Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand and to regulate emotions in oneself and in others. High EI is associated with more optimism, greater impulse control, better mood, more empathic perspective taking, more closeness and warmth in relationships, greater marital satisfaction, . more cooperation in a Prisoner’s Dilemma situation, more persistence under frustrating circumstances, better adjustment to university in beginning students, higher first year university grades, higher supervisor performance ratings in an undergraduate psychology internship. EI can be measured as an ability, using a test similar to an IQ test, or it can be measured as a personality trait.

Nicola Schutte, others, and I created a trait measure of EI that has been very widely used. The scale is called either the Schutte emotional intelligence scale or the Assessing Emotions Scale. Google Scholar lists over 1700 citations of our 1998 article introducing the scale.

You can complete the scale yourself — see the scale below. Keep in mind that your responses may be influenced by knowing that the scale measures EI. Also, you can use the scale with clients or in research.

To calculate a scale score, reverse code responses to items 5, 28, and 33. That means that after completing all the items, you must change the score for each of these three items to its opposite. So, if your response is 1, change that to a 5; if your response is 4, change that to a 2; and so on. A response of 3 stays as it is. Then sum all responses for a total score.

The mean score across many large samples is about 124, with a standard deviation of about 13. So scores below 111 or above 137 are unusually low or high.

Can we increase our emotional intelligence? It is possible to increase aspects of EI with focused effort, e.g., training in empathy or in self-regulation of emotions.

How do you use your emotional intelligence? How might you increase your application of it?

John Malouff, PhD, Assoc Prof of Psychology

Here is the Assessing Emotions Scale:

Each of the following items asks you about your emotions or reactions associated with emotions. After deciding whether a statement is generally true for you, use the 5-point scale to respond to the statement. Please circle the “1” if you strongly disagree that this is like you, the “2” if you somewhat disagree that this is like you, “3” if you neither agree nor disagree that this is like you, the “4” if you somewhat agree that this is like you, and the “5” if you
strongly agree that this is like you.
1 = strongly disagree
2 = somewhat disagree
3 = neither agree nor disagree
4 = somewhat agree
5 = strongly agree

1. I know when to speak about my personal problems to others. 1 2 3 4 5
2. When I am faced with obstacles, I remember times I faced similar obstacles and overcame them. 1 2 3 4 5
3. I expect that I will do well on most things I try. 1 2 3 4 5
4. Other people find it easy to confide in me. 1 2 3 4 5
5. I find it hard to understand the non-verbal messages of other people. 1 2 3 4 5
6. Some of the major events of my life have led me to re-evaluate what is important and not important. 1 2 3 4 5
7. When my mood changes, I see new possibilities. 1 2 3 4 5
8. Emotions are one of the things that make my life worth living. 1 2 3 4 5
9. I am aware of my emotions as I experience them. 1 2 3 4 5
10. I expect good things to happen. 1 2 3 4 5
11. I like to share my emotions with others. 1 2 3 4 5
12. When I experience a positive emotion, I know how to make it last. 1 2 3 4 5
13. I arrange events others enjoy. 1 2 3 4 5
14. I seek out activities that make me happy. 1 2 3 4 5
15. I am aware of the non-verbal messages I send to others. 1 2 3 4 5
16. I present myself in a way that makes a good impression on others. 1 2 3 4 5
17. When I am in a positive mood, solving problems is easy for me. 1 2 3 4 5
18. By looking at their facial expressions, I recognize the emotions people are experiencing. 1 2 3 4 5
19. I know why my emotions change. 1 2 3 4 5
20. When I am in a positive mood, I am able to come up with new ideas. 1 2 3 4 5
21. I have control over my emotions. 1 2 3 4 5
22. I easily recognize my emotions as I experience them. 1 2 3 4 5
23. I motivate myself by imagining a good outcome to tasks I take on. 1 2 3 4 5
24. I compliment others when they have done something well. 1 2 3 4 5
25. I am aware of the non-verbal messages other people send. 1 2 3 4 5
26. When another person tells me about an important event in his or her life, I almost feel as though I experienced this event myself. 1 2 3 4 5
27. When I feel a change in emotions, I tend to come up with new ideas. 1 2 3 4 5
28. When I am faced with a challenge, I give up because I believe I will fail. 1 2 3 4 5
29. I know what other people are feeling just by looking at them. 1 2 3 4 5
30. I help other people feel better when they are down. 1 2 3 4 5
31. I use good moods to help myself keep trying in the face of obstacles. 1 2 3 4 5
32. I can tell how people are feeling by listening to the tone of their voice. 1 2 3 4 5
33. It is difficult for me to understand why people feel the way they do. 1 2 3 4 5

Schutte, N. S., Malouff, J. M., Hall, L. E., Haggerty, D. J., Cooper, J. T., Golden, C. J., & Dornheim, L. (1998). Development and validation of a measure of emotional intelligence. Personality and Individual Differences, 25(2), 167-177.

Schutte, N.S., Malouff, J.M., & Bhullar, N. (2009). The Assessing Emotions Scale. C. Stough, D. Saklofske & J. Parker (Eds.), The Assessment of Emotional Intelligence. New York: Springer Publishing, 119-135.