MALAY VERSION OF THE EMOTIONAL COMPETENCE INVENTORY (ECI): A STUDY OF RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY CHUA BEE SEOK, Ph.D [email protected] BEDDU SALAM BACO, MA [email protected] Sekolah Psikologi & Kerja Sosial Universiti Malaysia Sabah Tel: 088-320000 ext 1525/1549 HARRIS SHAH ABDUL HAMID, MSc. [email protected] Department of Psycholgoy International Islamic University Malaysia Tel: 03 2056 4000 ext 3058 ABSTRACT This study investigates the reliability and validity of the Emotional Competence Inventory (ECI) in its Malay version. Estimates of reliability were obtained by using method of internal consistency Cronbach’s alpha and construct validity was used to test the validity of ECI. The Emotional Competence Inventory (ECI) was translated into Malay and administered to a sample of 223 nurses in Sandakan, Sabah. The results show that Cronbach alpha internal consistency for the four ECI clusters range from .692 to .873 and Cronbach alpha for the 20 ECI competencies range from .412 to 684. Acceptable convergent validity was also found for the four ECI clusters. INTRODUCTION Over the past century, general cognitive ability (g) has played an important role in illuminating our understanding of human performance. Gottfredson (1997) and Schmidt and Hunter (1998) have examined the relationship between general cognitive ability and academic and occupational performance and showing that it to be the best single predictor of performance. Recently, many people have come to believe that our notion of intelligence should be expanded to include “emotional intelligence” (EI), which has generally been defined as the ability to perceive, understand, and manage one’s emotions (Mayer & Salovey, 1997; Boyatsis, Goleman & Hay/McBer, 1999). Media reported by Wigod (1998) have heralded the potential value of emotion intelligence for improving one’s professional and personal life. Many of these reports go as far as to suggest that EI will be a more effective predictor of academic success and life achievement than general intelligence. 1 2002) Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test – MSCEIT (Mayer. Salovey. Table 2 presents the demographic information of the sample. 1998) Emotional Competence Inventory .EQ-i (Bar-On 1997) Emotional Intelligence Scale (Schutte et al. Härtel.Emotional intelligence has also become a hot topic in the psychological literature. Table 1 Instruments used to measure emotional intelligence Instruments Emotional Quotient Inventory .TEIQue (Petrides & Furnham. 2 . The questionnaire packs were collected and returned within a week. 2002) Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire . Sabah.MEIS (Mayer. & Salovey. Ashkanasy. This study investigates the reliability and validity of the Emotional Competence Inventory (ECI) in its Malay version. & Caruso. starting with the publication of article that proposed both a model of EI and an initial attempt to measure the construct. 2000) Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (Nikolaou & Tsaousis. Goleman & Hay/McBer. Caruso. Since then.. METHODS Subjects and Location The sample in the study was drawn from a population of staff and trainee nurses in a public hospital in Sandakan. 2002) Workgroup Emotional Intelligence Profile – WEIP (Jordan. The trainees took less than one hour to complete the questionnaires.ECI (Boyatzis. numerous measures of EI have been developed (see Table 1). The questionnaire was self-administered by the staff nurses. For the trainees. 2003) The present paper seeks to establish whether EI can also be reliably and validly measured in local sample. & Hooper. the questionnaire was administered in three groups in the presence of the researches. 1999) Multifactoral Emotional Intelligence Scale . b) Trustworthiness: Maintaining standards of honesty and integrity.8 37. The Self-Management cluster contains six competencies (containing 18 items): a) Self-Control: Keeping disruptive emotions and impulses in check.0 62.7 0.8 71.1 2. preference. resources. 3 . Self-Management refers to managing one’s internal states. c) Self-Confidence: A strong sense of one’s self-worth and capabilities.0 35. impulses. The Emotional Competence Inventory (ECI) measures 20 competencies organized into four clusters: Self-Awareness.4 Trainee Staff nurses 19 – 24 year 25 year and above Married Single Missing value Islam Buddha Christian Missing value Age Marital Status Religion Instrument The Emotional Competence Inventory (ECI) is a tool designed to assess the emotional competencies of individual and organizations. and intuitions.4 60. and resources. and Social Skill. b) Accurate Self-Awareness: Knowing one’s strengths and limits.8 0.7 36. Self-Management. It is based on emotional competencies identified by Danniel Goleman in Working with Emotional Intelligence (1998). Self-Awareness concerns knowing one’s internal states.Table 2 Demographic Profile of Subject (N = 223) Variables Job Status Frequency 145 78 140 83 62 160 1 134 6 82 1 Percentage 65. Social Awareness. and on competencies from Hay/McBer’s Generic Competency Dictionary (1996) as well as Richard Boyatzis’s Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ). All competencies are measured using three items. The self-awareness cluster contains three competencies (containing 9 