See

discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249922897

Factors affecting emotional intelligence:

an empirical study for some school
students in India
ARTICLE in INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT IN EDUCATION JANUARY 2009
DOI: 10.1504/IJMIE.2009.023085

CITATIONS

READS

193

2 AUTHORS:
Shamira Malekar

R. P. Mohanty

Touro College

The ICFAI University, Hyderabad

3 PUBLICATIONS 5 CITATIONS

111 PUBLICATIONS 1,022 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

SEE PROFILE

Available from: R. P. Mohanty

Retrieved on: 01 February 2016

lJJ1@~@?

p'

Volume V

Issue No.1

March, 2008
Articles

An Analysisof Microfinance Rating Models

S. K. Mitra, Rajnish Ranjan a:Shivi Negi
Factors AffectingEmotionallntelligence:An Empirical Study of Students of
Secondary Schools and ProfessiomilColleges
Shamira Malekar a: R.P.Mohanty
Exchange Rate, FII and Stock Index Relationship in India
Ajaysingh Rajput a: Keyur Thaker
Attribute Based Perceptual Mapping of Cement Brands: an Empirical Study
P.Shahida,Rajendra Nargundkar a: Gaurav Hiremath
Work Role Characteristics as Determinants of Job Satisfaction: An empirical analysis
J. Reeves Wesley a:P.R.Muthuswamy
Empirical Examination of ACost AllocationModel: Usingthe Theory of Planned Behaviour
Ajay Kumar Pillai
Valuation of Intellectual Capital: The case of Financial Services Industry in India
Nikhi/ R. Nayak, Munmun Mohanty a:B. B. Mishra

Measuring Technical Efficiency of Coal Mines Using Data Envelopment Analysis A Case Study of Mahanadi Coal Fields Ltd.
Sreekumar, Rohita Kumar Mishra a: Debendra Kumar Mahalik

Perspectives
Beyond Whistleblowing: A Study on Socrates, Satyendra and Manjunath
Bibhu Prasan Patra
Private Equity - GainingMomentum
Naliniprava Tripathy
Management

Cases

Fabindia Overseas Private Limited

~

B. Mohanty a: Rajeev Roy

+J

.-C

BSNL- Making the Elephant Dance

M. N. Tripathi

a.

Q)

The Case of Raw Material Supply in the Wood Carving Clusters of Orissa
Debadutta Kumar Panda

ex:

Book Reviews
Managing Creativity
D. Chakraborty
New Mantras in Corporate Corridors
A. S. Abani

..

.
~~CD1~or. ~
~E:I
III

Factors Affecting Emotional Intelligence:An

Empirical Study for Students of Secondary
School and Professional Colleges*
Shamira Malekar1 & R.P.Mohanty 2
Abstract
Researchers

and human resource management professionals across the world are actively engaged in

studying emotional intelligence (El) and its applications in various organizational settings to improve
managerial performance. It is found from literature that a very few studies are av,ailable relating to the
application ofEl among the school and management students. This paper is an attempt in that direction
to make a comparative empirical study to identify important determinants ofEl in students of professional
colleges and secondary certificate schools in the metro city ofMumbai. Such a study has the potential to
contribute in providing feedback to the parents, academicians and other authorities to better meet the
future needs of the society.

1.0 1NJRC)[X.K;Tl()N

Emotional intelligence (EI) has emerged

as an important subject of research
investigation during the last several
years.
Some of the pioneering
researchers have defined EI as follows:
"Emotional intelligence is the capacity
for recognizing our own feelings and
those of others,
for motivatjng
ourselves, and for managing emotions
well in ourselves
and in our
relationships. Emotional intelligence
*

describes abilities distinct from, but

complementary to, academic inteiligence
or the purely cognitive capacities
measured by IQ" (Goleman, 1998).
"Emotional intelligence is the ability to
perceive emotions,
to access and
generate emotions so as to assist
thought, to understand emotions and
enlOtional
knowledge,
and
to
reflectively regulate emotions so as to
promote emotional and intellectual
growth" (Mayer and Salovey, 1997).
"Emotional intelligence reflects one's

Received November 11,2007; Revised February 18, 2008

1. Research Scholar, Institute for Technology and Management

2

Mumbai, email: shamira_malekar@yahoo.com

Dean and Adviser, Institute for Technology and Management
Mumbai, email: rpmohanty@gmail.com

(ITM) Group of Institutions,

.

(ITM) Group of Institutions,

24\ Vilakshan, XIMB Journal of Management; March, 2008

ability to deal with daily environment

challenges and helps predict one's success
in life, including
professional
and
personal
pursuits"
(Bar-Un,
1997).
"Emotional
intelligence
is a. way of
recognizing,
understanding
and
choosing how we think, feel and act. It
shapes our interaction with others and
our understanding
of ourselves.
It
defines how and what we learn, it allows
us to set priorities,
it determines
the
majority of our daily actions" (Freedman,
1998).

in the organization's
norms and
routines related to the feeling.
Further, EI has been used as a predictor
of ability by parents as it has been found
to be a predictor of life satisfaction,
healthy
psychological
adaptation,
positive interactions with peers and
family, and higher parental warmth
(Warwick and Nettelbeck, 2004).
EI has also been used in education to
lay the
culture

foundations
of a school

to build the
committed to

learning
(Parker 2004). Every child
enters
the world
with a unique
combination
of components
of
emotional
intelligence
such as:
emotional
sensitivity,
emotional
memory,
emotional
processing and
problem
solving
ability,
emotional
Intelligence" substantially added to the
learning
ability
(Mayer,
2000).
The
popular interests
in accumulating
way a child is raised can dramatically
knowledge regarding EI.
- affect what happens to the potential
Business organizations have used EI for
in each of these components.
For
organizational
development and for
example, if a child is born with a high
enhancing organization effectiveness
potential
for the arts, but is never
(Lowe, Kroek, and Sivasubramaniam,
given
a chance
to develop that
1996). EI improves managerial practices
potential,
the world may miss out on
as well as helps in leadership
this person's
special gift. Children
development (Druskat and Wolff, 2001).
raised in an emotionally abusive home
EI is often used to motivate emp~oyees
or from a lower economic strata home

