PSIHOLOŠKA OBZORJA Slovenska znanstveno-strokovna psihološka revija (uradna revija Društva psihologov Slovenije) Glavna in odgovorna urednica izr. prof. dr. Cveta Razdevšek Pučko HORIZONS OF PSYCHOLOGY Official Journal of the Slovenian Psychological Association Editor-in-Chief Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cveta Razdevšek Pučko Izdaja /Published by Društvo psihologov Slovenije (Slovenian Psychological Association) Ljubljana ISSN 1318-1874 Letnik (Volume) 18, številka (Number) 3, 2009 PSIHOLOŠKA OBZORJA HORIZONS OF PSYCHOLOGY Slovenska znanstveno-strokovna psihološka revija Official Journal of the Slovenian Psychological Association Letnik (Volume) 18, številka (Number) 3, 2009, ISSN 1318-1874 Izdaja / Published by Društvo psihologov Slovenije / Slovenian Psychological Association Ulica Stare pravde 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija Glavna in odgovorna urednica / Editor-in-Chief CVETA RAZDEVŠEK PuČKO Univerza v Ljubljani, Pedagoška fakulteta Oddelek za temeljni pedagoški študij Kardeljeva ploščad 16, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija Tel. +386 (0)1 5892 328, Fax: +386 (0)1 5347 997 email: cveta.razdevsek@pef.uni-lj.si Tiziano A gostini KarinBakračevič Vukman Valentn Bucik Robert Cvetek Darja Kobal Grum Dare Kovačič Uredniški odbor / Editorial Board Gašper Cankar Luka Komidar Ama Podlesek Mojca Vizjak Pavšič Urška Zuoelj Uredniški svet / Scientific Board Lidija Maoajna Vlado Miheljak Aljoscha Neubauer Soma Pečjak Aroio Sabadin Meta Shawe-Taylor Vera Slodnjak Gregor Sočan Irena Šinigoj Batistič Lea Šugmman Bohinc Vladimir Takšič Predrag Zarevski Maja Zupančič Tehnično urejanje: Anja Podlesek Lektoriranje angleških ključnih besed, vsebinska obdelava in razvrstitev besedila: Urška Žugelj Oblikovanje ovitka: Jana Leskovec Tehnično urejanje in prelom: Luka Komidar Tisk: Tiskarna Vovk d.o.o., Domžale Pogostost izhajanja: Na leto izidejo štiri številke Ustanovitelj, izdajatelj in založnik: Društvo psihologov Slovenije Naročniški naslov: Psihološka obzorja, Društvo psihologov Slovenije, Ulica Stare pravde 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija, telefon/fax: +386 (0)1 282 1086 Davčna številka: SI 51264218; Poslovni račun: 02010-0091342732 © 2009 Društvo psihologov Slovenije. Revija je zaščitena z zakonom o avtorskih pravicah. Revija v celoti ali katerikoli njen del ne smeta biti razmnoževana ali posredovana na noben način (fotokopije, mikrofilmi, elektronsko posredovanje, snemanje, prevajanje) brez predhodnega pisnega privoljenja izdajatelja. Bibliografski zapisi o prispevkih, objavljenih v reviji Psihološka obzorja so ustrezno kategorizirani in vključeni v slovensko podatkovno zbirko COBIB. Revija je opredeljena kot pomembna in odmevna znanstvena in strokovna periodična publikacija v psihološki znanosti, torej so objave v njej visoko referenčne za napredovanje v znanstvenih in strokovnih nazivih. Psihološka obzorja so indeksirana v PsycINFO, svetovni bibliografski bazi psihološke literature. Revija izhaja s finančno podporo Agencije za raziskovalno dejavnost Republike Slovenije ter Znanstvenoraziskovalnega inštituta Filozofske fakultete Univerze v Ljubljani. Vsebina Uvodnik gostujočih urednikov 5 Znanstveni empiričnoraziskovalni in teoretsko-pregledni prispevki Vladimir Takšič, Tamara Mohorič in Mirjana Duran 7 Vprašalnik emocionalne inteligentnosti ESCQ kot samoocenjevalna mera emocionalne inteligentnosti Hiroshi Toyota 23 Oseba, ki te pomiri "Ibasyo" in emocionalna inteligentnost kotprediktorja prilagojenosti Bo Molander, Stefan Holmström in Vladimir Takšič 35 Medkulturne razlike in razlike med spoloma na vprašalniku emocionalne inteligentnosti ESCQ: Izzivi analize diferencialnega funkcioniranja postavk Luisa Faria in Nelson Lima Santos 55 Validacija vprašalnika emocionalne inteligentnosti ESCQ na vzorcu Portugalskih dijakov in študentov Andreja Avsec, Polona Masnec in Luka Komidar 73 Osebnostne lastnosti in emocionalna inteligentnost kotprediktorji psihološkega blagostanja učiteljev Tabassum Rashid in Mohammad Ali Mohammadyfar 87 Validacija in standardizacija vprašalnika emocionalne inteligentnosti ESCQ na vzorcu indijskih študentov Andreja Avsec, Vladimir Takšič in Tamara Mohorič 99 Povezanost emocionalne inteligentnosti s petimi velikimi faktorji osebnosti na hrvaškem in slovenskem vzorcu študentov Predstavitve Vlasta Zabukovec, Anja Podlesek in Bojan Musil 111 EuroPsy certifikat - standardi izobraževanja za psihologe v Evropi Ocene knjig Marjeta Šarič 129 Recenzija knjige "Emotion in Education" (Emocije v izobraževanju) Polona Matjan Štuhec 133 Recenzija knjige "Ethics for European Psychologists" (Etika za evropskega psihologa) Predvideni prispevki v številki 4 letnika 18 (2009) Psiholoških obzorij 138 Navodilo avtorjem prispevkov 