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Personality and Individual Differences 32 2002) 37±48<br />

www.elsevier.com/locate/paid<br />

<strong>Does</strong> a <strong>self</strong>-<strong>report</strong> <strong>measure</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>emotional</strong> <strong>intelligence</strong><br />

assess something di€erent than general <strong>intelligence</strong>?<br />

Jan Derksen *, Ingrid Kramer, Michael Katzko<br />

Department of Clinical Psychology and Personality, University of Nijmegen,<br />

PO Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands<br />

Received 14 April 2000; received in revised <strong>for</strong>m 5 December 2000; accepted 29 December 2000<br />

Abstract<br />

One of the theoretical claims made regarding the concept of <strong>emotional</strong> <strong>intelligence</strong> is that it concerns a<br />

range of human abilities which are independent of the more familiar concept of intellectual ability. This<br />

study was conducted to evaluate the divergent validity of Bar-On's EQ-i as compared to the General Adult<br />

Mental Ability scale GAMA), a <strong>measure</strong> of ¯uid <strong>intelligence</strong>. In a Dutch subject sample n=873), results<br />

indicated that the correlations between the EQ-i and the GAMA were very low, <strong>for</strong> both the total sample<br />

as well as <strong>for</strong> the sexes separately. These ®ndings indicate that the two tests are psychometrically independent,<br />

in that the EQ-i is measuring something other than the GAMA. There were also some small agerelated<br />

changes in the correlations between the EQ-i and GAMA. These results replicate and elaborate<br />

those <strong>report</strong>ed by Bar-On [Bar-On, R. 1997). BarOn Emotional Quotient Inventory: technical manual.<br />

Toronto: Multi Health Systems]. # 2001Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.<br />

Keywords: Emotional <strong>intelligence</strong>; General <strong>intelligence</strong>; Eqi; GAMA<br />

1. Introduction<br />

The history of research on <strong>intelligence</strong> has made it clear that a person's success in career and<br />

personal life depends not only on IQ but also on other personal factors. It was believed by both<br />

experts and laypersons that the concept of <strong>intelligence</strong> encompasses social and/or <strong>emotional</strong> factors<br />

as well as the cognitive factors Cantor & Kihlstrom, 1987; Sternberg, 1985; Thorndike,<br />

1920; Wechsler, 1943).<br />

As early as 1920, Thorndike proposed a model of <strong>intelligence</strong> which included not only the<br />

traditional intellectual factors, but also to what he called social <strong>intelligence</strong>, de®ned as `...the<br />

* Corresponding author. Fax: +3124 3607808.<br />

E-mail address: derksen@psych.kun.nl J. Derksen).<br />

0191-8869/01/$ - see front matter # 2001Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.<br />

PII: S0191-886901)00004-6


38 J. Derksen et al. / Personality and Individual Di€erences 32 2002) 37±48<br />

ability to understand and manage men and women, boys and girls Ð to act wisely in human<br />

relations' 1920, p.228). Thorndike's de®nition of social <strong>intelligence</strong> has a cognitive and a behavioral<br />

component and implies the following. First, the ability to understand and manage people is<br />

an intellectual capacity. Second, this capacity is di€erent from the abstract-verbal and concretemechanical<br />

aspects of <strong>intelligence</strong>.<br />

A great deal of attention has since been given to the concept of social <strong>intelligence</strong>. For years the<br />

central question has been whether a unique empirically coherent domain of social <strong>intelligence</strong><br />

could be delineated, or whether social <strong>intelligence</strong> is only a function of a more general abstract<br />

<strong>intelligence</strong>. Numerous studies were conducted to separate academic from social <strong>intelligence</strong> but<br />

met with only moderate success Brown & Anthony, 1990; Ford & Tisak, 1983). According to<br />

Ford and Tisak 1983) most of these studies e.g. Hoepfner & O'Sullivan, 1968; Keating, 1978;<br />