All these pioneering definitions lead us

to conclude that EI is important in
shaping one's personality, behaviour,
style and abilities. EI has been studied
scientifically
in the past decade.
Goleman's
1995 book "Emotional

and to create a culture of high

performing work place. Huy (1999)
introduced the concept of emotional
capability to capture an organization's
ability to acknowledge,
recognize,
monitor, discriminate, and attend to its
members' emotions, and it is manifested

may use their emotional potential in

destructive
ways later in their lives.
,

We have observed from an extensive

survey of literature that a lot of studies
have been conducted to measure EIand
testing

its validity

with business

Malekar et.al, Factors affecting emotional ...\25

organizations.
We find a very little
evidence of EI application for school
students and students of B- schools.
There are studies that demonstrate the
link between
EI and academic
achievement
in students
making
transition from high school to a post
secondary environment (Parker et al.
2004). A finding by Newsome, Day and
Catano (2000) and Van der Zee et al
(2002) proves that EI is uncorrelated to
cognitive ability relating to academic
performance (cited in Petrides et al
2004). Another study by Reiff et al2001
showed that students with learning
disabilities had lower EI scores than
their non disabled counterparts.
We
could find that no study is available to
demonstrate
the
important
determinants of EI amongst the school
students of age group 9-14 years.
Therefore, we attempt here to measure
EI by modifying Bar - On and Parkar's
Emotional Quotient Inventory Youth
Version questionnaire
(EQi YV). We
also compare the EI levels of school
students with professional student's
age group 22 - 27 years whose
measurement is done with Bar - On's
(1997) Emotional Quotient Inventory
(EQi)
We attempt here to measure EI of school
and professional college students coming
from
different
socio-economic
backgrounds and a large metro city like
Mumbai. We intend to understand the
important

determinants

of EI and

evaluate the strength of each factor. We

also intend to develop a normative
empirical relationship of EI with key
factors with a comparative study of
students of professional colleges and
secondary certificate school.
2.0 FACTORS
AFFECTING
EI
Salovey and Caruso (2000a) categorized
models of EI into two types; namely
ability model (Mayer and Salovey 1997)
and mixed trait ability (or-personality)
model (Bar-On 2001;Goleman 1995,1998;
Petrides and Furnham, 2001).
According to ability models, EI is a
form of intelligence involving cognitive
processing of emotional information
and is defined as a set of cognitive
abilities in emotional functioning.
Ability
models
conceptualize
intelligence
that involves emotion
(cited in Goldenberg et.al 2006). Such
models define EI in a traditional sense
(e.g. Mayer and Salovey 1997). They are
a conceptually related set of mental
abilities with emotions and processing
of emotional information. Emotional
perception and expression, emotional
facilitation
of thinking, emotional
understanding
and
emotional
regulation are the essential elements of
the ability model. They contribute to
logical thought and intelligence in
general. Ability ,model proposes that
emotions can make thinking more
intelligent and can intelligently handle
emotions.
EI has a number
of

26\ Vilakshan, XIMB Journal of Management; March, 2008

similarities
to other
types
of
intelligences and abilities and develop
with age and experience.
In comparison,
mixed trait ability
models have EI as partly or wholly a
personality-like
trait, or behavioural
disposition.
They define EI as a
mixture
of
emotion
related
competencies and personality traits.
Mixed trait ability models also make
references to abilities in the processing
and use of emotional information but
combine these abilities with other traits
and characteristics such as optimism,
motivation and social relationships
(Bar-On, 2000, 2001; Goleman 1995,
1998). Mixed trait ability models are
important as they acknowledge
the
importance
of multiple aspects of
personality
that may pertain
to
emotion. They do not relate to the
concept
of emotion
specifically
(Matthews, Roberts and Zeidner, 2004).
Bar- On (2000) has identified 5 factors,
such
as intra personal
ability,
interpersonal
ability,
stress
management, adaptability and general
mood. Here we are using factors
outlined by Bar-On to find out the
relationship of emotional intelligence
with
interpersonal
ability,
intra personal
ability,
stress
management, adaptability and general
mood
tested
with
students
of
professional colleges and secondary
certificate schools.

Intrapersonalability
Shearer (2006) defined intra personal
ability as an ability to think about and
understand one's self, to be aware of
one's strengths and weaknesses and to
plan effectively to achieve personal
goals, reflecting on and monitoring
one's thoughts
and feelings and
regulating them effectively. It's the
ability
to monitor one's self in
interpersonal relationships, be aware of
and understand
one's emotions,
feelings, and ideas and to act with
personal efficacy. It consists of related
abilities like recognizing and labeling
one's feelings. Intrapersonal ability
includes emotional awareness and the
ability to identify them correctly.
Individuals
scoring
high on
intrapersonal ability tend to understand
their emotions and are able to express

and communicate their feeling and

needs.

Interpersonalability
It is defined by Shearer (2006) as the
ability ~orecognize the feelings of other
people that are facilitated by linguistic
skill. It's the ability to be awareof and
understand
others' emotions and
feelings. Skill in managing relationships
with other people is also a factor in
one's overall mood and emotionalwellbeing. It consists of related abilitieslike

identifying

emotions in others and

having
empathy
towards others.
Interpersonal
ability deals with the
relationship with peers, subordinates

Malekar et.al, Factors affecting emotional ...\27

and
superiors.
High
on
the
interpersonal ability are likely to have
satisfying interpersonal relationships,
are good listeners and are able to
understand and appreciate the feelings
of others.
Stress Management

It is defined as the ability to be flexible

and alter one's feelings with changing
situations (Day and Livingstone 2005).
It consists of abilities like delaying or
resisting an impulse. Those with high
stress management are generally calm
and work well under pressure; they are
rarely impulsive and can usually respond
to a stressful event without an emotional
outburst.
Adaptability
Day and Livingstone (2005) defined
adaptability
as the ability to be
flexible and alter one's feelings with
changing situations.
It consists of
abilities like being- to adjust one's
emotions and behaviuor to changing
situations or conditions. Adaptability
involves skills related to management
of change. Managing change involves
the ability
to manage
stressful
situations in a relatively calm and
proactive manner. Individuals who
score high on this dimension
are
impulsive rarely and work well under
pressure (Bar -On, 1997, 2000, 2002).
Individuals ~ith high adaptability
scores are flexible, realistic
and
effective in managing change; good at

finding positive ways of dealing with

everyday problems.
General mood

It is defined as the ability to feel and

express positive emotions and remain
optimistic (Bar -On, 1997). It represents
the ability to enjoy life and maintain a
positive disposition. Higher levels on
general mood feel satisfied with their
lives and maintain a positive outlook.
Happiness and Optimism are two aspects
of general mood including maintenance
of positive aspects and brighter side of
life.
Measures of EI

A number of assessment devices

purporting to measure EI have been
developed. The devises differ in two
significant ways:
1.