139 Contents Guest editors' note 5 Scientific papers (empirical research and theoretical papers/reviews) Vladimir Taksic, Tamara Monome and Mirjana Duran 7 Emotional skills and competence questionnaire (ESCQ) as a self-report measure of emotional intelligence Hiroshi Toyota 23 The person who eases your mind "Ibasyo" and emotional intelligence in interpersonal adaptation Bo Molander, Stefan Holmström and Vladimir Taksic 35 Cross-cultural and sex differences in the Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire scales: Challenges of differential item functioning analyses Luisa Faria and Nelson Lima Santos 55 Validation of the Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire (ESCQ) in the Portuguese academic context Andreja Avsec, Polona Masnec andLuka Komidar 73 Personality traits and emotional intelligence as predictors of teachers' psychological well-being Tabassum Rashid and Mohammad Ali Mohammadyfar 87 Validation and Standardization of the Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire (ESCQ) Among Indian University Students Andreja Avsec, Vladimir Taksic and Tamara Mohoric 99 The Relationship of Trait Emotional Intelligence with the Big Five in Croatian and Slovene University Student Samples Presentations Vlasta Zabukovec, Anja Podlesek and Bojan Musil 111 EuroPsy certificate - European standards of education for psychologists Book reviews Marjeta Saric 129 Review of the book "Emotion in education" Polona Matjan Stuhec 133 Review of the book "Ethics for European Psychologists" Content of the next issue, No. 4, Vol. 18 (2009), of Horizons of Psychology 138 Instructions for contributors 141 5 Guest editors' note It is both our pleasure and honor to be Guest Editors of this Special issue of Psychological Horizons. We are also grateful to all authors that they were willing to contribute. They are all members of the international team that works on cross-cultural validation of Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire (ESCQ). This is a self-reported instrument that has intention to measure one way of conceptualizing emotional intelligence construct. It was presented for the first time at the 7th European Congress in London in 2001, where Luisa Faria and Hannu Raty expressed their interest to translate and validate ESCQ in their cultural contexts. After that, we got opportunity to organize several invited symposia at 9th European Congress in Granada, 10th European Congress in Prague, 4th European Conference in Positive Psychology and 29th International Congress in Berlin. Nowadays members of the team come from countries covering four continents: Europe, Asia, North and South America. In this Issue you can find papers dealing with various aspects of self-reported emotional intelligence concept represented by ESCQ, and their relations with well-established constructs, serving as the proof of their prognostic and incremental validity. Introductory paper is written by the author of ESCQ Vladimir Taksic and Tamara Mohoric from Department of Psychology Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at University of Rijeka Croatia and by Mirjana Duran from Faculty of Education University of Osijek Croatia. Its aim is to present the theoretical base and describe technical details in construction procedure of ESCQ, together with psychometric properties and results of empirical validation in different Croatian samples during last ten years of its existence and research. Hiroshi Toyota is dealing with specific phenomena in Japanese culture, namely „Ibasyo" which refers to a person who can ease your mind, and its importance for loneliness and self-esteem, together with the emotional intelligence. He found that both constructs are important for preventing the feelings of loneliness, but only emotional intelligence is important for experiencing high self-esteem. Luisa Faria and Nelson Lima Santos present their validation study of ESCQ in the Portuguese academic context. The exploratory factor analysis evidenced three factors, but the confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the best fitted model has only two correlated factors, named Express and label and Perceive and understand. Other metric characteristics were very close to that of the original questionnaire. Bo Molander, Stefan Holmstrom and Vladimir Taksic compare Swedish, Croatian, and Slovene samples on ESCQ, but do this on item level and much more precisely, and warn against direct comparisons of results from different culture contexts. For the comparisons they used differential item analyses (DIF), a relatively new technique which offers a precise comparison of single item functioning in different contexts. 