The Tromsø Social Intelligence Scale, a self‐report measure of social intelligence

The goal of the present research was to address some of these obstacles by designing a multi-faceted social intelligence measure that is short and easy to administer.

Abstract

Social intelligence is a construct that not only appeals to laymen as a relevant individual difference but also has shown promising practical applications. Nevertheless, the use of social intelligence in research and applied settings has been limited by definitional problems, difficulties in empirically differentiating social intelligence from related constructs, and the complexity of most existing measures of social intelligence. The goal of the present research was to address some of these obstacles by designing a multi-faceted social intelligence measure that is short and easy to administer. Three studies were conducted to develop and validate the Tromsø Social Intelligence Scale (TSIS). Study 1 examined professional psychologists' interpretations of social intelligence to derive a consensually agreed-upon definition of the construct. In Study 2, a large pool of social intelligence items were tested, and a 3-factor, 21-item scale was identified. In Study 3, the stability of this measure was confirmed.