They are based 'on

conceptual frameworks.

different

2.

They use ~ifferent measurement

approaches including performance
tests, self report inventories or
observer ratings.

Thus, there has been a lot of debate

concerning the most suitable method to
be used for measuring EI. .Some have
argued that measurement approach
rather than the theoretical approach
ultimately determines the nature of EI
model being assessed (Matthews et al
2004; Petrides and Furnham 2000). It is
argued that performance measures are
more valid if EI is a type of ability,

281 Vilakshan, XIMB Journal of Management; March, 2008

whereas self-report instruments can be

used if EI is viewed of comprising a
number of non ability related traits or
attributes (Goldenberg et al 2006).
Thus, the measures of El for the age
group 8 - 18 years similar to ability and
mixed trait ability models are classified
as: a. performance based measure of EI
b. self-report measures of EI.
a. Performance based measures of EI
pertain to ability models for instance
Mayer, Salovey, Caruso Emotional
Intelligence
Test (MSCEIT YV) by
Mayer, Salovey and Caruso (2006) which
is yet in the sampling stage.
b. Self-report measures are pertaining to
mixed models
of EI. They are
determined to assess emotions within the
personality framework and to assess
cross - situational
consistencies
in
behaviour (Petrides and Furnham 2000)
for instance
Emotional
quotient
inventory: Youth Version (EQ-i YV) by
Bar-On and Parker (2000)
For adults above 18 years performance
based report measures of EI were:

.
.

The instrument
most strongly
modeled on this theory is the
performance-based
MayerSalovey-Caruso
Emotional
Intelligence Test (MSCEIT; Mayer
et a1., 2002a).
The EARS - Emotional Accuracy
Research Scale by Mayer and
Geher, (1996) modified by Geher,

et al., (2001) assesses a single

construct
rather than the four
branches.
Similarly, adult self-report measures of
EI were:

.
.

Personal
excellence
inventory
(PEI)of Nelson and Low (2003).An
a-priori self-report
instrument
intended to extend the education
model of emotional intelligence.
Robert Cooper's (2000) EQ map
divides EI into 5 attributes emotional
literacy,
emotional
competency,
EQ values, EQ
attitudes and EQ outcomes.
Schutte et a1. (1998) developed a 33
- item Emotional Intelligence Scale
(EI scale) for use with older
adolescents
and adults. The
questionnaire was derived from the
Salovey and Mayer (1990) model of
EI, but is often referred to as a
measure of trait EI because it relies
upon self-perceptions
of ability
(MacCann et a1.,2003).
A measure of workplace EI is the
Swinburne University Emotional
Intelligence Test (SUEIT) of Palmer
and Stough (2001) (cited in Palmer
et al 2002). The SUEIT gives scores
on five facets of EI: emotional
recognition
and
expression,
understanding emotions, emotions
direct
cognition,'
emotional
management and emotional control.

Malekar et.al, Factors affecting emotional ...\29

The Benchmark of Organizational

Emotional Intelligence (BOEI) is a
powerful organizational survey - a
self report measure designed by
Stein (2006). BOEI analyses job
happiness, compensation, work / life
stress management, organizational
cohesiveness
supervisory
leadership, Diversity and anger
management and organizational
responsiveness.
Assessing emotions scale (AES) is
also a measure to test EI devised by
Schutte et al (1998). (cross validation
of a modifies version by Austin et al
2004) It contains 33 items measuring
appraisal and expression of emotion,
utilization of emotion and regulation
of emotions.

3.0 REVIEWOF UTERATURE

EI has attracted a lot of interest in

academic literature (cited in Petrides
2004). The roots of EI can be traced back
to the concept of 'social intelligence'
coined by Thorndike (1920) to refer to
the ability to understand, manage and
act wisely in human relations. Gardner
(1983) introduced
the concepts of
intra personal
and
interpersonal
intelligence. EI as a concept has been
included in literature by Salovey and
Mayer (1990). Along with Goleman's
1995 best selling book, there has been a
lead article in the same year by Gibbs
in TIME magazine. Thereafter articles
on EI began to appear with increasing
frequency with empirical work on the

construct
along
with
theoretical literature.

scientific

Proponents of mixed models of EI (e.g.,

Bar-On, 1997, Cooper and Sawaf, 1997,
Goleman, 1995; 1998) have typically
been the most vocal in making claims
about the predictive promise of EI and
what EI means in terms of 'life success'.
These models have generally appeared
to assume that just about any variable
other than IQ that has been found to
show propensity towards predicting
some degree of success (Le., higher
income, more frequent promotions,
higher academic achievement, higher
tertiary attainment, more satisfying
interpersonal relationships and better
physical and psychological health) is
representative
of EI. The field of EI,
however, is still relatively new and
thus many of these claims have not
been substantiated.
Furthermore,
many such claims appear
to be
unrealistic and to extend beyond what
could be reasonably attributed to the
EI construct.
On the basis of this research on school
students in the western context, EI has
been found, among other things, to be
positively correlated with relations with
others, perceived parental support and
fewer negative interactions with close
friends (Lopes et a1., 2003); pro-social
behaviour,
parental
warmth
and
positive peer and family relations
(Mayer et al., 1999); more optimism
(Schutte et a1., 1998); higher empathic