Tenopyr, 1967; Thorndike & Stein, 1937; Walker & Foley, 1973) were unsuccessful <strong>for</strong> two reasons.<br />

First, it was di cult to de®ne social <strong>intelligence</strong>, with di€erent researchers having di€erent<br />

de®nitions of the concept. Some de®nitions emphasized social perception or insight as the key to<br />

social <strong>intelligence</strong> Chapin, 1939; Walker & Foley, 1973), while others argued that social <strong>intelligence</strong><br />

is a multidimensional construct Cantor & Kihlstrom, 1987; Ford & Tisak, 1983; Jones &<br />

Day, 1997; Marlowe, 1986; Mayer & Salovey, 1993; O'Sullivan & Guil<strong>for</strong>d, 1975; Wong, Day,<br />

Maxwell & Meara, 1995). The second problem has been how to <strong>measure</strong> social <strong>intelligence</strong> in a<br />

psychometrically valid way. Social <strong>intelligence</strong> has been assessed by instruments that were<br />

designed to <strong>measure</strong> ability to `understand others', e.g. social-cognitive skills rather than behaviorally<br />

oriented <strong>measure</strong>s. Researchers who failed to separate the two <strong>for</strong>ms of <strong>intelligence</strong> often<br />

used social-cognitive <strong>measure</strong>s in their study. However, it is essential to distinguish between the<br />

cognitive and behavioral aspects of social <strong>intelligence</strong> Ford & Tisak, 1983).<br />

Given these problems with the concept of social <strong>intelligence</strong>, analysis turned to other ways of<br />

conceptualizing and measuring non-academic intellectual factors. One alternative was the concept<br />

of `<strong>emotional</strong> <strong>intelligence</strong>', ®rst introduced in 1990 by Salovey and Mayer, and popularized by<br />

Goleman 1995). This concept has its roots in Wechsler's 1940, 1943) thought of `non-intellective<br />

factors of general <strong>intelligence</strong>'. Leeper 1948) subsequently used this concept, assuming that<br />

`<strong>emotional</strong> thoughts' are part of and contribute to `logical thought' and to <strong>intelligence</strong> in general.<br />

Since then, there was no further work on <strong>emotional</strong> <strong>intelligence</strong> <strong>for</strong> about 40 years until Howard<br />

Gardner 1983) developed his Multiple Intelligence Theory which combines cognitive with <strong>emotional</strong><br />

aspects of <strong>intelligence</strong>. The Multiple Intelligence Theory consists of seven independent types of<br />

<strong>intelligence</strong>, one of which is `Personal Intelligence'. Personal Intelligence can be divided into `Intrapersonal<br />

Intelligence', the knowledge of one's internal processes and feelings and `Interpersonal<br />

Intelligence', the ability to determine other people's reactions, needs, emotions and intentions.<br />

Salovey and Mayer 1990) de®ne <strong>emotional</strong> <strong>intelligence</strong> as a type of social <strong>intelligence</strong> which<br />

involves the ability to monitor one's own and other's emotions, to discriminate among them, and<br />

to use the in<strong>for</strong>mation to guide one's thinking and actions. They distinguish six components of<br />

<strong>emotional</strong> <strong>intelligence</strong>: <strong>emotional</strong> <strong>self</strong>-awareness, assertiveness, empathy, interpersonal relationships,<br />

stress tolerance and impulse control. These six components can also be found in Bar-On's<br />

concept of <strong>emotional</strong> <strong>intelligence</strong> Bar-On, 1997). Bar-On de®nes <strong>emotional</strong> <strong>intelligence</strong> as `an<br />

array of noncognitive capabilities, competencies, and skills that in¯uence one's ability to succeed<br />

in coping with environmental demands and pressures'. According to Bar-On, <strong>emotional</strong> <strong>intelligence</strong><br />

is an important factor in determining one's ability to succeed in life and has a direct


