Assessing emotional intelligence in gifted and non-gifted high school students: Outcomes depend on the measure

This study examined academically gifted (N = 83) and non-gifted (N = 125) high school students from Israel to compare mean emotional intelligence (EI) scores, various assessment procedures, and relations between EI and ability, across different populations. Participants completed the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT), the Schutte Self-Report Inventory (SSRI), and the Vocabulary subtest of the Hebrew version of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R-95). Gifted students scored higher on the MSCEIT, but lower on the SSRI. Findings suggest that individual differences are measure dependent, with the profile of scores variable across EI assessment procedures. Concepts assessed by the MSCEIT resemble a type of intelligence, whereas findings with the SSRI are problematic from this perspective. The paper concludes with a discussion of measurement issues, alternative perspectives on tests of EI, and suggestions for future research.