Author: Caruso, D. R.

The authors continue the discussion of emotional intelligence by addressing the points raised by the commentators on the original target article. The authors address the following concerns: theoretical issues, methodological issues, empirical issues and future directions.

Scientific viability of emotional intelligence is discussed by addressing the issues of terminology, measurement, public perception through media outlets, and public criticism in this field.

The authors describe two batteries they have developed to assess emotional intelligence, both organized in accord with the four-branch model: the Multifactor Emotional Intelligence scale and the Mayer-Salovey-Caurso Emotional Intelligence Test.

Using the Mayer–Salovey–Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test, the authors examined (a) whether members of a general standardization sample and emotions experts identified the same test answers as correct, (b) the test’s reliability, and (c) the possible factor structures of EI. The MSCEIT achieved reasonable reliability, and confirmatory factor analysis supported theoretical models of EI.

G. E. Gignac (2005) reanalyzed the factor structure of the MSCEIT and found results that differed from those the authors obtained initially. The authors tracked down the surprising sources of those discrepancies. G. E. Gignac’s hierarchical model of emotional intelligence appears promising, and the authors anticipate that further investigations of the MSCEIT factor structure may yield additional information.

The article focuses on clarifying what EI is and is not which can help the field by better distinguishing research that is truly pertinent to EI from research that is not. EI–conceptualized as an ability–is an important variable both conceptually and empirically, and it shows incremental validity for predicting socially relevant outcomes.

This chapter gave an overview of the significance of emotional intelligence.

Two studies examined the reliability and validity of the Mayer–Salovey–Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test—Youth Version (MSCEIT-YV), a performance test of Emotional Intelligence. The authors report that EI can be measured reliably with the MSCEIT-YV and that higher scores on the test are related to healthier psychological functioning and greater social competence based on both teacher and student ratings, as well as to academic performance in English language arts.

Authors of the article explain why the MSCEIT’s scoring methods stand up to scrutiny and why many reported reliabilities of the MSCEIT may be underestimates, using reanalyses of the test’s standardization sample of N = 5,000 to illustrate the point. Authors also organize findings from four recent articles that provide evidence for the MSCEIT’s validity based on its relations with other tests.

Article expresses a rationale for consideration of the burgeoning research in new conceptions of intelligence, including the ‘hot intelligences’, in general discussion of the intelligence.