Encyclopedia · History & research
History of emotional literacy
From Steiner's consulting room to Goleman's bestseller to a maximum-security yard.
The idea that emotions can be learned like a language has a short formal history and a long informal one.
Timeline
| Year | Development |
|---|---|
| 1979–1984 | Psychotherapist Claude Steiner develops and publishes on "emotional literacy," including a 1984 Transactional Analysis Journal article.1 |
| 1990 | Salovey and Mayer publish "Emotional Intelligence," defining it as a set of abilities.2 |
| 1994 | CASEL is founded to promote social and emotional learning in schools.3 |
| 1995 | Daniel Goleman's Emotional Intelligence becomes a bestseller.4 |
| 1997 | Steiner publishes Achieving Emotional Literacy.1 |
| 1998 | The ACE study links childhood adversity to adult health and behavior.5 |
| 2007 | UCLA researchers show that naming feelings reduces amygdala activity.6 |
| 2011 | Durlak meta-analysis of 213 SEL programs finds gains in behavior and achievement.7 |
| 2014 | Samual Nathaniel Brown founds the 10P Program at New Folsom prison. |
| 2018 | Brown publishes the Theory of Emotional Illiteracy-Based Criminality. |
| 2020s | 10P redefines emotional literacy as a system with two halves — literacy and intelligence — and expands statewide. |
The 10P contribution
Earlier frameworks treated emotional literacy and emotional intelligence as synonyms, or placed literacy under intelligence. 10P made two moves no earlier framework had made:
- It defined emotional literacy as the larger system, with literacy (reading) and intelligence (responding) as its two halves. See The 10P Emotional Literacy System.
- It connected emotional illiteracy directly to antisocial behavior and criminality, framing crime as one destructive coping mechanism among many. See Theory of Emotional Illiteracy-Based Criminality (TEIBC).
-
Claude Steiner lifetime publications. emotional-literacy.org ↑↑
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Salovey, P., & Mayer, J. D. (1990). Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 9(3), 185–211. academic.oup.com ↑
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Felitti, V. J., et al. (1998). doi:10.1016/S0749-3797(98)00017-8 ↑
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Lieberman, M. D., et al. (2007). doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01916.x ↑
Put this into practice
10P Program
Learn emotional literacy with 10P
Programs for prisons, youth, families, athletes, organizations and community circles. Read · Understand · Respond · Repeat.
See all programs
See also
Cite this entry: Samual Nathaniel Brown. “History of emotional literacy.” The Emotional Literacy Encyclopedia, 10P Program, 2026-10-25. https://emotionalliteracy.org/encyclopedia/history-of-emotional-literacy/