6 Andreja Avsec, Tamara Mohoric, and Vladimir Taksic were interested in differential relationship between ESCQ and the Big Five personality factors in Slovene and Croatian samples of university students. Although many critics point the problem of differential validity of EI from personality traits, the results of this study indicate that up to 33% of EI variance could be explained with the Big Five. Neuroticism appears to be the strongest predictor, but extraversion and conscientiousness also predicted important part of the variance. Tabassum Rashid and Mohammad Ali Mohammadyfar validated the questionnaire ESCQ in Indian university context. Exploratory factor analyses confirmed the original structure although some items were deleted because they were allocated. They also examined convergent validity of the questionnaire. Results indicated reasonable correlations with emotional intelligence scale (EIS), which was developed in India. In the last paper, Andreja Avsec, Polona Masnec, and Luka Komidar examined predictive validity of the Big Five personality traits and three dimensions of emotional intelligence regarding psychological well-being on the sample of primary and high-school teachers. Results showed good predictive validity of personality traits. Predictive validity of emotional intelligence is also excellent, but when controlling for personality traits it accounts for only 1 to 3 % of variance in well-being scales. Discriminant validity of emotional intelligence scales measured by ESCQ is therefore unsatisfactory in this sample. Finally, we would like to acknowledge the helpful and critical comments of all the anonymous reviewers that greatly improved the quality of the papers. Vladimir Takšic and Andreja Avsec Psihološka obzorja /Horizons of Psychology, 18, 3, 7-21 (2009) © Društvo psihologov Slovenije 2009, ISSN 1318-187 Znanstveni empiričnoraziskovalni prispevek Emotional skills and competence questionnaire (ESCQ) as a self-report measure of emotional intelligence" Vladimir Taksic1*, Tamara Mohoric1 andMirjana Duran2 'Department of Psychology, Faculty of Science and Arts, University of Rijeka, Croatia 2Faculty of Education, University of Osijek, Croatia Abstract: Studies of emotional intelligence (EI) initially appeared in academic journals in the early 1990s. The majority of studies on emotional intelligence have relied on self-ratings. In spite of the critics of self-report scales, there are a large number of self-report measures of EI present in recent literature. The main aim of this paper is to present the constructing procedure, together with the basic psychometric properties of Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire (ESCQ) as a self-report measure of EI. Originally, this measure was developed in Croatian settings, using the theoretical framework from the Mayer-Salovey emotional intelligence model. The ESCQ instrument has been translated into several languages. The results have showed that ESCQ has three subscales with decent reliability. They share some amount of common variance with similar well-established constructs such as alexithymia, social skills, and personality traits, but they are not correlated with cognitive abilities. However, due to its sufficient reliability, a great deal of unique variance remains. This unique variance of the ESCQ scales has an incremental contribution in explaining life satisfaction and empathy (as the crucial criteria for EI), and has significant relations with relevant real-life criteria such as quality of leadership, health risk behaviors, and school achievement. Key words: emotional intelligence, self-report measures. Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire (ESCQ), psychometric properties, life satisfaction and empathy Vprašalnik emocionalne inteligentnosti ESCQ kot samoocenjevalna mera emocionalne inteligentnosti Vladimir Takšič', Tamara Mohorič' and Mirjana Duran2 'Department of Psychology, Faculty of Science and Arts, University of Rijeka, Croatia 2Faculty of Education, University of Osijek, Croatia Povzetek: Raziskave emocionalne inteligentnosti (EI) so se v znanstvenih revijah začele pojavljati v zgodnjih devedesetih letih. Večina teh raziskav je za merjenje uporabljala samoocenjevalne vprašalnike. Kljub kritikam samoocenjevalnega pristopa obstaja danes cela vrsta samoocenjeavlnih vprašalnikov za merjenje EI. V prispevku predstavljamo vprašalnik Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire (ESCQ), njegov nastanek in merske karakteristike. Vprašalnik je bil oblikovan na Hrvaškem, izhajal pa je iz teoretične osnove Mayer-Salovey modela emocionalne inteligentnosti kot sposobnosti. "The work on this article is a part of the Project "Operationalization and cross-cultural validation of emotional intelligence construct" supported by the Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sports * Naslov / Address: Assoc. Prof. Vladimir Taksic, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Science and Arts, University of Rijeka, Croatia, e-mail: vladimir.taksic@ffri.hr 8 V. Takšic, T. Mohorovic and M. Duran Preveden je v več jezikov. Rezultati raziskav kažejo, da ima ESCQ tri podlestvice, ki so notranje konsistentne. Vprašalnik ESCQ ima določen del skupne variance s podobnimi konstrukti kot je alek-sitimija, socialne spretnosti, osebnostne lastnosti, vendar pa ni povezan s kognitivnimi sposobnostmi. Vendar velik delež variance zaradi njegove zadostne zanesljivosti ostaja specifičen. Ta specifičen del variance kaže na dodaten doprinos k razlagi zadovoljstva z življenjem in empatije (kot kritičen kriterij emocionalne inteligentnosti) in ima pomembne relacije tudi z relevantnimi življenjskimi kriteriji, kot je npr. kvaliteta vodenja, tveganega vedenja za zdravje, učni uspeh... Ključne besede: čustvena inteligentnost, samoocenjevanje, Vprašalnik emocionalne inteligentnosti ESCQ, psihometrične značilnosti, zadovoljstvo z življenjem, empatija CC = 3120, 2220 American Dialect Society selected emotional intelligence as the "most useful" new word of 1995. It refers to an ability to recognize the meaning of emotional patterns and to solve the problems that appear in emotional context. Studies of emotional intelligence (EI) initially appeared in academic articles in the early 1990s (Mayer & Gaschke, 1988). There are several definitions of EI. The most comprehensive definition describes EI as a four-level set of abilities, as follows: a) the ability to perceive accurately, appraise, and express emotion; b) the ability to access and/or generate feelings when they facilitate thought; c) the ability to understand emotions and emotional knowledge; and d) the ability to regulate emotions to promote emotional and intellectual growth (Mayer & Salovey, 1997). Currently several comprehensive models of emotional intelligence provide alternative theoretical frameworks for operationalization of the construct. These models do not contradict one another, but they do take somewhat different perspectives on the nature of emotional intelligence. According to these conceptualizations EI can be assessed via three types of measurement, as: a) a self-report measure, b) an observer/informant measure, and c) an ability conception. Ability measures have the advantage of representing an individual's performance level on a task, while self-report measures are filtered through a person's self-concept and impression management motives (Mayer, Salovey, & Caruso, 2000). A debate has emerged in the EI literature regarding whether or not self-report measures provide an accurate assessment of one's standing on this construct. Petrides and Furnham (2000, 2001) have proposed a new conceptualization of EI that is directly relevant to this discussion. They make a distinction between trait emotional intelligence and ability emotional intelligence, claiming that these two expressions are two separate constructs rather than two different ways of measuring the same construct. Trait EI encompasses behavioral dispositions and self-perceived abilities, and is measured through self-report. An ability measure of EI concerns actual capabilities and is supposed to assess one's own maximum performance (Petrides & Furnham, 2001). In recent years, there has been a strong movement for shifting Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire 9 from ability and aptitude testing to competence testing. Pervin (1990) encouraged researchers to "call attention to the person's cognitive activities - the operations and transformations that people perform on information, in contrast to some store of cognitions and responses that a person has" (p. 117). Different studies have revealed a clear relationship between trait emotional intelligence and personality. Thus, emotional intelligence seems to be related to Neuroticism, Extraversión and Agreeableness (Davies, Stankov, & Roberts, 1998), and there is some evidence that the construct is also related to Openness to Experience (Schutte et al., 1998). According to this research, emotional intelligence should be associated with high scores for extraversion, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness. The majority of studies on emotional intelligence have relied on self-ratings. Although self-report assessment of emotional intelligence has been criticized (Mayer, Caruso & Salovey, 1999; Petrides & Furnham, 2000), the target person has the greatest access to information that is relevant for judging her/his own competences. The problem with the EI self-report scales is that they can be fairly similar to personality scales. But the relevant difference between indicators of intelligence and personality is that the former refer