30 Vilakshan, XIMBJournal of Management; March, 2008

I

perspective taking and self-monitoring

in social situations, higher social skills
(Schutte et aI., 2001). Additionally,
negative corr.elations have been reported
with illegal drug and alcohol use, defiant
behaviour and poor relationships with
friends
(Brackett
et aI., 2004),
unauthorised absences and exclusions

from school (Petrides et aI., 2004) and

depression (Dawda
Schutte et aI., 1998).

and Ha~t, 2000;

EI proponents also claim that family

socialization practices determine the
development of EI in children (Saarni
1999,2000; Salovey and Sluter 1997)
Parental sbcializations has been found to
impact directly child's social and
emotional competency as well as work
indirectly on the understanding
of
emotions and gaining social knowledge(Cited in Zeidner et al 2002). Parental
socializations take effect through explicit
lessons or informal conversations about
regulation
of emotion.
Parental
influences also occur through the child's
observational
capacity.
The basic
assumption is that a child whose parent
displays
constructive
EI related
behaviour in everyday life is most likely
to implement it as a part of its own
behaviour. In addition to parents, school
setting is one of the most important
contexts for learning emotional skills and
competencies (Mayer and Salovey 1997).
In the process of emotional learning the
individual develops the aptitudes, skills,
attitudes and values necessary to acquire

higher emotional intelligence. Mayerand

Geher (1996) hypothesized that those
who are low in emotional intelligence
could be educated to recognize, express
and regulate their feelings better. In this
paper, we have tested Bar-On and
Parker's questionnaire of EI in the Indian
school students and differentiated the
EQ levels of school students (9-14yrs)
primarily focusing upon to provide a
relationship between its factors. Wehave
attempted to identify these factors,
which could be implemented for
directing students to attain higher EI.We
have also attempted to compare EQlevel
of school and professional college
students
and assert that similar
relationship exists between EI and its
factors for professional students in the
age group of 22 - 27 years. To achieve
our final aim, we have tested Bar-On's
(1997) questionnaire of EI in the Indian
professional college students and also
differentiated the EQ levels.
4.0 DESIGN
OFEXPERIMENT
This statistical experiment designed in
the study involves the use of correlation
coefficients determination followed by
--multiple regression analysis. It helps in
assessing
the individual
and the
combined
effect of independent
variables
(factors) on the dependent
variable (EQ).
4.1 Participants
The sample consisted of a total number
of 948 students of Anjuman Islam's
Allana High School (Muslim Trustees

Malekar et.al, Factors affecting emotional

Board), Sir Jacob Sasso on High School

(Jewish Trustees Board), Sharon High
School (Christian Trustees Board) and
Gandhi Shikshan (Hindu Trustees
Board). The sample also consisted of a
total number of 319 professional college
students of Institute of Technology and
Management (1st year Post Graduate
Diploma in Business Administration) and
Institute for Management and Computer
studies (1st year Master in Management
studies and 1st year Master in Computer
Application).
4.2 Procedure
Participants were asked if they would
vol unteer to study on "emotional
intelligence". Participants completed the
Bar-On Emotional quotient inventory:
Youth Version (EQi YV) (Bar - On and
Parker, 2000) or the Bar-an's (2000)
Emotional quotient inventory (EQi) in
July and August 2005 depending on their
age.
School students
who participated
completed the EQi:YV during a zero
period in the premises of their school. In
exchange for their participation,
individuals were provided with a
confidential feedback report on their
results of the instrument.
Similarly,
professional college students were also
asked to complete the EQi after their
lecturing hours in the premises of their
institute.
In exchange
for their
participation, individuals were provided
with a confidential feedback report on
their results of the instrument.

"'131

4.3 Measures

The EQ-i;YV is a 60 item self-report

measure of EI developed by Bar-On and
Parker (2000).Children and adolescents
between the ages of 9 and 14 are asked
to respond to the statements which best
describe the way they feel, think, or act
in most situation's. Responses are rated
by the participant on four-point Likert
scales, ranging from 1 for "very seldom
or not true of me," to 4 for "very often
true or true of me." The instrument has
a 6-item intrapersonal scale, a 12-item
interpersonal
scale, a 12-item stress
management
scale, and a 10-item
adaptability scale. Along with a total EI
scale (the sum of the four previous
scales), the EQ-i;YV also has a 14-item
general mood scale and a 6-item
positive impression validity scale. A
high score on any individual ability scale
(or the total score) reflects a high level
of social and emotional competency.
Bar-On and Parker (2000) report that
the EQ-i;YV has a replicable factor
structure (developed with a normative
sample of 9172 school-aged children and
adolescents); the various scales on the
instrument
correlate
highly with
comparable scales on the adult version
of the inventory
(the Emotional
Quotient Inventory; Bar-On,1997).
The EQ-i is a 133 item self-report
measure of EI developed by Bar-On
(1997). Professionals between the ages
of 22 and 27 are asked to respond to
the statements which best describe the
way they feel, think, or act in most

321 Vilakshan, XIMB Journal of Management; March, 2008

situations. Responses are rated by the

participant on five-point Likert scales,
ranging from 1 for "very seldom or not
true of me," to 5 for" very often true
or true of me." The instrument similar
to its YV has an intrapersonal scale,
interpersonal scale, stress management
scale, adaptability scale and general
mood scale.
4.4 Computation of EI scores.
We computed the scores with the aid of
SPSS statistical package and Excel work
sheets. EI scores of school students had
to be calculated
by the methodology
developed by Bar -On and Parker (2000)
for his youth version of the test. EI scores
of professional college students had to
be calculated
by the methodology
developed by Bar -On (1997).

