Emotional Thinking Test: An Important Aspect of Emotional Intelligence

Contents: Personality test, scale, measure, emotional thinking, software, distorted thinking, cognition, low EQ, emotional intelligence, life success.

Emotional Thinking Scale (ETS): An Important Component of Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Thinking Defined

Emotional Thinking refers to a generalized inability to distinguish emotions and thoughts. For some, strong emotions tend to interfere with balanced and realistic thought processes and can result in distorted views of situations and relationships. The Emotional Thinking Scale (ETS) is a completely new and improved version of the Globality-Differentiation Scale (Mehrabian, Stefl, & Mullen, 1997). Reliability and validity data on the Emotional Thinking Scale were provided by Mehrabian (2000), showing that Emotional Thinking is a highly relevant negative predictor of life success. With reference to the conventional definition of emotional intelligence, Emotional Thinking relates to low emotional control, inability to manage stress and life difficulties, inadequate communication skills due to distorted perceptions of others, and low impulse control.

For a more general discussion of emotional intelligence and its measurement, see Theory & Measurement of Emotional Intelligence. The Emotional Thinking Scale is one of several key measures of emotional intelligence; high scores on the scale indicate low emotional intelligence.

Emotional Thinking Scale Software

Software for administering, scoring, and interpreting the Emotional Thinking Scale is available. It runs on IBM-compatible machines and provides (a) total score, equivalent percentile score, equivalent z-score, and interpretation of these scores for each person tested and (b) a database of all three scores (total, percentile, z-score) for all individuals tested. The software is extremely easy to use and is password protected so that the Administrator can control access to the database of results. In this way, individuals being tested cannot have access to the results, unless the Administrator chooses to report such results to them.

Scale Description

The Emotional Thinking Scale (ETS) is in a questionnaire format and is very easy to administer and score. Subjects report the degree of their agreement or disagreement with each of its 8 items using a 9-point agreement-disagreement scale. The scale is available in two formats: (a) paper-and-pencil, hand-scored, (b) software for computer administration and scoring.

Sample Item

I have difficulty separating my feelings from my thoughts.

Test Features

Administration: does not require tester to be present
Test format: questionnaire, 8 items
Appropriate population: English fluency, ages 15 and older
Time required for administration: approximately 3 minutes
Scoring: hand scored; yields a single total-scale score; with software, scoring and interpretation are automated
Manual: contains complete scale, scoring directions, norms
Background literature: includes a book-length (monograph) article (Mehrabian, 2000) with extensive reliability and validity data on the ETS.
Possible uses: (See validity data below.) To select individuals for work that requires understanding and appreciating the situation and/or emotions of other co-workers, subordinates, or clients (e.g., psychotherapists, group leaders, project planners and leaders, government personnel who deal with the broad public). To select those who are interpersonally skillful in addition to being likely to succeed at work, in relationships, or generally in life. Examples include caregivers, hospital attendants and nurses, hotel service personnel, department-store help.

Validity Data:

The Emotional Thinking Scale correlated negatively with Work Success, Carreer and Financial Success, and Overall Life Success, showing Emotional Thinking was particularly detrimental to success at work, and more generally, to financial and career advancement (Mehrabian, 2000, Table 10). Additional findings showed that the ETS correlated negatively with general intelligence, relaxed temperament (a very general and important correlate of overall life success), Trait Dominance, Social Competence, Achieving Tendency, Disciplined Goal Orientation, Self- Actualization, Adaptive Coping, and Integrity (Mehrabian, 2000).

References:

Mehrabian, A. (2000). Beyond IQ: Broad-based measurement of individual success potential or "emotional intelligence." Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs, 126, 133-239.

Mehrabian, A., Stefl, C.A., & Mullen, M. (1996-1997). Emotional thinking in the adult: Individual differences in mysticism and globality-differentiation. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 16, 325-355.