Abstract
Emotional competence (EC) reflects individual differences in the identification, comprehension, expression, regulation, and utilization of one's own and others' emotions. EC can be operationalized using the Profile of Emotional Competence (PEC). This scale measures each of the five core emotional competences (identification, comprehension, expression, regulation, and utilization), separately for one's own and others' emotions. However, the higher-order structure of the PEC has not yet been systematically examined. This study aimed to fill this gap using four different samples (French-speaking Belgian, Dutch-speaking Belgian, Spanish, and Japanese). Confirmatory factor analyses and Bayesian structural equation modeling revealed that a structure with two second-order factors (intrapersonal and interpersonal EC) and with residual correlations among the types of competence (identification, comprehension, expression, regulation, and utilization) fitted the data better than alternative models. The findings emphasize the importance of distinguishing between intrapersonal and interpersonal domains in EC, offer a better framework for differentiating among individuals with different EC profiles, and provide exciting perspectives for future research.
Highlights
Individuals differ in the extent to which they can appropriately identify, understand, express, regulate, and utilize their own and others’ emotions
Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and Bayesian information criterion (BIC) were lower for the target-based structure than for the unidimensional emotional competence” (EC) structure
This study aims to clarify the higher-order structure of the Profile of Emotional Competence (PEC) with four different samples (French-speaking Belgian, Dutch-speaking Belgian, Spanish, and Japanese)
Summary
Individuals differ in the extent to which they can appropriately identify, understand, express, regulate, and utilize their own and others’ emotions. The term EC was originally proposed to account for these individual differences [1], the term EI was later proposed and became much more popular. We prefer the term EC to EI because recent meta-analysis shows that they can be improved via relatively short trainings, unlike intelligence [2]. Given this line of research, we will use the term EC hereafter as a synonym of EI, in accordance with previous research [3,4,5,6,7,8].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
