Convergent, Discriminant, and Incremental Validity of Competing Measures of Emotional Intelligence

Results showed that ability EI and self-report EI are weakly related and yield different measurements of the same person.

Abstract

This study investigated the convergent, discriminant, and incremental validity of one ability test of emotional intelligence (EI)--the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso-Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT)--and two self-report measures of EI--the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i) and the self-report EI test (SREIT). The MSCEIT showed minimal relations to the EQ-i and SREIT, whereas the latter two measures were moderately interrelated. Among EI measures, the MSCEIT was discriminable from well-studied personality and well-being measures, whereas the EQ-i and SREIT shared considerable variance with these measures. After personality and verbal intelligence were held constant, the MSCEIT was predictive of social deviance, the EQ-i was predictive of alcohol use, and the SREIT was inversely related to academic achievement. In general, results showed that ability EI and self-report EI are weakly related and yield different measurements of the same person.