Existing measures of Emotional Intelligence (EI), defined as the ability to perceive, understand, and manage emotions for productive purposes, have displayed limitations in predicting workplace outcomes, likely in part because they do not target this context. Such considerations led to the development of an ability EI measure with work-related scenarios in which respondents infer the likely emotions (perception) and combinations of emotion (understanding) that would occur to protagonists while rating the effectiveness of ways of responding (management). Study 1 (n = 290 undergraduates) used item-total correlations to select scenarios from a larger pool and Study 2 (n = 578) reduced the measure-termed the NEAT-to 30 scenarios on the basis of structural equation modeling. Study 3 (n = 96) then showed that the NEAT had expected correlations with personality and cognitive ability and Study 4 (n = 85) demonstrated convergent validity with other ability EI measures. Last, study 5 (n = 91) established that the NEAT had predictive validity with respect to job satisfaction, job stress, and job performance. The findings affirm the importance of EI in the workplace in the context of a valid new instrument for assessing relevant skills.
People are thought to differ in their abilities to perceive, understand, and manage emotions, a construct termed emotional intelligence (EI). North Dakota emotional abilities test (NEAT), a test of EI based on the situation judgment test method, assesses EI applied to work settings. Three surveybased studies examined and found that NEAT scores correlated positively with constructive motivations and behavioral intentions (Study 1; n = 94), conflict handling strategies favoring mutual interests (Study 2; n = 92), and helpful workplace behaviors, particularly under stressful conditions (Study 3; n = 90). These findings could possess particular value in domains such as conflict resolution and mediation.
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of emotion perception ability through two different paradigms (self-report and ability-based) on an individual's motivation to lead, an individual's desire to assume leadership roles.
Design/methodology/approach
– The authors have used a survey method in this study. The authors collected data from 172 undergraduate students.
Findings
– The findings indicate that emotion perception ability was significantly related to MTL. The authors also found that emotion perception ability was more substantially related to the non-calculative dimension of MTL than others.
Originality/value
– To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to show the relationship of emotion perception ability to motivation to lead. Organizations can use the finding to screen and train future leaders using an ability-based test of emotion perception similar to one the authors have presented.
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