to "maximum-performance", whereas the latter refer to "typical performance" (Barchard & Hakstian, 2004). Although self-report measures have been criticized as too subjective and less valid, it has been shown that these measures of EI are valid and have satisfactory psychometric properties (e.g., O'Connor & Little, 2003). In addition, Bandura (1977) has claimed that people commonly behave according to their thoughts and feelings. In spite of the critics of self-report scales, there are a large number of self-report measures of EI present, and current literature (Schulze & Roberts, 2005) cites 15 different EI scales. Relevance of trait EI is recognized in many different areas, such as in the workplace, in clinical and educational psychology, for learning and achievement, as well as in inter- and intra-personal skills and competences. EI is viewed as a predictor of success in the workplace through its significant association with transformational leadership, through its ability to foster workgroup cohesiveness and strengthen commitment to the organization, and through its ability to permit self-esteem (Abraham, 2005). Numerous perspectives on the role of leaders' emotional intelligence in improving performance and positively influencing the employees in their organizations are found in literature reviews. Some of these perspectives look at the traits of the leader, some at the characteristics of the situational context, and others on the "process" between leaders and employees. However, all of them have the basic goal to understand how, why, and when leaders will have a positive influence on employees and productivity. Emotional intelligence is of "special relevance to leadership and revolves around the fact that leadership is an emotion-laden process, both from leader and a follower perspective" (George, 2000, p. 1047). As Goleman (1997) claimed, executives' EI is the most important variable that 10 V. Taksic, T. Mohorovic and M. Duran differentiates average from excellent leaders. Each of the characteristics that differentiate the stars from non-stars represents an emotional intelligence competency (Bailey, 2000). A leader with higher EI will be better able to engender a higher level of positive emotion within an organization. The negative extreme is the ranting and raving boss, with no concern for employees' feelings. Several constructs related to EI, such as alexithymia, are important in clinical research (Parker, Taylor, & Bagby, 2003). When it comes to EI and social skills, emotionally intelligent individuals are assumed socially effective, since emotion-based abilities provide a framework for the assessment of interpersonal skills. Higher emotional intelligence serves as a protective factor for smoking risk factors in adolescents (Trinidad, Unger, Chou, & Johnson, 2004), and risk behavior defined as use of alcohol, tobacco and marijuana (Brackett, Mayer, & Werner, 2004). Adolescents with higher emotional intelligence are also more likely to report positive relations with others, as well as perceived parental support, and are less likely to report negative interactions with close friends (Lopes, Salovey, & Straus, 2003). High EI people also are high in empathy (e.g., because they perceive others' emotions more clearly), life satisfaction, warmth of upbringing (Mayer et al., 1999), openness to feelings, and quality of relationships. They are higher in self-esteem and lower in neuroticism (e.g., because people high in neuroticism and/or low self-esteem do not manage their emotions as well as others) (Smith & Petty, 1995). The aim of this paper is to present the Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire (ESCQ) as a self-report measure of emotional intelligence. The construction procedure is described, together with the basic psychometric properties. The relations with well-established constructs and criteria are presented and commented on. Emotional skills and competence questionnaire (ESCQ) Because self-reported measures do not reflect actual performance, "it might be better to say that these measures assess emotional "competence" rather than intelligence" (Ciarrochi, Chan, Caputi & Roberts, 2001, p. 44). To avoid misunderstandings and criticism regarding to self-rating scales and their ability to assess intelligence, the scale was therefore named the Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire (ESCQ). Originally, ESCQ was developed in Croatian settings using the theoretical framework from the emotional intelligence model (Mayer & Salovey, 1997). ESCQ has been translated into English by means of back-translation technique (Van de Vjver and Hambleton, 1996). By the same technique translations have been carried out into several languages from the English version as follows: Portuguese (Faria & Lima Santos, 2005), Spanish (Extremera & Fernández-Berrocal, 2005; Mikulic, 2008), Swedish (Molander, Holmstrom, & Jansson, 2005), Finnish (Raty, 2005), Japanese (Toyota, 2005; Toyota, Morita & Taksic, 2007), French (Lapierre 2008), Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire 11 Italian (Maurizio Bertollo, personal communication), Chinese-Mandarin (Xu, 2008) and Hindu (Tabassum Rashid, see in this issue). Translation into Slovene language (Avsec, 2005) was performed directly from Croatian. Construction procedure of the scales The items of ESCQ have been generated by a standard procedure: experts in psychology of emotion, as well as students, have been informed about the concept of emotional intelligence, especially regarding the detailed descriptions of the 16 categories in Mayer-Salovey's model (Mayer & Salovey, 1997). After that, they were asked to write as many items as they could think of during a brainstorming process. Close to 300 items were collected, together with items that were already used in acknowledged scales (Averill & Thomas-Knowles, 1991; Mayer, Caruso, Ziegler & Dryden, 1989; Mayer & Stevens, 1994; Salovey, Mayer, Goldman, Turvey & Palfai, 1995). The next step was to refine the collected items, by asking experts and personality psychologists to sort the items into the 16 categories in accordance with the model. Items were kept in the scale if at least two-thirds of judges placed them in the same category. The final step had the main purpose to find out the best possible combination of items, maintaining internal consistency. A pool of 137 items was distributed to the sample of 381 high school students in age of 14 to 19 years (Taksic, 2001b; Taksic, Jurin, & Cvenic, 2001). The correlations among each category (subscales) were examined, and common factor analysis was applied. Scree-tests suggested the existence of three significant factors. The present version of Emotional Skills and Competences Questionnaire (ESCQ, Taksic, 2001b) consists of 45 items divided into three subscales: a) The Perceive and Understand emotions scale has 15 items (e. g., When I see how someone feels, I usually know what has happened to him), b) The Express and Label emotions scale has 14 items (e. g., I am able to express my emotions well), and c) The Manage and Regulate emotions scale has 16 items (e. g., When I am in a good mood, every problem seems soluble). Subjects were asked to rate the items at 5-point scales (1-never, 2-seldom, 3-occasionally, 4-usually, 5-always). Basic psychometric properties In different studies with Croatian version of ESCQ, the Cronbach alphas a were between .81 and .90 for Perception and Understanding scale; for the Express and Label emotions scale a was between .78 and .88; and for the Manage and Regulate 12 V. Taksic, T. Mohorovic and M. Duran emotions scale internal consistency measured with a ranged from .67 to .78. There were moderate positive correlations between the subscales (.35—.51) that allowed for forming a linear combination measure of overall emotional competence with the internal consistency between a = .88 and a = .92 (Taksic, 2001b). Confirmatory factor analysis performed on a large sample of high school students (N = 1460) came with satisfactory goodness of fit indexes (GFI = .87, AGFI = .86, RMSEA = .055) and confirmed the three-factor structure (Taksic, 2005). Convergent, divergent, and concurrent validity In an attempt to estimate convergent and divergent validity, the ESCQ sub-scales and total scores were compared with the scales that measure similar constructs (personality traits, self-concept, social skills, and coping strategies). As expected, the highest correlations emerged with Schutte's self-report emotional intelligence scale (SSREI; Schutte, et al., 1998), where the correlations with PU, EL, MR subscales and with the total score were .59, .48, .48, and .65, respectively. Alexithymia, defined as the difficulty in identifying and describing feelings and having externally oriented thinking (Bagby, Parker, & Taylor, 1993; Parker, Taylor, & Bagby, 2003), is a similar but reverse concept of emotional intelligence and competence, and is negatively correlated with ESCQ subscales and total score (-.34, -.50, -.42, and -.53; Taksic, 2001b). Among social skills measured by Social Skills Inventory (SSI; Riggio & Trockmorton, 1986), the highest correlations with ESCQ subscales and total score have showed emotional sensitivity (.50, .37, .24, and .52) and social expression (.34, .45, .34, and .50; Taksic, 1998). The relationships are in right direction, because emotional sensitivity and perception ability from ESCQ and understanding of emotion (PU) from SSI have much in common, as have expression and labeling emotion (EL) with social expression. Relations