J. Derksen et al. / Personality and Individual Di€erences 32 2002) 37±48 39<br />

in¯uence on a person's general well-being. The need to empirically demonstrate the independence<br />

of social from general <strong>intelligence</strong> is equally important <strong>for</strong> <strong>emotional</strong> <strong>intelligence</strong>. Bar-On developed<br />

the ®rst psychometrically researched test <strong>for</strong> <strong>emotional</strong> <strong>intelligence</strong>: the Emotional Intelligence<br />

inventory EQ-i). In addition to the data in Bar-On's manual, Dawda and Hart 2000), did<br />

a study of the reliability and validity of the EQ-i and were in favour of the further development of<br />

the instrument. They also recommended strategies <strong>for</strong> further validation. Bar-On investigated the<br />

divergent validity of <strong>emotional</strong> <strong>intelligence</strong> in relation to IQ and found a low correlation r=0.12)<br />

in a sample of 40 North-American persons who completed both the EQ-i and the Wechsler Adult<br />

Intelligence Scale WAIS; Wechsler, 1958). However, this result is less than convincing both<br />

because of the small sample size and because, in measuring general <strong>intelligence</strong> by means of the<br />

WAIS, one assesses not only the g-factor but also verbal aspects of <strong>intelligence</strong>, which can <strong>for</strong> a<br />

large part be contributed to culture and education.<br />

The present study was designed to correct these shortcomings. In so doing, we hope to<br />

demonstrate the independence of <strong>emotional</strong> <strong>intelligence</strong> from general, g-factor <strong>intelligence</strong>.<br />

2. Method<br />

2.1. Participants<br />

All subjects voluntarily participated in this study, after being approached by a data-collecting<br />

agency CenterData Tilburg). The subjects were representative of the Dutch population regarding<br />

age, SES, urbanization, social relations, professional status and educational background. However,<br />

the age analyses <strong>report</strong>ed in this study use the age-groups de®nitions of Naglieri and Bardos<br />

1997) in the development of the GAMA, and so the age distributions in these groups cannot be<br />

considered representative of the Dutch population.<br />

Of the original 1633 subjects who completed the EQ-i <strong>for</strong> norming purposes, 873 489 men and<br />

384 women) agreed to also complete the GAMA. Subjects were 19±84 years of age M=50.74<br />

years, S.D.=14.50 years).<br />

2.2. Measures<br />

The EQ-i is a <strong>self</strong>-<strong>report</strong> <strong>emotional</strong> <strong>intelligence</strong> questionnaire developed by Bar-On 1997). It<br />

consists of 133 items and employs a ®ve-point response scale ranging from `Not true of me' to<br />

`True of me'), and can be completed within 30±40 min. However, there is no imposed time limit.<br />

The assessment renders four validity scale scores, a total EQ score, ®ve composite scale scores<br />

and 15 EQ subscale scores Table 1). EQ-i raw scores are trans<strong>for</strong>med into standard scores based<br />

on a mean of `100' and a standard deviation of 15 similar to IQ scores).<br />

Subjects completed the Dutch translation of the EQ-i Derksen, 1998); the items of the original<br />

EQ-i were translated from English into Dutch by three psychologists independently Derksen,<br />

Jeuken & Klein-Herenbrink, 1998). In consultation with the test author, these translations were<br />

integrated into a provisional Dutch version of the EQ-i. This was back-translated by a bilingual<br />

native English speaker, which resulted in a number of additional revisions. A group of 31Dutch<br />

students in the ®nal phase of study of the English language mean age: 23 years) completed both


