New Instruments for Evaluating Emotional Intelligence in Children and Adolescents

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1 New Instruments for Evaluating Emotional Intelligence in Children and Adolescents

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3 New Instruments for Evaluating Emotional Intelligence in Children and Adolescents Pablo Fernández Berrocal and the Emotion Laboratory at Malaga University Intelligence is what you use when you don t know what to do Jean Piaget Introduction The Test de Evaluación de la Inteligencia Emocional de la Fundación Botín para Adolescentes [Botín Foundation s Emotional Intelligence Evaluation Test for Adolescents (TIEFBA)] and the Test de Evaluación de Inteligencia Emocional de la Fundación Botín en la Infancia [Botín Foundation s Emotional Intelligence Evaluation Test for Children (TIEFBI)] were published 25 years after the concept of Emotional Intelligence (EI) was proposed by researchers Peter Salovey and John Mayer in Various EI models and measures have been developed in the 25 years since then, which can be divided into two main categories: ability models and mixed models. Ability models focus on mental skills that utilize the information provided by emotions to improve cognitive processing, whereas mixed models combine mental skills with stable behavioural traits and variable personality traits. 1 In Spain, of these two EI models the one that has made more impact in the university context is Mayer and Salovey s ability model (1997). Nevertheless, for the most part the instruments developed to assess EI have been self-reports along with the typical limitations of this type of test. In 2002, Mayer, Salovey and Caruso published a test in English the Mayer-Salovey- Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) which subsequently became the yardstick of ability testing for evaluating EI in adults (over the age of 17). In this sense, the MSCEIT is a test designed to evaluate EI understood as a capacity. The answers to this ability test represent the subject s real capacity to solve emotional problems. This test was adapted and translated into Spanish by Natalio Extremera and Pablo Fernández-Berrocal in collaboration with Peter Salovey s Laboratory, and it took 8 years of hard work and effort until it was finally published by TEA Ediciones in The results in adults of the MSCEIT ability measurement proved so interesting and relevant that we felt encouraged to try to develop and validate new ability measurements for evaluating the EI of adolescents (12 to 17 year olds) and of children (2 and a half to 11 year olds), in keeping with Salovey and Mayer s model and adapting it to our cultural environment. This endeavour was made possible through two different circumstances. Firstly, our Emotion Laboratory at the University of Malaga had ample experience and knowledge in this field to take on the challenge. And, secondly, we had the good fortune in 2008 of making the acquaintance of the Botín Foundation which had already been working in schools for 5 years with its Responsible Education programme, which seeks to improve educational quality by

4 228 New Instruments for Evaluating Emotional Intelligence in Children and Adolescents introducing Social and Emotional Education and the development of creativity in classrooms. Constantly on the lookout for ways to improve, from the outset the Foundation sought ways to measure the psychological impact of its programme on pupils. Given the lack of valid instruments, it chose to back this project and fund it in its entirety an investment to continue making progress in this field of work. One positive aspect of both the TIEFBA and the TIEFBI is that they are based on an EI approach, the ability model, which is quite unlike other more popular or pseudoscientific approaches (for example, Goleman, 1995). These other approaches have used the term EI to refer to additional psychological aspects, such as motivation, optimism and self-esteem, which distance themselves from the notion of EI as a real intelligence. From the perspective of an ability model of EI, on which these new measurements are based, the notion of EI is differentiated from other psychological aspects, with the ability to independently predict important variables related to people s psychological and social wellbeing. In short, the TIEFBA and the TIEFBI are evaluation instruments based on the understanding of EI as a unitary intelligence with capacity to use, understand and manage emotions. An intelligence that, moreover, is susceptible to being trained and improved, as the results of a variety of recent works in this field have shown (Brackett, Rivers, and Salovey, 2011; Ruíz- Aranda, Cabello, Salguero, Palomera, Extremera and Fernández-Berrocal, 2013; Ruiz-Aranda, Salguero, Cabello, Palomera, and Fernández-Berrocal, 2011). The following sections describe the main features of the TIEFBA and the TIEFBI, which will be available on the website of the Botín Foundation ( Botín Foundation s Emotional Intelligence Evaluation Test for Adolescents (TIEFBA) The TIEFBA is an objective measurement of EI aimed at adolescents (12 to 17 year olds) to evaluate the ability of each adolescent when it comes to perceiving, using, understanding and managing emotions. Accordingly, it refers to a form of intelligence, EI, related to other kinds of traditional intelligence (such as verbal and/or performance intelligence) and relatively independent of personality traits, it includes the ability to reason by using emotions and of using feelings to enhance thought (Mayer and Salovey, 1997). The technical data sheet of the TIEFBA is shown in Figure 1. It is important to stress that the TIEFBA evaluates the real performance level of each adolescent in EI ability. This distinguishes it from other EI measurements, based on self-reports, and known as Perceived Emotional Intelligence measurements. Perceived Emotional Intelligence measurements evaluate the perception adolescents have of their own emotional skills. Unlike

