26 Journal of Psychological and Educational Research JPER - 2014, 22 (1), May, 26-33 _____________________________________________________________ EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE VERSUS EMOTIONAL COMPETENCE Sebastian Vaida  Adrian Opre  Babes-Bolyai University, Romania Abstract For the past 25 years, emotional intelligence has been one of the most analyzed concepts in social sciences. The approach is on the border between the academic research and the business- organizational area. The concept first appeared almost three decades ago and made the headline in tenths of thousands of books and articles. Nevertheless, in this myriad of publications, we can depict three main approaches and models: emotional traits, emotional abilities and emotional competence. Although the majority of studies promote the advantages of emotional intelligence, something is missing from the puzzle, and that is the concept of emotional competence. The relation between these two concepts is a symbiotic one. Emotional intelligence is a prerequisite that forms the building bricks for developing emotional competence which, in turn, leads to performance. And in order to achieve the results that many training programs claim to bring (improved academic and job performance, personal development) emotional intelligence is a must yet not enough on its own. For long lasting results, emotional competence must be developed, based on improved emotional intelligence. Keywords: emotional intelligence, emotional competence, personal development, models, theories Emotional intelligence is one of the most studied topics in psychological literature, because it is an umbrella concept both in the business- organizational environment and in the academic one. Ever since it’s first Correspondence concerning this paper should be addressed to:  Ph.D., Research Assistant, Babes-Bolyai University, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Cluj Napoca, Romania. Postal address: Republicii Street, No. 37, Cluj Napoca, code 400015, Cluj Napoca, Romania. E-mail: sebastianvaida@psychology.ro, www.psychology.ro  Ph.D., Professor, Babes-Bolyai University, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Cluj Napoca, Romania. Postal address: Republicii Street, No. 37, Cluj Napoca, code 400015, Cluj Napoca, Romania. E-mail: adrianopre@psychology.ro, www.psychology.ro