The sample size consisted of a total

number of 1062 students of 4 different

schools.U5 students did not complete

the main battery of measures and
therefore could not be considered.
Hence, the main sample size got reduced
to 948 students - all of them belonging
to age groups 9- 14 years. 616(64.97%)
of respondents
were male and 332
(35.03%) female. Table-1 shows the
descriptive statistics of the individuals
with its EI and its factors scoring sheet
scores.
Table-1 denotes descriptive statistics of
EQ along with its factors having 65 as
lowest score and 130 as maximum. School
students ranged from 9-14 years of age;
the mean age was 12.34 years (SD1.55)
for males and 12.57 years (SD1.63) for
females.
The sample size of professional college
students consisted of a total number of
356 students of 4 different schools. Thirty

Table-1: Statistics for School students

Minimum
Male
AGE
EQ
General mood
Adaptability
Stress
Management
Interpersonal
ability
Intrapersonal
ability

Maximum

Female

Mean

Standard
Deviation

Male

Female

Male

Female

Male

Female

14

14

12.34

12.57

1.550

1.630

65
65
65
65

65
65
65
65

130
122

130
122

90.9
88.54

130

130

91.18
87.92
95.22

13.95
15.876
16.783

126

126

8831

97.73
87.55

14.968
15.094
16.434
13.474

12.543

65

65

125

125

90.06

90.88

16.949

17.989

65

65

130

130

97.85

96.32

14.425

14.025

Malekar et.al, Factors affecting emotional '''133

eight students did not complete the main

battery of measures and therefore could
not be considered. Hence the main sample
size got reduced to 318 students - all of
them belonging to age groups 22- 27 yrs.
195 (61.32%) of respondents were ~ale

Professional college students ranged

from 22 - 27 years of age; the mean
age was 25.4 years (SD1.25) for
males and 24.57 years (SD1.36) for
females.

and 123 (38.679%)female.

5.0 RESULTS

A confirmatory Pearson's Correlation is

conducted as seen in Table-3 for School
students.

Table-2 denotes descriptive statistics of

EQ along with it factors has 3 as lowest
score and 130 as maximum.

Table-2: Statistics for professional college students

Maximum

Minimum
Male

Female

Male

22

22

27

26

EQ
General mood

130

130

75

Adaptability
Stress Management

112

81

Interpersonal ability
Intrapersonal ability

3
5

3
5

124
167

AGE

Standard
Deviation

Mean

Female

Male

Female

Male

Female

.25.4

24.57

1.25

1.360

90.8

94.7

14.67

13.50

75

62.92
95.22

61.4
97.73

15.94
16.31

15.86

112
81

68.31

67.55

13.44

12.43

124
167

90.6

90.8

15.49

13.99

121.85

126.32

11.26

12.05

16.83

Table-3: Correlations of EIand its factors for school students

Factors"""

1
2

0.593(**)

3
0.660(**)

0.530(**)

0.203(**)

0.368(**)
0.135(**)

3
4
5
6

5
0.707(**)
0.262(**)
0.601(**)
0.209(**)

** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

*** 1 =EQ
2 = IntrapersonaI ability
3 = Interpersonal ability,
4 = Stress management
5 = Adaptability
6 = General mood

6
0.540(**)
0.245(**)
0.639(**)
0.099(**)
0.554(**)
1

341 Vilakshan, XIMB Journal of Management; March, 2008

There is a range of correlation coefficients

between the factors as described below:
1.

study the former correlates highest

with EQ.
2.

Adaptability
realm has highest
correlation with EQ followed by
interpersonal ability compared to the
study conducted by Parker et al (2004)
where r = 0.707 for adaptability and
0.660 for interpersonal ability. In that

Intra-personal
ability correlates
moderately with EQ and the extent
to which stress management and
general mood correlate is nearly the
same similar to the study conducted
by Parker et al (2004)

Table-4: Correlations of EI and its factors (Professional college students)

Factors#

0.869(**)

0.653(**)

0.850(**)

0.708(**)

0.863(**)

0.553(**)

0.766(**)

0.558(**)

0.755(**)

0.522(**)

0.308(**)

0.604(**)

0.679(**)

0.589(**)

3
4
5

0.751(**)

** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

*** 1 = EQ
2 = Intrapersonal ability
3 = Interpersonal ability,
4 = Stress management
5 = Adaptability
6 = General mood
# Factors here are same as in Table

- 3.

As shown in Table-4 of correlations of EI

and its factors for professional college
students,
Intrapersonal ability has
highest correlation with EQ followed by
general mood similar to the study
conducted by Bar-On (2000). This is in
contrast to correlations obtained for
school students in which adaptability has
the highest correlation coefficient.
As the objective of this paper is to
identify and assess the effect of factors

on EI, the method of multiple regression

analysis has been chosen, as it helps in
assessing
the individual
and the
combined
effect of independent
variables (interpersonal, intra personal,
adaptability,
stress
management,
general mood) on the dependent
variable (EQ).
The steps used in conducting
the
regression analysis on the above sample
of school students are as follows:

Malekar et.al, Factors affecting emotional "'135

Firstly, School wise analysis with 5 factors

(as explanatory variables) of EQ was
done. The regression equation for school
wise analysis with 5 factors is as follows:
Y = A + BI~ + B2X2+ B3X3+B4X4+ BsXs
+ Vi
(1)
Y ="dependent variable representing
emotional intelligence

the

BI, Bi B3,B4and Bs are the coefficients of

,

the regression equation

Xl Intrapersonal ability
X2 =

Interpersonal ability

significant. From the t-ratios in the

above regressio~s, it could be seen that
general mood was not a significant
factor of EI. Further the overall impact
of General mood can be overcome by
using and,calculating EI as a function
of
the
intra personal
ability,
Interpetsonal
ability,
5tress
management
and adaptability
by
omitting general mood. So, regression
analysis with 4 factors (as explanatory
variables) of EI was carried out,with
the following equation.
Y = A + BIXI+ B2~ + B3~ + B4X4
+

~ =Stress management
X4

(2)

Table-5 summarizes the results of the

regression analysis for 4 factors of EI.
The following
points are w?rth
mentioning:

= Adaptability

~ = General

mood

U.I = Disturbance

+ Vi

term

A = Constant term
The regression was then tested for its
significance
using F-test for the
regression as a whole, (i.e. to test
whether the EI is dependent on the
Intrapersonal
ability, Interpersonal
. Stress
manageI,nent,
ability,
adaptability and general mood at5%
level of significance. This was followed
by t-test to test the significance of each
of the drivers
at 5% lev~l of
significance. The F-test results showed
that the regression as
whole was
significant for the first 4 factors. Hence,
in order to improve and get more
significant results it was essential to
omit the factors that were not

The results were found to be

significant in the dafu of 948 school
students.
Four

explanatory

variables

intrapersonal ability, Interpersonal

ability, stress management
and
adaptability are significant factors
affecting EQ. General mood does not
seem to impact EI.
General mood is not significantly
affecting EQ and hence cannot be
considered as a factor for school
students.