40 J. Derksen et al. / Personality and Individual Di€erences 32 2002) 37±48<br />

Table 1<br />

The components and sub-scales of the EQ-i<br />

Intrapersonal components<br />

Emotional Self-Awareness<br />

Assertiveness<br />

Self-Regard<br />

Self-Actualization<br />

Independence<br />

Interpersonal components<br />

Empathy<br />

Social Responsibility<br />

Interpersonal Relationships<br />

Adaptability components<br />

Problem solving<br />

Reality testing<br />

Flexability<br />

Stress Management components<br />

Stress Tolerance<br />

Impulse Control<br />

General Mood components:<br />

Optimism<br />

Happiness<br />

English and Dutch versions of the EQ-i in a quasi experimental counterbalanced within-subjects<br />

ABBA design, one half of the group ®lled in the Dutch version ®rst and 3 weeks later the English<br />

version. Analyses suggested that ®ve items could be further revised. No di€erences on the scale<br />

level were found.<br />

Subjects completed the Dutch version of the General Adult Mental Ability scale GAMA)<br />

Naglieri & Bardos, 1997). The GAMA is a non-verbal <strong>measure</strong> of general <strong>intelligence</strong>, which is<br />

independent of verbal factors both in content and instruction. The GAMA was constructed to<br />

<strong>measure</strong> ¯uid-<strong>intelligence</strong> and consists of 66 items organized into four item types: Matching,<br />

Analogies, Sequences and Construction. Each item has a response set of ®ve possibilities. Test<br />

results include a total IQ score with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. The GAMA<br />

must be completed within a time limit of 25 min.<br />

Subjects also completed a list of demographic questions, and four questions assessing <strong>self</strong>-perceived<br />

success. These data were collected to evaluate the construct and predictive validity if the<br />

EQ-i, and will be analyzed and <strong>report</strong>ed in a separate article.<br />

3. Results<br />

The relationship between the EQ-i total and component scale scores and the GAMA total and<br />

subscale scores was assessed by computing Pearson-correlations between the two tests <strong>for</strong> the<br />

total sample and the separate sexes. Age-related relationships between the two instruments were<br />

also examined.<br />

3.1. Relationship between EQ-i and GAMA<br />

Table 2 presents the correlations between the EQ-i total and component scores and the GAMA<br />

total and subscale scores. All correlations between the two instruments were very low and, where<br />

statistically signi®cant, never accounted <strong>for</strong> more than 2% of the total variance. In interpreting


J. Derksen et al. / Personality and Individual Di€erences 32 2002) 37±48 41<br />

such correlations, one must not <strong>for</strong>get that the signi®cance level indicates the statistical replicability<br />

of the magnitude of a ®nding, given a certain sample size. The absolute magnitude of r is<br />

of greater theoretical importance than the statistical signi®cance as such.<br />

It is also worth mentioning the low correlation between the Problem Solving subscale and the<br />

GAMA r=0.061, P


42 J. Derksen et al. / Personality and Individual Di€erences 32 2002) 37±48<br />

3.2. Age-related e€ects<br />

3.2.1. Relation between EQ-i and age<br />

Bar-On 1997) <strong>report</strong>ed that the total EQ-i increases with age, using 10-year intervals up to 50<br />

years of age. In our own sample, we were able to examine the relation between age and the EQ-i<br />

in greater detail, particularly at age groups above 50. The total sample was divided into age<br />

categories used in the GAMA, and the means <strong>for</strong> the total EQ-i and component scales are plotted<br />

in Fig. 1six subjects under 20 years of age are omitted). Separate one-way ANOVAs with<br />

polynomial analysis were per<strong>for</strong>med on the total and composite scale scores. Signi®cant quadratic<br />

e€ects were found <strong>for</strong> the total and component scale scores, except <strong>for</strong> General Mood, where<br />

there was a decreasing linear trend with age. These results can be summarized as indicating that<br />

EQ-i scores peaks in the 35±44 age interval, and then decreases in old age. Di€erent component<br />

scales di€er somewhat from this pattern, primarily in terms of the rate of increase and/or decease<br />

with age. These ®ndings are also interesting in that the age-related changes in EQ-i are di€erent<br />

from that of the GAMA, where there is a decrease in IQ to about 60 years of age Fig. 1). This<br />

implies that di€erent psychological factors underlie per<strong>for</strong>mance on these instruments.<br />