items): a) Emotional Self-Awareness: Recognizing one’s emotions and their effects.2 27. Construct validity was used to test the validity of ECI where ECI was correlated with measures of stress and mental ill-health. The alpha coefficients range from . b) Leadership: Inspiring and guiding individuals and groups. Social Awareness refers to how people handle relationships and awareness of other’s feelings.c) Conscientiousness: Taking responsibility for personal performance.. needs. h) Teamwork and Collaboration: Working with other toward shared goals. The Social Skills cluster contains eight competencies (containing 27 items): a) Developing Others: Sensing other’s development needs and bolstering their abilities. e) Change Catalyst: Initiating or managing change. e) Achievement Orientation: Striving to improve or meeting a standard of excellence. and concerns. High reliabilities were found for all clusters of ECI. c) Service Orientation: Anticipating. d) Communication: Listening openly and sending convincing messages. and taking an active interest in their concerns. Estimates of reliability were obtained by using method of internal consistency Cronbach’s alpha. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Reliability: Internal Consistency Cronbach’s alpha Reliability coefficients using Cronbach’s alpha are presented in Table 2. Data Analysis The data of this study was analysed by using SPSS for Windows program. and meeting customers’ needs. i) Creating group synergy in pursuing collective goals. f) Initiative: Readiness to act on opportunities. The ECI was translated into Malay the authors using back translation procedure proposed by Brislin (1973). Social Skills concerns the skill or adeptness at inducing desirable responses in others. The Social Awareness cluster contains three competencies (containing 9 items): a) Empathy: Sensing other’s feelings and perspectives. f) Conflict Management: Negotiating and resolving disagreements. d) Adaptability: Flexibility in handling change.692 (Self- 4 . recognizing. c) Influence: Wielding effective tactics for persuasion. g) Building Bonds: Nurturing instrumental relationships. b) Organizational Awareness: Reading a group’s emotional currents and power relationships. 488 .443 . Moderate reliability was found for competencies of ECI.509 .412 .515.565 .748 Social Skills . Table 3 Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficients for The Emotional Competence Inventory (ECI) Clusters and Competencies ECI Cluster Self-Awareness ECI Competency Emotional Self-Awareness Accurate Self-Assessment Self-Confidence Self-Control Trustworthiness Conscientiousness Adaptability Achievement Orientation Initiative Empathy Organizational Awareness Service Orientation Developing Others Leadership Influence Communication Change Catalyst Conflict Management Building Bonds Teamwork & Collaboration Alpha Coefficient ECI Cluster Alpha Coefficient Competency .523 .784.684 .823 Social Awareness .417 .873 5 .412 (Initiative) to .424 .419 . The alpha coefficient obtained for the clusters were higher than for the competencies. The alpha coefficients range from .684 (Self-Control) with an overall average internal consistency coefficient of .533 .568 . if every item on the test measures essentially the same thing as all other items and if the number of items is large.558 .477 .481 . Moderate reliability obtained for the competencies of ECI might be influenced by the small number of items (three items) for each competency.525 .Awareness) to .414 .692 Self-Management .597 .873 (Social Skills) with an overall average internal consistency coefficient of . which means that the cluster (total scale) are more reliable measure than their competencies (subscales).667 . internal consistency methods suggest that the test will be reliable. According to Murphy and Davidshofer (2005).600 . The JSS is composed of 30 items. Ciarrochi. One of the scales of Occupational Stress Indicator (OSI) developed by Cooper. Beddu Salam Baco and Harris Shah Abdul Hamid (2002). in this study only Job Stress Index scale was used. Malouf. Job stress was measured by using Job Stress Survey (JSS). The mental ill health scale is composed of 18 items. (1998) tested the validity of their emotional intelligence scale with theoretically related construct that includes depression. mood repair. except Social Awareness scale which is not significantly related to the Job Stress Index.to correlate scores on the ECI in item with other measure (job stress and mental ill-health) that ought to be conceptually related. Hall. Schutte. The JSS consists of three scales and six subscales. industrial and educational settings. the ECI ought to correlate negatively with job stress and mental ill-health. It combines severity and frequency ratings of all 30 JSS items. The Job Stress Index scale provides an estimate of the overall level of occupational stress experienced by a respondent in his/her work setting. Meanwhile. developed by Spielberger and Vagg (1999) and translated into Malay by Chua Bee Seok. (2) examination of ECI subscale (competencies) intercorrelation – correlations between scores that reflect the same trait. these validity coefficient supposed to be significant. However. All of the clusters for the ECI are significantly related to the job stress index and mental