The steps used in conducting

the
regression analysis on the sample of
professional coHege students are as
follows:

361 Vilakshan, XIMB Journal of Management; March, Z008

Table-5: Results of the regression analysis using four independent variables (4 factors
of EI for school students)
Independent

Unstandardized
Coefficients

Standardized
Coefficients

Variables

(Constant)

-28.151
.336

Std. Error
1.874
.016

.301
.322

.015
.017

.324
.341
.290

.325

.016

.356

* Intra personal
* Interpersonal
* Stress
Management
* Adaptability

Sig.

Beta
-15.019
21.444

.000
.000

19.826
19.504

.000
.000

20.298

.000

R Square

1092.927

0.823

Dependent Variable: EQ

Firstly, Institute wise analysis with 5

factors (as explanatory variables) of EQ
was done. The regression equation for
school wise analysis with 5 factors is as
follows:
Y = A + BjXj + B2X2+ B3X3+B4X4+ BsXs+
+ Vi
(3)
The regression was then tested for its
significance
using
F-test
for the

regression
as a whole, (i.e. to test
whether the EI is dependent on the
Intrapersonal
ability, Interpersonal
ability, Stress management, adaptability
and general mood at 5% level of
significance. This was followed by t-test
to test the significance of each of the
drivers at 5% level of significance. The
F-test results showed that the regression
as a whole was significa~t for all 5 factors.

Table-6: Descriptive statistics with regression analysis for 5 factors of EI for professional
college students
Independent

Unstandardized
Coefficients

Variables

B
7.492

(Constant)
*lntra personal
*lnterpersonal
* Stress
Management
* Adaptability
*General Mood

Standardized
Coefficients
Beta

.195
.118
.200

Std. Error
1.612
.016
.015
.024

.145

.026

,311

.035

.172
.260

Dependent Variable: EQ

4.646
.346
.162
.195

12.164
7.631
8.490

Sig.

.000
.000
.000
.000

5.590

.000

8.827

.000

R Square

675.602

0.914

...I
I

II
Irs

lIe

Malekar et.al, Factors affecting emotional '''13

Table-6 denotes the descriptive statistics

for professional college students with
regression analysis for 4 factors of EI.
The following
points are worth
mentioning:
The results were found to be
significant in the data of 318
professional students.

5t
Ie
'11

':y
)f
5t
le
le

n
5.
ill

'e

All the five explanatory variables intra personal ability, interpersonal

ability,
stress
management,
adaptability and general mood are
significant factors affecting EQ.
6.0 CONCLUSION
In this paper, we have attempted to
decompose EI into its factors and they
have been statistically validated to test
the significance of each of the factor
in 4 school students and 2 professional
institutes. The objective was to derive
significant and consistent factors of EI.
This paper
also
reviews
the
applicability
of EI for the school
children in Mumbai (age 9- 14 years)
and arranges the factors affecting EI
in descending manner. A comparative
study is also done with students
studying for professional courses (age
22 -27 years).
The following remarks are worth
mentioning:
1. Results of the present study suggest
that adaptability,
interpersonal
ability and intrapersonal ability are
important factors affecting EQ for
school students.

a.

Adaptability was found to be ver

highly significant with EQ wit
correlation coefficient of 0.707.

b.

Secondly, interpersonal ability wa

found to be highly significant wit
EQ with correlation coefficient a
0.660.

c.

Intrapersonal ability was found to b

significant moderately with EQ wit]
correlation coefficient of 0.593.

d.

The EQ of students can be enhance(

if the 4 factors identified in thl
regression model are strengthenec
with the help of inputs and trainin~
imparted to them.

e.

General
mood
and
stres5
management
were found to bE
moderately significant with EQ with
correlation coefficient of 0.540 and
0.530 respectively.

2.

Comparatively
results
of
professional students suggest that
adaptability, interpersonal ability,
intra personal
ability,
stress
management and general mood are
important factors affecting EQ in
contrast to 4 factors for school
students.

a.

Intrapersonal ability was found to

be very highly significant with EQ
with correlation coefficient (r) of
0.869.

b.

Secondly, general mood was found

to be highly significant with EQ with
correlation coefficient of 0.863.

381 Vilakshan, XIMB Journal of Management; March, 2008

c.

Stress Management was found to be

highly significant with EQ with
correlation coefficient of 0.850.

d.

Adaptability

has r = 0.708 and

interpersonal ability has r = 0.653 in

contrast to school students wherein

these two factors have the highest
correlation.

in the form of training the future of

India, our students will be bright. The
emotionally intelligent leader evolves
into someone with the ability to move
seamlessly from one approach or style
to another, allowing the requirements
of the situation and the resources at
hand to dictate what he or she needs
to do.

7.0 KEYLEARNINGS
REFERENCES

This study is a guiding study in

suggesting that without the measure of
more intrinsic and complex human
behaviour, setting up a correlation model
for emotional intelligence with strongly
influencing factors can actually be a
longer journey involving a study of the
evolution of human valu~~ as we grow
physically and mentally.
There is .some scope as to whether
emotional intelligence in children can be
developed or it is innate - for if it is the
former, there is real hope in literally
catching them young as far as EI / EQ is
concerned.
In this study we have only identified
factors affecting EI of students and
measured them at aggregate level.
However,
each
factor
can
be'
disaggregated
or factored
into
attributes at operational level. Such
studies are available for adults (Bar-on
1997)
by following
the
same
methodology
depicted in the selfreport.
We have denoted that EI depends on
these 4 factors and if we implement it,

Austin, E. J., Saklof~ke, D. H., Haung, S. H. S.

and Mckenney, D. (2004), "Measurement
of Trait Emotional Intelligence: Testing
and Cross-Validating
a Modified Version
of Schutte
et al.'s (1998) Measure",
Personality
and Individual
36, pp. 555-562.