3.2.2. related changes in correlations between EQ-i and GAMA<br />

In contrast to the above results, where the correlations between the EQ-i and GAMA were<br />

uni<strong>for</strong>mly low, we begin to ®nd correlations of higher magnitude once di€erent age groups are<br />

examined. However, the correlations remain moderate at best. A plot of the correlation coe cients<br />

Table 3<br />

Intercorrelations between the IQ total and scale scores and the EQ-i total and component scales <strong>for</strong> men a<br />

Men n= 489<br />

IQ<br />

M=99.89<br />

S.D.=14.97<br />

Matching<br />

M=99.56<br />

S.D.=15.00<br />

Analogy<br />

M=99.74<br />

S.D.=15.20<br />

Sequences<br />

M=99.92<br />

S.D.=14.80<br />

Construction<br />

M=100.28<br />

S.D.=15.03<br />

EQ<br />

M=101.75 S.D.=14.99<br />

Intrapersonal<br />

M=101.73 S.D.=14.73<br />

Interpersonal<br />

M=97.71S.D.=14.87<br />

Adaptability<br />

M=102.40 S.D.=14.97<br />

Stress<br />

M=103.43 S.D.=14.82<br />

General Mood<br />

M=102.06 S.D.=14.32<br />

0.066 0.028 0.039 0.0610.079<br />

0.067 0.002 0.044 0.063 0.091*<br />

0.066 0.015 0.096* 0.059 0.030<br />

0.083 0.040 0.063 0.074 0.085<br />

0.102* 0.068 0.105* 0.101* 0.054<br />

0.124** 0.052 0.085 0.113* 0.141**<br />

a M, mean score; S.D., standard deviation; EQ, Emotional Quotient; Intrapersonal, Intrapersonal components;<br />

Interpersonal, Interpersonal components; Adaptability, Adaptability components; Stress, stress management components;<br />

General Mood, General Mood components.<br />

*P


J. Derksen et al. / Personality and Individual Di€erences 32 2002) 37±48 43<br />

between total IQ and the EQ-i total and component scale scores <strong>for</strong> the separate age groups is<br />

given in Fig. 2. Signi®cant correlations were found <strong>for</strong> Stress Tolerance at 25±34 and 70±74 years,<br />

Interpersonal Relations at 35±44 and 55±59 years, and <strong>for</strong> all correlations at 65±69 years except<br />

Interpersonal Relations. As with the correlations <strong>report</strong>ed above, the signi®cance level is<br />

obviously in¯uenced by the sample size. Thus, the absolute size of a correlation coe cient may be<br />

the same <strong>for</strong> two di€erent groups, but only signi®cant <strong>for</strong> the larger sample. This does present<br />

some problems regarding the con®dence with which the results can be interpreted. Nonetheless,<br />

viewed purely as hypotheses, the following two generalisations can be suggested. First, the<br />

Interpersonal component scale behaves in a strikingly di€erent way than the other components of<br />

the EQ-i, in that it consistently correlates negatively with IQ. Second, the correlations between<br />

total EQ and the other component scales with IQ decrease in magnitude to the 35±44 age interval,<br />

and then begin to increase in older age.<br />

4. Discussion<br />

4.1. Divergent validity of EQ-i and GAMA<br />

The main purpose of this study was to assess the divergent validity of the EQ-I against the<br />

GAMA, a <strong>measure</strong> of ¯uid <strong>intelligence</strong>. All results are strong indicators of the psychometric<br />

Table 4<br />

Intercorrelations between the IQ total and scale scores and the EQ-i total and component scales <strong>for</strong> women a<br />