ill health. These findings did not support the evidence which suggest that some forms of emotional intelligence may protect people form stress and lead to better 6 . For example. assessing the perceived severity (intensity) and frequency of occurrence of 30 general sources of work related stress that are commonly experienced by both men and women employed in a wide variety of business. The correlation between the ECI (clusters and competencies) and Job Stress Index and the correlation between the ECI (clusters and competencies) and mental ill health provide some evidence for the convergent validity of the measures. However. Haggerty et al. and Caputi (2000) reported that EI was related to people’s ability to manage their mood. The choice of stress and mental ill-health measures to establish construct validity is supported by other related works. For example. Austin and Minski (2003) found EI to be positively correlated with life satisfaction and negatively correlated with depression-proneness. The role of these questions is to give the user an insight into general mental health – not an in-depth clinical diagnosis. Saklofske. The correlation between ECI (clusters and competencies) and job stress and mental illhealth measures that ought to be conceptually related are presented in Table 4. the direction of the relationship between the ECI cluster and Job Stress Index was not as expected. The results showed that the ECI clusters correlated positively with job stress. Chan. Sloan and Williams (1988) was adopted to investigate mental ill health. The scale measure overall mental ill health and tap a range of different aspects of mental health. and optimism.Validity: Construct Validity Construct validity of the ECI was estimated by two methods: (1) convergent validity . 054 -.247** -.01 Job Stress Index .096 .076 .132 .281** .114 . Table 4 The Correlation Between ECI Clusters and Job Stress and Mental Ill-Health Measures ECI Cluster Self-Awareness ECI Competency Emotional Self-Awareness Accurate Self-Assessment Self-Confidence Self-Management Self-Control Trustworthiness Conscientiousness Adaptability Achievement Orientation Initiative Social Awareness Empathy Organizational Awareness Service Orientation Social Skills Developing Others Leadership Influence Communication Change Catalyst Conflict Management Building Bonds Teamwork & Collaboration *p < .183** .131 .113 .166* . Simpson.087 -.159* .199** -.041 -.138 .206** -. For example.072 .212** .103 -.113 .131 -. an objective measure of emotion management skill has been associated with a tendency to maintain an experimentally induced positive mood (Ciarrochi.056 .158* -. For example. Chan & Caputi.05 **p < .011 . 2000).249 -. Deans and Anderson (2002). according to Ciarrochi. 2002).035 -.122 .324** -.070 .134 -.177* .037 .182** -.182* -. people who are poor at perceiving their emotions might actually be less sensitive to the effects of stress.099 -.242** -. Ickes and Blackstone (1995) showed that dating couples can be motivated to inaccurately perceive each other’ thoughts and feelings.adaptation. However.151* -.169* . EI was also found to be negatively correlated with stress at work (Nikolaou & Tsaousis.147 7 . and that such inaccuracy may protect the couple from relationship stress.203** .229** -.062 -.012 Mental ill health -.098 .148* .315** -.153* . 440** . Examination of the intercorrelations overall reveals that the ECI subscales (or competencies) have good construct validity.415** .544** .454** .196** - - . leadership. achievement.327** . Table 5 showed the results of an examination of ECI subscales (competencies) intercorrelations. initiative.418** - .009 .355** - .428** .502** .548** - *p < .365** -.379** .352** .307** . organizational awareness.241** - .390** .416** . 2001). adaptability.565** . initiative. developing others.294** .632** . 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 The ECI Competencies Emotional Self-Awareness Accurate Self-Assessment Self-Confidence Self-Control Trustworthiness Conscientiousness Adaptability Achievement Orientation Initiative Empathy Organizational Awareness Service Orientation Developing Others Leadership Influence Communication Change Catalyst Conflict Management Building Bonds Teamwork & Collaboration 1 2 . self-control.468** .233** .388** .370** .238** . conscientiousness.093 . or low psychological mindedness. These findings support the research which has shown that the tendency to not think about thoughts and feelings.460** .464** .388** . is associated with lower anxiety.399** .Table 5 The Emotional Competence Inventory (ECI) Subscale (Competencies) Intercorrelations No.547** .383** .314** 4 5 6 7 8 - .380** - - .01 The results showed that the ECI clusters correlate negatively with mental ill health. at least in the short run. All ECI cluster consisting of subscale (or competencies) are highly and significantly related and the direction of the 8 . service orientation. influence and conflict management) in ECI correlated significantly and positively with Job Stress Index and 10 of the ECI competencies (self-confidence.477** . and paranoia.432** - .523** . adaptability. The findings in Table 4 showed that six out of twenty competencies (trustworthiness.452** . McCallum & Piper. and with higher self-esteem (Farber.306** .319** . These studies suggest that avoiding or repressing feelings may sometimes be good for mental health. depression.439** .05 **p < .355** . These studies suggest that high emotional intelligence subjects tend to have better mental health and low emotional intelligence subjects tend to have mental health problems.676** .311** .528** . 