Emotional Intelligence
"Having great intellectual abilities may make you a superb fiscal analyst or legal scholar, but a highly developed emotional intelligence will make you a candidate for CEO or a brilliant trial lawyer."
Daniel Goleman,WHAT'S YOUR EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENT?
Special to Utne Reader, Nov/Dec '95Emotional Intelligence is not about smiling all the time...
- It's about celebrating successes…
- It's about recognizing the joy, and the pain, in others…
- It's about being angry at the right person, at the right time, in the right manner, for the right reason…
- It's about the authentic use of emotions.
Choosing an Emotional Intelligence Assessment Tool
What is Emotional Intelligence?
There are three prevailing approaches:
Psychologist Bar-On uses EQ (Emotional Quotient) to describe"… an array of non-cognitive … SKILLS..."
Researchers Mayer and Salovey see Emotional Intelligence as an ability analogous to the ABILITY to read a map.
For popular writer Goleman, Emotional Intelligence is defined by COMPETENCIES, which may be developed through training.
So… What is Emotional Intelligence?
Skills, abilities, or competencies? Each of these emotional intelligence assessment tools are well researched and statistically validated.
The answer is… each one is correct. Each tool is valid for its specific purpose. Trouble arises when the tool is mis-applied. So, what do you really want to measure... skills, abilities, or competencies?
How Do You Measure Emotional Intelligence?
Although there are over 60 emotional intelligence inventories and assessments listed in Schutte & Malouff’s 1999 book Measuring Emotional Intelligence and Related Constructs, and many non-peer reviewed tests for EI or EQ available on the internet, there are three that stand out as useful business tools.
These are:
- the EQ-i (Emotional Quotient Inventory),
- the MSCEIT (Mayer Salovey Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test),
- and the ECI (Emotional Competence Inventory).
Reuven Bar-On & the EQ-i
Psychologist Bar-On uses EQ (Emotional Quotient) to describe"… an array of non-cognitive … skills..."
Based on 19 years of research by Dr. Reuven Bar-On and tested on over 48,000 individuals worldwide, the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory is designed to measure a number of constructs related to emotional intelligence. Bar-On uses EQ (Emotional Quotient) to describe his view of emotional intelligence as "… an array of non-cognitive … skills…" that are useful in predicting success in specific areas of life.
The EQ-i is a self-report, where you score is a reflection of your own answers to the test questions.
What the Bar-On EQ-i Measures
The Bar-On EQ-i consists of 133 items. It gives an overall EQ score as well as scores for the following 5 composite scales and 15 sub-scales:
Intrapersonal Scales are Self-Regard Emotional Self Awareness, Assertiveness, Independence, Self-Actualization.
Interpersonal Scales are Empathy, Social Responsibility, Interpersonal Relationship.
Adaptability Scales are Reality Testing, Flexibility, Problem Solving.
Stress Management Scales are Stress Tolerance, Impulse Control.
General Mood Scales are Optimism, Happiness.
Mayer, Salovey, Caruso & the MSCEIT
Mayer et al, the researchers who originated the term Emotional Intelligence, view EI as an array of abilities that can be measured by your ability to "read" emotions in faces, or in group interactions. They measure EI by the Mayer Salovey Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) The MSCEIT is a test, and your score depends on answering each question with the best answer. "Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive emotions, to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, to understand emotions and emotional knowledge, and to reflectively regulate emotions so as to promote emotional and intellectual growth." (Mayer & Salovey, 1997).
What the MSCEIT Measures
Perceiving Emotions - The ability to perceive emotions in oneself and others, as well as in objects, art, stories, music, and other stimuli.
Facilitating Thought - The ability to an generate, use, and feel emotion as necessary to communicate feelings, or employ them in cognitive processes.
Understanding Emotions - The ability to understand emotional information, how emotions combine and progress through emotional transitions, and to appreciate such emotional meanings.
Managing Emotions -The ability to be open to feelings, and to modulate them in oneself and others so as to promote personal understanding and growth.
Daniel Goleman & the ECI
Goleman views EI as a set of competencies that can be measured by his Emotional Competency Inventory (ECI). The ECI is a 360 feedback tool. Your score is a reflection of feedback from your boss, your peers, and those who report to you at work. The instrument is designed for use only as a development tool, not for hiring or compensation decisions.
The ECI model has changes from the original model published in Daniel Goleman's book Working with Emotional Intelligence. The following changes were made:
- Five clusters reduced to four clusters
Self Regulation and Motivation were combined to form Self Management
- 25 Competencies were reduced to 20
- Managing Diversity was removed as it was highly correlated with Empathy.
- Commitment was removed as it was highly correlated with the Leadership competency.
- Optimism was removed. It clustered with Achievement Orientation and Initiative. It was felt there were better instruments in the field dedicated to measuring this one factor.
- Team Capabilities was removed. It clustered heavily with Teamwork and Collaboration.
- Innovation was removed as it was highly correlated with Achievement Orientation.
What the ECI Measures
Developed by Richard Boyatzis and Daniel Goleman, this measure is designed to assess competencies from four quadrants.
Self-Awareness includes emotional self-awareness, Accurate self-assessment, Self-confidence.
Self-Management includes Self-control, Adaptability, Conscientiousness Trustworthiness, Initiative, and Achievement Orientation.
Social Awareness includes Empathy, Service orientation, and Organizational awareness.
Social Skills includes Leadership, Influence, Developing others, Change catalyst, Communication, Conflict management, Building bonds, Teamwork & Collaboration
Matching the Tool to the Need
The EQ-i is well regarded for selection purposes, and career development.
The MEIS (now MSCEIT) is useful in understanding your ability, or lack of ability, in recognizing emotions in others.
The ECI is a unique 360-feedback tool, well suited to individual and organizational development.
Read more about Emotional Intelligence:
Bar-On, R. (1997) EQ-i: Bar-On emotional quotient inventory: A measure of emotional intelligence: Technical manual Toronto, ON: Multi-Health Systems Inc.
Cooper, R. (1997) Executive EQ. New York: Grosset/Putnam.
Goleman, D. (1995) Emotional intelligence. New York: Bantam Books
Goleman, D. (1998) Working with emotional intelligence. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.
Mayer, J., Salovey, P., & Caruso, D. (2000). Emotional intelligence as zeitgeist, as personality, and as a mental ability. In R. Bar-On & J.D.A. Parker (Eds.), The handbook of emotional intelligence. New York: Jossey-Bass.
Schutte, N & Malouff, J. (1999). Measuring emotional intelligence and related constructs. New York: The Edwin Mellon Press
Stein, S. & Book, H. (2000) The EQ edge. Toronto: Stoddart Publishing.
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This page was written by Greg Thompson.
Greg Thompson is an Performance Feedback and Leadership Development Coach, and has worked with Emotional Intelligence concepts for three years. He is completing an MA degree in Organizational Development, and has been accepted into the Ph.D. program at The Fielding Graduate Institute.
He can be reached at Greg@esme-greg.com or 1-888-296-6459.
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