A number of other approaches to and measures of EI have been developed, which has not risen to the level of recognition as other theories and measures (e.g. MSCEIT, EQ-i and ECI).
Based on Salovey and Mayer‟s model (1990) of EI, Schutte et al., (1998) developed and validated a self-report scale within the trait EI framework. The questionnaire, the SSRI by Schutte et al. (1998) comprises of 33 items and attempts to measure emotion management (in self and others), emotion perception and emotion utilisation. Schutte et al. (1998) claimed that their measure is conceptually similar to Salovey and Mayer‟s model. The scale showed evidence of validity and scores were related to eight of nine measures predicted to be related to the EI (Schutte et al., 1998). Petrides and Furnham (2000) found that Schutte et al„s (1998) SSRI has many psychometric problems and criticised its low reliability and validity. They argued that the test cannot measure a general EI factor and has not been successfully mapped on Salovey and Mayer‟s model (1990) (Petrides & Furnham, 2000).
Mayer and Gaschke (cited in Salovey & Mayer, 2002) demonstrated that individuals continually reflect upon their feelings by monitoring, evaluating and regulating them. They term this process the meta-mood experience and developed what is called the State Meta- Mood Scale to measure individuals‟ moment-by-moment changes in reflection about ongoing moods (Salovey, Stroud, Woolery & Epel, 2002). The Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS) (Salovey, Mayer, Goldman, Turvey, Palfai, 1995) was developed to measure more stable individual differences. The TMMS is composed of three subscales: (a) Attention to feelings (i.e. perceived ability to attend to moods and emotions), (b) Clarity (i.e. the perceived ability to discriminate clearly among feelings) and (c) Repair (i.e. the perceive ability to regulate moods).
Another overlapping concept of the mixed model of EI (Mayer et al., 2000) is the concept of Alexithymia (Bagby, Parker & Taylor, 1994). The Alexithymia construct describes a deficit in the cognitive processing of affect (Palmer, Donaldson & Stough, 2002). The ability to perceive and express emotions is assessed by using the Twenty-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20; Bagby et al., 1994). The measure contains three latent dimensions: difficulties in identifying and describing subjective feelings, a limited imaginable capacity and an externally oriented style of thinking (Palmer et al., 2002). The TAS-20 was designed to measure the limited ability to perceive and express emotions. Research has also shown that the TAS-20 is both a reliable and valid measure (Palmer et al., 2002).
In an attempt to deduce the most definitive dimensions of EI from the plethora of models and measures that existed at the time, Palmer and Stough (2001) performed a large factor
analytic study involving six of the predominant and representative measures of EI, including: (i) the Mayer, Salovey and Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) (Mayer, Salovey et al., 1999); (ii) the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory (Bar-On 1997); (iii) the Trait Meta-Mood Scale (Salovey & Mayer,1995); (iv) the Twenty Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale-II (TAS-20; Bagby et al., 1994); (v) the scale by Schutte, et al.,1998); and (vi) the scale by Tett, Wang, Fischer, Martinez, Griebler and Linkovich (1997). The result of this study was the development of the Swinburne University Emotional Intelligence Test (SUEIT). The SUEIT is a uni-dimensional empirically based model of EI which consists of five factors that represent a set of related abilities concerning how effectively emotions are dealt with in the workplace (Palmer & Stough, 2001).
The five factors include: (i) Emotional Recognition and expression (the ability to identify one‟s own feelings and emotional states and to express them to others);(ii) Understanding emotions (external) (the ability to identify emotions and pick up on emotional-overtones in the environment); (iii) Emotions direct cognition (the ability to incorporate feelings in daily reasoning, problem solving and decision making); (iv) Emotional management (the ability to effectively regulate and manage positive and negative emotions within oneself and others); and (v) Emotional control (the ability to effectively control strong emotional states experienced at work such as anger, stress, anxiety and frustration and to prevent strong emotions from affecting work performance).
The Genos EI 70-item inventory was preceded by the SUIET (Palmer & Stough, 2001). Gignac (2005) examined the factor structure associated with the SUIET in an extensive CFA investigation and concluded that the SUIET measured a total of 9 dimensions, seven of which were substantively relevant to EI. The seven substantive dimensions identified by Gignac (2005) were: Emotional Recognition, Personal Expression, Understanding Emotions External, Affirmation of Emotions, Emotional Management of the Self, Emotional Management of Others and Emotional Control. Based on this empirical investigation (Gignac, 2005) it was decided to revise the SUIET. Focus groups with human resources professionals were conducted to ascertain their views of an ideal measure of EI for the work environment. Thus, based on the quantitative information reported in Gignac (2005), and qualitative information derived from the HR focus groups, a revised version of the SUIET was developed. The revised psychometric measure is the known as the Genos EI inventory. The items in the Genos EI self report inventory is designed to measure the frequency with
which an individual displays emotionally intelligent behaviours across seven dimensions. The items are scored on a five-point Likert scale, ranging from „Almost Never‟ to „Almost Always‟. The Genos EI model is purely relevant to the demonstration of EI skills across the following seven subscales are: (i) Emotional Self-Awareness (measures the relative frequency with which an individual consciously identifies their emotions at work); (ii) Emotional Expression (measures the relative frequency with which an individual expresses their emotions in an appropriate way at work); (iii) Emotional Awareness of Others (measures the relative frequency with which an individual identifies the emotions expressed by others in the workplace); (iv) Emotional Reasoning (measures the relative frequency with which an individual incorporates emotionally relevant information in the process of decision making or problem solving at work); (v) Emotional Self-Management (measures the relative frequency with which an individual manages their own emotions at work); (vi) Emotional Management of Others (measure the relative frequency with which individuals manages the emotions of others at work), and (vii) Emotional Self-Control (measures the relative frequency with which an individual controls their strong emotions appropriately in the workplace).
2.4.3. The impact and benefits of Emotional Intelligence