1989.443** .431** 3 . and teamwork) were correlated significantly and negatively with mental ill health. (1997). (1999). (1973). 1988.. To address these concerns. construct and criterion-related validity. Higgs. (1989).. New York: John Wiley.32. Occupational Stress Indicator Management Guide. 9 . Measuring emotional intelligence: content. Cooper. Boyatzis. P. A. Goleman... Ciarrochi. Emotional intelligence moderates the relationship between stress and mental health. & Hay/McBer. A critical evaluation of the emotional intelligence construct. further studies should be conducted to revise the ECI competencies. Ciarrochi. & William.relationship (correlate positively) is as expected. Personality and Individual Differences. Y. Deane. J. M.. Dulewicz. Emotional Competence Inventory (ECI) Technical manual. 179-209.. L. & Slaski. A. The ECI is not without limitation – some of the ECI competencies were not associated significantly with job stress and mental ill health measures. 28... Cross-cultural research methods. V. ECI scores were associated with job stress and mental ill health that ought to be conceptually related. R. Farber. Brislin.J. S. J. Chan. S. Personality and Individual Differences. B. J. R. (1999). W. & Higgs. Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i): Technical manual. One exception is for self-management cluster where the subscales of self-control and conscientiousness are not significantly related to initiative. 539-561. V. (2002). Toronto: Multi-Health System. Dulewicz. & Anderson. S. (2003). D. 242-52. R. F. M. This study also has demonstrated a good convergent validity for all of the clusters of ECI and fairly good convergent validity for the ECI competencies. Journal of Managerial Psychology. Psychological-mindedness: Can there be too much of a good thing? Psychotherapy. Sloan. CONCLUSION This study has demonstrated a high reliability for all of the clusters of ECI and moderate reliability for the ECI competencies. The results also showed that the ECI competencies are highly and significantly intercorrelated. & Caputi. Can emotional intelligence be measured and developed? Leadership and Organisation Development Journal. 26. New York: Hay Group. Oxford: NFER-Nelson Publishing Company Limited. 18. M. 20. P. (2000). C. 405-420. 210-217. References Bar-On. New York: Basic Books. In R.M. Emotional development and emotional intelligence: Implications for educators. (1998).. (1997). Golden. 25. P. (2001). Mayer. D. N. Intelligence. (1997). J. K. F. D. L. (1998).T. J. (2003). C. P. Human Resource Management Review. (2002). 707721.E. L.E.S. The International Journal of Organizational Analysis. Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT): User’s manual.34. Cooper.R. Mayer. I. G. Psychological Bulletin. Härtel. Emotional intelligence meets traditional standards for an intelligence. Murphy.. Sluyter. & Davidshofer. (1997). P. Bar-On. McCallum. & J.. 12.). New Jersey: Prentice Hall. C.J. Working with emotional intelligence. & Minski. Ashkanasy. Nikolaou..S. What is emotional intelligence? In. & Caruso. 79-132. Development and validation of a measure of emotional intelligence. I.. 27. 262-274. J. N. Emotional intelligence in the workplace: Exploring its effects on occupational stress and organizational commitment... D. 24. Generic Competency Dictionary. D. 327-342. Austin. Salovey. R. Gottfredson. Psychological mindedness and emotional intelligence. Schmidt. & Piper. Toronto: Multi-Health System.. P. The validity and utility of selection methods in personnel psychology: Practice and theoritical implications of 85 years of research findings. & Salovey. A.J. L. & Tsaousis. Parker. & Hooper. Caruso. O. 124.. Handbook of emotional intelligence.S. Hay/McBer. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. L. J. (2002)..J. Workgroup emotional intelligence: Scale development and relationship to team process effectiveness and goal focus.Goleman. New York: Bantam. Salovey and D. 167-177.M. Personality and Individual Differences. Saklofske. E. Why g matters: the complexity of everyday life. W. R. Haggerty. P. Malouff. Jordan.. Mayer.. J. Factor structure and validity of trait emotional intelligence measure. C. S. (2002). Hall. (2005). 267-298. Schutte. 10 . E. D. Boston: Hay/McBer. (1996). Psychological testing: Principles and Applications (5 ed.. P.. D.. 195-214. M. Intelligence. (2000). & Hunter.J. & Salovey.D. & Dornheim.H. Personality and Individual Differences. J. 10. D. D. (1998). E. Simpson. J. 69. (1999). C. Inc.. D. & Blackstone. 11 . Ickes. W. R.S. EQ versus IQ: Scientists see value in emotional intelligence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. R.A: Psychological Assessment Resources. P. When the head protects the heart: Empathic accuracy in dating relationships. 629-641. 58. & Vagg. The Sunday Daily News. Job Stress Survey. T. (1995). U. (1998). Spielberger. Wigod.
Report "Chua-malay Version of the Emotional Competence Inventory (Eci) a Study of Reliability and Validity"