Women n=384<br />

IQ<br />

M=98.53<br />

S.D.=14.39<br />

Matching<br />

M=100.44<br />

S.D.=14.89<br />

Analogy<br />

M=99.13<br />

S.D.=14.51<br />

Sequences<br />

M=98.22<br />

S.D.=14.22<br />

Construction<br />

M=98.09<br />

S.D.=14.24<br />

EQ<br />

M=99.80 S.D.=14.80<br />

Intrapersonal<br />

M=98.96 S.D.=15.35<br />

Interpersonal<br />

M=104.44 S.D.=13.45<br />

Adaptability<br />

M=98.76 S.D.=14.46<br />

Stress<br />

M=97.17 S.D.=14.29<br />

General Mood<br />

M=100.16 S.D.=15.13<br />

0.095 0.100* 0.049 0.0855 0.092<br />

0.054 0.049 0.005 0.070 0.057<br />

0.014 0.028 0.008 0.010 0.024<br />

0.124* 0.101* 0.101* 0.107* 0.104*<br />

0.163** 0.186** 0.116* 0.103* 0.166**<br />

0.084 0.098 0.0510.075 0.066<br />

a M, mean score; S.D., standard deviation; EQ, Emotional Quotient; Intrapersonal, Intrapersonal components;<br />

Interpersonal, Interpersonal components; Adaptability, Adaptability components; Stress, Stress Management components;<br />

General Mood, General Mood components.<br />

*P


44 J. Derksen et al. / Personality and Individual Di€erences 32 2002) 37±48<br />

independence of the EQ-i from the GAMA. Not only are the correlations between the two<br />

instruments consistently very low, the two instruments per<strong>for</strong>m di€erently across age. These<br />

results are consistent with the interpretation that scores on the two instruments are a function of<br />

di€erent underlying constructs.<br />

4.2. The problem of interpretation<br />

A major problem in the area of psychological testing concerns maintaining a clear distinction<br />

between the aims and purposes of an instrument in contrast to theories about how some type of<br />

behavior is produced. The above results indicate that the EQ-i and the GAMA are not redundant:<br />

they provide independent in<strong>for</strong>mation about the person completing the instruments. This<br />

in<strong>for</strong>mation may have some practical or predictive value under certain circumstances, but this<br />

still needs to be established <strong>for</strong> the EQ-i.<br />

At the same time, the changes in correlations between the two instruments across age hint at a<br />

more complex process interpretation of how the underlying psychological constructs are interacting.<br />

One could speculate that the higher IQ±EQ correlations both early and later in life re¯ect<br />

an acquisition and maintenance relation between general <strong>intelligence</strong> and <strong>emotional</strong> <strong>intelligence</strong>.<br />

However, the correlations themselves give little clue to the workings of such processes, and this<br />

Fig. 1. Mean standardized scores <strong>for</strong> GAMA-IQ and EQ-i total and component sclae scores.


issue must be examined with further experimental research. Mayer and Salovey 1997) are working<br />

on an instrument which is intended to be a more direct <strong>measure</strong> of aptitude rather than being<br />

dependent upon <strong>self</strong>-evaluation. Future discussions, in which more instruments are involved, will<br />

clarify this issue further.<br />

4.3. The problem of terminology<br />

J. Derksen et al. / Personality and Individual Di€erences 32 2002) 37±48 45<br />

Given the low correlations between EQ and GAMA it is legitimate to ask whether the use of<br />

the term `<strong>intelligence</strong>' is appropriate <strong>for</strong> the EQ-i and its' corresponding underlying construct. As<br />

we suggested in the introduction, there are legitimate problems to be addressed. On the one hand,<br />

there is the practical problem of how to develop good psychometric predictors of success generally<br />

as well as success in speci®c contexts. On the other hand, there is the more theoretical<br />

concern <strong>for</strong> developing an adequate taxonomy of abilities in a broader sense. For example, it has<br />

become apparent in educational settings that there are not only a wide range of distinct ability<br />

domains, but that high per<strong>for</strong>mance in school settings in any domain is not simply a function of<br />

competence in that domain Katzko & MoÈ nks, 1995). Given both these types of concerns, there<br />

remains a terminological problem. The choice of the term `<strong>intelligence</strong>' may have been<br />

un<strong>for</strong>tunate. In it<strong>self</strong>, it is possible to defend this in the context of the many di€erent types of<br />

Fig. 2. Correlations between GAMA-IQ total and the Eq-i total and component scale scores.