5 New Instruments for Evaluating Emotional Intelligence in Children and Adolescents 229 Figure 1. Technical data sheet of the TIEFBA Name Botín Foundation s Emotional Intelligence Evaluation Test for Adolescents (TIEFBA) Authors Fernández-Berrocal, Pablo; Extremera, Natalio; Palomera, Raquel; Ruiz-Aranda, Desireé; Salguero, José Martín Provenance Botín Foundation, Santander, Spain (2015) Scope Individual and group Test media Pencils and paper together with notebooks and answer sheets, or via an online questionnaire Age range From 12 to 17 year olds Duration From 20 to 30 minutes Objective Evaluation of the emotional intelligence ability of adolescents Survey range Spanish adolescents, divided into sexes (male and female) and age group (from 12 to 13 years old, from 14 to 15 years old, from 16 to 17 years old) Available online these, the TIEFBA evaluates the maximum performance of each adolescent, in other words, his or her ability to put into practice his or her emotional skills when attempting to solve a variety of emotional problems. Additionally, the fact that the TIEFBA consists of tasks with correct or incorrect answers eliminates the effect of several biases (such as, for example, social desirability or response styles) which tend to affect self-reporting measurements. The TIEFBA provides 7 different scores: a total score (total EI), two area scores (Experiential Area and Strategic Area) and four scores corresponding to the four branches of the ability model: perceiving emotions, using emotions, understanding emotions and managing emotions. A summarized description of each of these dimensions and results is provided in Table 1.

6 230 New Instruments for Evaluating Emotional Intelligence in Children and Adolescents Table 1. Description of the dimensions and various scores of the TIEFBA SCORES Total EI score (Total EI) Area scores Experiential EI score (Experiential Area) Strategic EI score (Strategic Area) Branch scores Perceiving emotions Using emotions Understanding emotions Managing emotions DESCRIPTION This score provides a general measure of the EI level of each adolescent. This score provides a measure of the adolescent s skill in perceiving emotions and using them to facilitate decision-making and cognitive performance. This score provides a measure of the adolescent s skill in understanding why emotions occur, their meaning and how this may be used strategically in order to achieve a specific objective. This score provides a measure of the adolescent s skill in perceiving and identifying emotions in other people s faces. This score provides a measure of the degree to which the adolescent knows the role emotions play with regard to decisionmaking or undertaking various cognitive tasks. This score provides a measure of the adolescent s skill in understanding the relationship between thoughts and the resulting emotions that they, or other people, are feeling. Measures the degree to which the adolescent knows the most effective strategies for managing his or her emotions or the emotions of others when it comes to achieving various objectives in daily life. Botín Foundation s Emotional Intelligence Evaluation Test for Children (TIEFBI) The TIEFBI is aimed at evaluating EI in children between the ages of 2 and a half and 12 years old. The technical data sheet of the TIEFBI is shown in Figure 2. The TIEFBI system includes a total of 3 different tests, aimed at evaluating branches 1, 3 and 4 of the EI ability model: Catch the Emotion In Search of The Lost Emotion The Emotion Detective

7 New Instruments for Evaluating Emotional Intelligence in Children and Adolescents 231 Figure 2. Technical data sheet of the TIEFBI Name Botín Foundation s Emotional Intelligence Evaluation Test for Children (TIEFBI) Authors Fernández-Berrocal, Pablo; Cabello González, Rosario; Extremera, Natalio; Palomera, Raquel; Ruiz-Aranda, Desireé; Salguero, José Martín Provenance Botín Foundation, Santander, Spain (2015) Scope Individual and group Test media Physical materials with illustrations, photographs and record sheets Age range from 2 and a half to 12 year olds Duration approximately 60 minutes Objective Evaluation of the emotional intelligence ability of children Available online Like the TIEFBA, these tests evaluate the real performance level of each child in EI skills. This differentiates it from other EI measures, based on self-reports and known as Perceived Emotional Intelligence measurements. Unlike these, the TIEFBI evaluates the maximum performance of each child, in other words, his or her ability to put into practice his or her emotional skills when attempting to solve diverse emotional problems. A summarized description of the link between each TIEFBI test and the EI branch and cognitive micro-process under evaluation is provided in Table 2. A manual is provided for each of the three tests covered by the TIEFBI. It contains detailed information with a general description of the tests, how they are structured and the materials used in them, specific instructions regarding their implementation according to age group, the implementation procedure (with instructive examples), as well as the procedure for interpreting the results.

