Strengths is a 240-item self-report questionnaire that is intended for use by adults. It measures the degree to which respondents endorse each of the 24 strengths of character in the VIA Classification. It takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. A report is immediately generated indicating 5 top strengths, a description of each, and a comparison of your scores to others who have taken the test."
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® - "The purpose of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI) personality inventory is to make the theory of psychological types described by C. G. Jung understandable and useful in people’s lives. The essence of the theory is that much seemingly random variation in the behavior is actually quite orderly and consistent, being due to basic differences in the ways individuals prefer to use their perception and judgment."