How Multidimensional Is Emotional Intelligence? Bifactor Modeling of Global and Broad Emotional Abilities of the Geneva Emotional Competence Test.

Daniel V Simonet,Katherine E Miller,Katja Schlegel,Kenneth E Sumner,Kevin L Askew,Marcello Mortillaro

doi:10.3390/jintelligence9010014

Daniel V Simonet, Katherine E Miller + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence9010014

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Abstract

Drawing upon multidimensional theories of intelligence, the current paper evaluates if the Geneva Emotional Competence Test (GECo) fits within a higher-order intelligence space and if emotional intelligence (EI) branches predict distinct criteria related to adjustment and motivation. Using a combination of classical and S-1 bifactor models, we find that (a) a first-order oblique and bifactor model provide excellent and comparably fitting representation of an EI structure with self-regulatory skills operating independent of general ability, (b) residualized EI abilities uniquely predict criteria over general cognitive ability as referenced by fluid intelligence, and (c) emotion recognition and regulation incrementally predict grade point average (GPA) and affective engagement in opposing directions, after controlling for fluid general ability and the Big Five personality traits. Results are qualified by psychometric analyses suggesting only emotion regulation has enough determinacy and reliable variance beyond a general ability factor to be treated as a manifest score in analyses and interpretation. Findings call for renewed, albeit tempered, research on EI as a multidimensional intelligence and highlight the need for refined assessment of emotional perception, understanding, and management to allow focused analyses of different EI abilities.

Highlights

Emotional intelligence (EI) is viewed as a capacity to understand how emotions differ, to grasp similarities and distinctions between emotive signals, to formulate general rules about effective regulatory strategies, and to understand when those rules do not apply.One motivating interest in EI is the notion that life success requires more than analytical and technical reasoning (Ybarra et al 2014)
EI was more important for success than cognitive ability led scholars to raise concerns about its conceptual underpinnings (Locke 2005), predictive utility (Antonakis 2004), and logical basis for dictating a “correct” way to emotionally respond in any given situation (Brody 2004)
We evaluate if the Geneva Emotional Competence Test (GECo) fits the description of a broad, albeit multidimensional, intelligence in two ways

Summary

Introduction

Emotional intelligence (EI) is viewed as a capacity to understand how emotions differ, to grasp similarities and distinctions between emotive signals, to formulate general rules about effective regulatory strategies, and to understand when those rules do not apply.One motivating interest in EI is the notion that life success requires more than analytical and technical reasoning (Ybarra et al 2014). EI was more important for success than cognitive ability led scholars to raise concerns about its conceptual underpinnings (Locke 2005), predictive utility (Antonakis 2004), and logical basis for dictating a “correct” way to emotionally respond in any given situation (Brody 2004). Such critiques questioned whether and under what conditions EI can be considered a valuable addition to existing individual difference taxonomies and, more generally, how the parameters of psychometric and process models of EI test data should be interpreted with reference to research on cognition and emotion.

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