Difference,s,

Bar-On, R. (1997), "Bar-On Emotional Quotient

Inventory: Technical manual", Multi-Health
Systems, Canada.
Bar-On, R. (2000), "Emotional
and social
intelligence: Insights from the Emotional
Quotient Inventory (EQ-i)", In Reuven Bar
On and Parker, J.D.A. (Eds.), 'Handbook of
Bass, San
emotional intelligence', Jossey
Franscisco.

!3ar-On, R. (2001), "Emotional intelligence and

- self-actualization",
I~ Ciarrochi, J. Joe
Forg~~, J. and Maye, J.B. (Eds.), 'Emotional
intelligence in everyday life: A scientific
inquiry', Psychology Press.
Bar-On, R. (2002), "Bar-On emotional quotient
short form (EQ-i: Short) Technical manual",
Multi-Health Systems, Toronato.
Bar-On, R. and Parker J.D.A. (2000), "The Bar-On
EQ-i: YV: Technical manual", Multi-Health
Systems, Cananda.

Malekar et.al, Factors affecting emotional

~ of
The
[yes
ove

tyle
~nts
s at
~eds

~.S.
nent
ting
sion
"
re ,

Bar-On, R. and Parker, J.D. (2000), "The

Handbook
of Emotional
IntelligenceTheory, Development,
Assessment
and
Application at home, school and in the
workplace". Jossey Bass Inc.

Brackett, M. A. and Mayer, J. D. (2003),

"Convergent,
discriminant,
and
incremental
validity
of competing
measures of emotional intelligence",
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin,
29,pp 1147-1158.
Brackett,M. A, Mayer, J. D. and Warner, R. M.
(2004), "Emotional intelligence and its
relation
to everyday
behavior",
. Personality and Individual Differences, 36,
1387-1402.

lces,
tient
~alth

,cial
onal
Bar
)k of
San
and
Joe
onal

tific

tient
lal",
"-On
~alth

Cooper, R.K. and Sawaf, A (1997), "Executive

EQ: Emotional intelligence in leaders and
organizations",
Grosset /Putnam,
New
York.
Cooper,R. K. (2000) as seen on thehttp:/ /www.6
seconds.org
/modules.php?
name=News&file=article& sid=37
Ciarrochi, J. Chan A Caputi, P. and Robers, R.
(2001), "Measuring emotional intelligence",
In Ciarocchi, J., Forgas, J. and Mayer D. (Eds.)
'Emotional intelligence in everyday life: A
scientific inquiry', Psychology Press, pp 324, Philadelphia
Dawda, D. and Hart, S. D. (2000), " Assessing
emotional intelligence:
Reliability
and
validity of the Bar-On Emotional Quotient
Inventory (EQ-i) in university students",
Personality and Individual Differences, 28,
pp 797-812.
Day, A.L. and Livingstone,
H.A. (2005),
"Comparing the Construct and CriterionRelated Validity of Ability-Based and Mixed-

"'1

Model Measures of Emotional Intelligeno

Educational
and
Psychologi<
Measurement; 65; pp 757 - 763

Derksen, J., Kramer, I. and Katzo, M. (200

"Does a self report measure for emotiOI
intelligence assess something different th
general intelligence?",
Personality
al
Individual differences 32, pp 37 - 48.

Druskat, V. U. and Wolff, S. B. (200~

"Building the emotional intelligence
groups", Harvard Business Review, 79 (
pp 80 -91.

Freedman, J. (1998), as seen on the 6 secon

website- http:/ /www.jmfreedman.col1
pdf/Six_Seconds_EQ.pdf

Gardner, H. (1983), "Frames of mind: The thee

of multiple intelligences", Basic Books, NI
York.
Gardner, H. (1993), "Multiple intelligenc~
The theory in practice", Basic Books, NI
York.

Geher, G., Warner, R. M. and Brown, A. S. (200

"Predictive
validity
of the Emotiol1
Accuracy Research Scale', Intelligence, :
373-388.

Goldenberg, I., Matheson, K. and Mantler,

(2006), "The assessment
of emotion
intelligence: A comparison of performan
based and self report methodologie!
Journal
of personality
assess mer
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc. 86("

33- 45.

Goleman, D. (1995), "Emotional Intelligen(

Why It Can Matter More Than IQ", Banta
Books, New York.
Goleman, D. (1998), "Working with Emotior
Intelligence", Bantam Books, New York.

40 Vilakshan, XIMB Journal of Management; March,.2008

I

Hein, S. (1996), "Emotional

quotient
for
everybody: a practical guide to emotional
intelligence", Aristotle Press, New York.
Huy, Q. N..(1999), "Emotional
capability,
emotional intelligence, and radical change",
Academy of Management Review, 24, pp
325-345.
Labouvie-Vief,

G., DeVoe,

M. and Bulka, D.

(1989), "Speaking about feeling concepts of

emotion across the life span", Psychology
and Aging, 4, pp 425-437.
Lopes, P. N., Salovey, P. and Straus, R. (2003)
"Emotional Intelligence, Personality, and the
Perceived Quality of Social Relationships",
Personality and Individual Differences, 35,
pp. 641-58.
Lowe, K. B., Kroek, G. and Sivasubramaniam,
N. (1996), "Transformational leadership: A
meta-analytic review of the MLQ literature",
Leadership Quarterly, 7, pp 385-425.
MacCann, c., Roberts, R.D., Matthews, G. and
Zeidner,
M. (2003),
"Psychological
assessment of emotional intelligence:
A
review of self-report and performance-based
testing",
International
Journal
of
Organizational Analysis, 11, 247-274.
MacCann, c., Roberts, R. D., Matthews, G., and
Zeidner, M. (2004) "Consensus scoring and
empirical option weighting of performancebased Emotional Intelligence (EI) tests", .
Personality and Individual Differences, 36(3),
645-662
Mayer, J. D. and Geher, G.(1996), HEmotional
intelligence
and the identification
of
emotion. Intelligence", 22, 89-114. Mayer,
J. D. and Salovey, P. (1997). What is
emotional intelligence? In Salovey, P. and
Sluyter, D.