8 232 New Instruments for Evaluating Emotional Intelligence in Children and Adolescents Table 2. Outline of the TIEFBI tests according to the micro-process being used and the branch of EI being evaluated. EI BRANCH MAIN COGNITIVE TEST NAME MICRO-PROCESSES Perceiving Emotions Selective attention Catch the Emotion Emotion perception Understanding Emotions Emotion reasoning In Search of The Lost Emotion Managing Emotions Emotion planning The Emotion Detective By way of a conclusion The TIEFBA and the TIEFBI are the outcome of six productive years of intensive and collaborative work. These new instruments would not have been possible without the help and contributions of hundreds of people ranging from the researchers who worked on different stages of the design process, to the principals, teachers, educators, psychologists and pupils at the schools who have taken part in the various development and validation studies. Many thanks to all of them for the effort and enthusiasm they brought to the project. Lastly, we are sincerely grateful to the Botín Foundation (in particular to the people who work there) for being so passionate about education, an example worthy of being followed in Spain. We hope that the TIEFBA and the TIEFBI will prove useful both to researchers and educators requiring a reliable and professional way to evaluate EI from childhood to adolescence.

9 New Instruments for Evaluating Emotional Intelligence in Children and Adolescents 233 References Brackett, M.A., Rivers, S.E. and Salovey, P. (2011). Emotional Intelligence: Implications for Personal, Social, Academic, and Workplace Success. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 5, pp Fernández-Berrocal, P., Extremera, N., Palomera, R., Ruiz-Aranda, D., Salguero, J.M. y Cabello, R. (2015). From neurons to happiness: ten proposals using Emotional Intelligence. Santander: Fundación Botín. Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence. New York: Bantam Books. (Spanish translation published by Kairós, 1996). Mayer, J., Roberts, R. and Barsade, S.G. (2008). Human Abilities: Emotional Intelligence. Annual Review of Psychology, 59, pp Mayer, J.D. and Salovey, P. (1997). What is emotional intelligence? In P. Salovey and D. Sluyter (Eds.). Emotional Development and Emotional Intelligence: implications for educators (pp. 3-31). New York: Basic Books. Ruíz-Aranda, D., Cabello, R. Salguero, J.M., Palomera, R., Extremera, N., and Fernández-Berrocal, P. (2013). Programa Intemo: Guía para mejorar la Inteligencia Emocional de los adolescentes. Madrid: Ediciones Pirámide. Ruiz-Aranda, D., Salguero, J.M., Cabello, R., Palomera, R. and Fernández-Berrocal, P. (2011). Can an emotional intelligence program improve adolescents psychosocial adjustment? Results of the INTEMO Project. Social Behavior & Personality, 40, pp Endnotes 1 For a comprehensive view of this subject see the magnificent anthology of collected essays in Fernández-Berrocal, Extremera, Palomera, Ruiz-Aranda, Salguero and Cabello (2015).

10 234 New Instruments for Evaluating Emotional Intelligence in Children and Adolescents Dr. Pablo Fernández Berrocal is Professor of Psychology at the University of Malaga. He is the founder and director of the Emotion Laboratory at the University of Malaga and co-director of the Master s Degree in Emotional Intelligence, as well as of several other R&D projects related to the evaluation and development of Emotional Intelligence. He has co-authored 18 books including, among others, Corazones Inteligentes (2002), Autocontrol emocional (2002), Desarrolla tu Inteligencia Emocional (2004), Manual de Inteligencia Emocional (2007) and Programa Intemo: Guía para mejorar la Inteligencia Emocional de los adolescentes (2013). He was the organizer of the 1st International Congress on Emotional Intelligence (Malaga, 2007) and in addition, since 2012, he has been vice-president of the International Society for Emotional Intelligence. He is an active collaborator with international researchers such as Peter Salovey, Marc Brackett, James Gross, and Simon Baron-Cohen. He is a regular contributor to numerous Spanish and international scientific publications. See Currently, he is developing programmes to improve Emotional Intelligence in a variety of environments and organizations related to education, health and business.