46 J. Derksen et al. / Personality and Individual Di€erences 32 2002) 37±48<br />

<strong>intelligence</strong> and abilities that are currently di€erentiated in the literature. However, this is still<br />

terminologically inelegant and confusing. It might be better to emphasize a broad category of<br />

human abilities and competencies within which a concept like `social competencies', or even<br />

`<strong>emotional</strong> competencies', has its place alongside other types of cognitive competencies. This<br />

might aid in putting the topic less in the spotlight of public opinion and more within the domain<br />

of legitimate scienti®c inquiry.<br />

4.4. Future research directions<br />

The lack of a good, widely accepted de®nition and theory of <strong>emotional</strong> <strong>intelligence</strong> can lead to<br />

circular reasoning, namely, interpreting the concept of <strong>emotional</strong> <strong>intelligence</strong> by the nature and<br />

content of the speci®c test that was used. This pattern of reasoning is all too common in psychometric<br />

research, both in general and social <strong>intelligence</strong> as well as in other areas of personality.<br />

What is still required is a good de®nition of <strong>emotional</strong> <strong>intelligence</strong> and a theory on a conceptual<br />

level. Bar-On's instrument is a promising start in measuring `the non-intellectual factors of general<br />

<strong>intelligence</strong>' Wechsler, 1940), but the model needs validation in several senses of that term.<br />

An important problem of divergent validity concerns the relation between EQ and personality.<br />

Many of the EQ-i scales tap capabilities like stress tolerance and assertiveness, but also attributes<br />

like optimism and impulse control which seem to fall within the domain of `personality'. Some<br />

preliminary results in our group suggest that the correlations with the NEO-PI-R are not as high<br />

as one might expect, implying that <strong>emotional</strong> <strong>intelligence</strong> <strong>measure</strong>d by the EQ-i is also not<br />

equivalent to conventional personality traits. There is also the problem of interpreting correlations<br />

discussed above. <strong>Does</strong> a moderate correlation simply mean instrument redundancy? Or does<br />

it have to do with overlapping construct validity?<br />

Finally, one of the psychometric aims of the EQ-i was to be able to predict success generally or<br />

in speci®c situations. But the notion of predictive validity must wrestle with both the conceptualization<br />

of the predictor instrument and the criterion behavior. One <strong>for</strong>m of validation<br />

research easy to administer is to correlate the EQ-i scores of people in comparable positions to<br />

external indicators of success. Practically, the EQ-i must be able to distinguish between more and<br />

less successful people in these respects. A more complicated and time-consuming option is prospective<br />

research in which people are tested and reassessed after 5 years time or more Stankov,<br />

1999) The main theoretical problem here concerns the nature of the construct and the<br />

hypothesized way in which it contributes to `success'. For example, Newsome, Day and Catano<br />

2000) assessed the predictive validity of the EQ-i against school achievement, and <strong>report</strong>ed<br />

that the instrument was no better than the 16PF in this regard. There may be other, non-academic,<br />

situations where the predictive value of the instrument may per<strong>for</strong>m better, but this still needs to be<br />

established. Our research on smaller groups Derksen, 1998) indicates that this might be true.<br />

Acknowledgements<br />

We are grateful to Pen Tests Publisher, the publishing company of the Dutch version of the<br />

EQ-I and GAMA, <strong>for</strong> their support during the process of data collection.


J. Derksen et al. / Personality and Individual Di€erences 32 2002) 37±48 47<br />

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