Mayer, J. D. and Salovey, P. (1997), "What is

emotional intelligence?' In Salovey, P. and
Mayer, J.D. (Eds.), 'Emotional development
and emotional intelligence', Basic Book,pp
3-31, NeW'York.
Mayer, J. D., Salovey, P. and Caruso, D. R.(1999)
"Models of Emotional Intelligence", in
Sternberg, R.J. (ed.), Handbook of Human
Intelligence
(2nd edri., pp. 396-420),
Cambridge, New York.
Mayer, J. D., Salovey, P., and Caruso D. R.(2000a),
"Emotional
intelligence as zeitgeist, as
personality, and as a mental ability", In BarOn, R. and Parker,J. (Eds.), The handbook of
emotional
intelligence:
Theory,
development, assessment, and application at
home, school, and in the work place (pp. 92117), Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.
Mayer, J. D., Feldman, L. and Salovey, P. (2002),"
The wisdom in falling- psychological
processes
in emotional
intelligence",
Gulford Press, New York.
Mayer, J. D., Salovey, P. and Caruso, D.R.(2002a),
"Mayer-Salovey-Caruso
emotional
intelligence test (MSCEIT) user's manual",
MHS Publishers, Toronto, Canada.
'Mayer J. D., Salovey P., and Caruso D. R. (2006),
as seen on the Multi health systems website
http:f
fwww.mhs.comfmhs/
productaspx?gr=IO&pnxi=boei&id=Description
Nelson, D. B. and Low, G. R. (2003). "Personal
excellence: building quality from within
[Assessment]",
Corpus Christi, TX: EI
Learning Systems.
Newsome, S., Day, A. L., and Catano, V. M.
(2000)," Assessing the predictive validity of
emotional intelligence", Personality and
Individual Differences, 29, 1005-1016.

Malekar et.al, Factors affecting emotional ".141

Palmer, B.R., Walls, M., Burgess, Z. and Stough,

C. (2001). "Emotional
intelligence
and
effective leadership",
Leadership
and
Organisational Development Journal, 22,510.

Saarni, C. (2000)." Emotional competence: A

developmental perspective", In Bar-On, R.
and Parker, J. (Eds.), Handbook of emotional
intelligence (pp. 68-91). Jossey-Bass, San
Francisco.

Palmer, B., Donaldson, C. and Stough, C. (2002)

"Emotional
Intelligence
and
Life
Satisfaction', Personality and Individual
Differences, 33, pp. 1091-100.

Salovey, P. and Mayer, J. D. (1990) "Emotional

Intelligence", Imagination, Cognition, and
Personality, 9, 185-211.

Parker, J. D. A., Summerfeldr, L. J., Hogan, M. J.

and Majeski,
S. (2004), "Emotional
intelligence
and
academic
success:
Examining the transition from high school
to university", Personality and Individual
Differences, 36, pp 163-172.
Petrides, K.V. and Furnham, A. (2000), "On the
dimensional
structure
of emotional
intelligence", Personality and Individual
Differences, 29, pp 313-320.
Petrides, K. V. and Furnham, A. (2001), "Trait
emotional
intelligence:
Psychometric
investigation with reference to established
trait taxonomies",
European Journal of
Personality, 15, pp 425-448.
Petrides, K. V. and Furnham, A. (2004), "The role
of trait emotional intelligence in academic
performance
and deviant behavior
at
school",
Personality
and Individual
Differences, 36, pp 277-293.
Reiff, H.B., Hatzes, N.M., Bramel, M.H. and
Gibbon, T. (2001), "The relation of LD and
gender with emotional
intelligence
in
college students",
Journal of learning
disabilities, 34, 66 - 78
Saarni, C. (1999). "The development
of
emotional competence", Guilford Press,
New York.

Salovey, P., Bedell B. T., Detweiler J. B. and

Mayer J. D. (2000), "Current directions in
emotional intelligence research", in L~wis,
M. and Haviland-Jones,
J.M. (Eds.),
Handbook
of emotions
(pp. 504-520).

Guilford, New York.

Salovey, P. and Sluter (1997), "Emotional

development and emotional intelligence:
Implications for educators", Basic Books, pp.
3-31, New York.
Schutte, N. S., Malouff, J. M., Bobik, c., Coston,
T. D., Greeson, c., Jedlicka c., et al. (2001),
"Emotional intelligen.ce and interpersonal
relations", The Journal of Social Psychology,
141(4), pp 523-536.
Schutte, N. S., Malouff, J. M., Hall, L. K, Haggerty,
D. J., Cooper, J. T., Golden, C. J. and
Dornheim, L. (1998), "Development and
validation
of a measure of emotional
intelligence", Personality and Individual
Differences, 25, pp 167-177.
Shearer, B.C. (2006), "Exploring the Relationship
among the Multiple Intelligeonc,es and
Emotional Intelligence", MI Research. and
Consult,ing, Inc, Ohio
Singh, D. (2006), "Emotional Intelligence at
Work", Sage Publications, 3rd edition, pp 72,
New Delhi.
Stein, S. (2006), as seen on the Multi health
systems

website

- http://www.mhs.com/

421 Vilakshan, XIMB Journal of Management; March, 2008

mhsj product.aspx?gr-=IO&prod=boei&id=
Description
Thorndike E.L.(1920),"Intelligenceand its uses",
Harper's Magazine, 140,227-235.
Van der Zee, K., Thijs, M. and Schakel, L. (2002),
"The relationship of emotional intelligence
with academic intelligence and the big five" ,
European
Journal
of Personality,
16,
103-125.
Warwick,
J. and Nettelbeck,
T. (2004),
"Emotional intelligence is . . .?", Personality

and Individual
1100.
Zeidner,

Differences,

37, pp 1091-

M., Roberts, R.D. and Matthews, G.

(2002), "Can emotional intelligence be

schooled? A critical review" Educational
Psychologist, 37, pp 215-231.
Zeidner, M., Mattews, G., Roberts, R.D.and Mac
Cann, C. (2003) "Development of Emotional
Intelligence: Towards a Multi- Level
Investment Model", Human Development
46, pp. 69-96.