with personality traits Among the Big Five dimensions, the highest correlation has been found with openness/intellect (.50, .25, .44, and .52; Taksic, 2001a), stressing the connection of emotional ability with cognitive aspects of the personality system. This quasi-abil-ity factor of personality is somewhat similar to intelligence, at least with the words people usually use to describe intelligent people (e.g., imaginative, sensitive, flexible, curious and independent) (McCrae, 2000). The evidence for a relationship between emotional intelligence and Intellect/Autonomy is scarce (Schutte et al., 1998). Shafer (1999) studied the relationship between the Big Five and an indicator of Social Intelligence and found that the Intellect/Autonomy was strong and the most potent Big Five predictor of social intelligence. The correlations with the other four dimensions of the Big Five are somewhat Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire 13 lower, but also positive, especially with the EL and MR subscales, as well as with the total score in ESCQ. They are in a range that allows one to conclude that ESCQ has divergent validity from well-known personality traits for the Big Five taxonomy (see also Avsec, Taksic, & Mohoric, this issue). Based on results from several studies (Davies et al., 1998; Roger & Najarian, 1989; Van der Zee, Thijs, & Schakel, 2002), one can expect a positive relationship between emotional intelligence and Extraversion. Extraverts are open to others and tend to be unreserved and informal in their contacts with other people. These characteristics can be related to what Gardner (1983) referred to as "interpersonal intelligence". Individuals high in Agreeableness tend to be friendly and warm, tend to have respect for others, and tend to be sensitive to other people's wishes. These characteristics are probably related to the cognitive and behavioral processes directed to the emotions of others. The higher relationship emerged with the EL subscale (r = .41; Taksic, 2001a). Based on literature reviews, there is little reason to expect a relationship between emotional intelligence and Conscientiousness. The carefulness, reliability, persistence, and goal-directedness of individuals high in this trait has no conceptual resemblance to the monitoring and interpreting of and coping with emotions. Emotionally unstable individuals are worried, easily provoked, depressive, and vulnerable. The ability to cope with emotions is very similar to the Emotional Stability construct so a positive relationship between emotional intelligence and Emotional Stability can be expected (Davies et al., 1998; Roger & Najarian, 1989). Bagby, Parker, & Taylor (1994) found a negative relationship between scales of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale and Emotional Stability. The ESCQ subscales and the total score also have highly positive correlations with maintaining positive mood (.35, .45, .55, and .59, respectively), especially if they are compared to correlations with negative mood (-.15, -.21, -.38, -.32, respectively; Taksic, 2002). With Block's ego-resiliency concept, defined as "the linkages of the ego structures that keep the personality system within tenable bounds or permit the finding again of psychologically tenable adaptation modes" (Block & Kremen, 1996, p. 350), the correlations were .47, .36, .49, and .55, respectively. Possible explanation about strong relationship between EI and Block's construct of ego-resiliency is that one of its most important descriptions is ability to recover quickly after stressful and unpleasant events (Block & Kremen, 1996). C. Saarni (1999) in her definition of emotional competence treats resilience as basic ingredient. Relations with cognitive ability The correlations of ESCQ with various measures of cognitive abilities were found to be very low and insignificant (Taksic, 1998; Taksic, Stokalo & Kolic-Vehovec, 14 V. Taksic, T. Mohorovic and M. Duran 2003). The findings are very expected because of strong effect of different methods of measurement, namely self-reported vs. ability approach. Gender differences According to previous studies with self-reported EI (Petrides & Furnham, 2000), females have shown higher scores. A majority of studies on ESCQ (Taksic, 1998; Taksic, Mohoric & Munjas, 2006) came up to the same conclusion. Among ESCQ subscales, Perception and Understanding emotions subscale has demonstrated the biggest and constant differences, while Managing and regulating emotions subscale are mainly not affected by gender influence, but some study came up with finding that males are somewhat better in that kind of EI ability (Taksic, 1998). For Expressing and Labeling emotions subscale the results are not consistent, but majority of them (cf. Taksic et al., 2006) demonstrated higher scores for females. In cross-cultural studies (Taksic et al., 2007; Taksic et al., 2009) on ESCQ conducted in nine countries from three continents, significant gender effect was found only for Perceiving and understanding emotions subscale. A country-gender interaction was found to be significant for this subscale and Expressing and labeling emotion subscale, showing that females are better only in three countries (Slovenia, Spain and Japan). Developmental changes According to developmental hypotheses proposed by the authors (Mayer & Salovey, 1997), EI abilities should increase during a life span. The main reason is that EI is based on emotional knowledge (Izard, 2001) with strong relationship with verbal abilities, as the most important factor for crystallized intelligence. Due to dearth of relevant data, it is hard to find definitive conclusions about developmental changes in self-reported (and trait) EI. Using Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue), the authors Petrides and Furnham (2006) have found positive, but weak correlation (r=0.16) with age. What is more interesting for our findings, they mentioned theoretically plausible curvilinear effects (especially quadratic components; Petrides, Furnham, & Mavroveli, 2007). This curvilinear U-relationship was found in a study on adolescents aging from 12 to 19 years of age (Vucenovic, 2009) using ESCQ. Youngest (7th grade) and oldest (11th and 12th grade) adolescents estimated their EI abilities (perceiving and understanding, and expressing and labeling emotions) higher than adolescents did in age of 15 and 16 years (10th and 11th grade). In a sample of 467 Italian teachers mean aged 46.30 years (SD = 8,51, range 24 to 60 yrs), Simone Catalano (personal communication) found similar correlations between total ESCQ and age (r = .13) as Petrides and Furnham (2006). The highest correlation was with the Perceiving and understanding emotions subscale (.16), with Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire 15 Expressing and labeling emotion subscale was r = .13, and no correlation was found with Managing and regulating emotions subscale. Predictive validity of ESCQ Psychometric literature stresses the importance of the predictive validity of every newly established psychological instrument in a validation procedure. As mentioned previously, empathy is a crucial criterion for emotional intelligence, and it is interesting that higher correlations have been found between the ESCQ scale and the cognitive aspect of empathy (.45, .20, .41, and .44), than with its emotional aspect (.43, .15, .09, and .27; Taksic, 1998). These findings support the connection of emotional intelligence, skills, and competencies with cognition. A life satisfaction and empathy were chosen as the main criteria by the authors of the theory of EI theory (Mayer et al., 2000). They presumed that every instrument that has the intention to measure EI must show positive relationship with those two constructs. The ESCQ scale satisfies these criteria. Following the idea proposed by Salovey and Mayer (1990) that an emotionally intelligent person does not ask how much he will earn in life, but he tends to be happy in his/her life, satisfaction was established as the main criterion for concurrent and incremental validity procedures. The ESCQ scales significantly contributed to explaining the variance in life satisfaction, even when they were the last variables entered in the regression equation (AR2 = .047, p = .007; Taksic & Mohoric, 2009) after those from self concept, and from Social Skills Inventory (Riggio & Trockmorton, 1986). The stepwise regression analyses demonstrated strong evidence and superiority of emotional management skills for the competences in establishing life satisfaction among variables derived from the self-concept construct (Taksic, 1998, 2002). The highest predictive validity of ESCQ subscales and total score has been found for quality of leadership defined according to Yukl's taxonomy (Yukl, 1994). Correlations with abilities of perceiving and understanding, expressing and labeling, managing and regulating subscale, and total score were .46, .46, .52, and .61, respectively (Taksic, Tkalcic, & Brajkovic, 2001). This supports many theoretical claims about the significant role of emotional abilities and competences in the leadership process (Cooper & Sawaf, 1998; Goleman, 1997; Ryback, 1998). Adolescents with higher results in ESCQ are significantly less involved in health risk behaviors like smoking, drinking alcohol and using drugs (Taksic & Rafajac, 2002). EI have been found to be more relevant protective factor in female adolescent sample. Among many socio-demographic variables and personality characteristics, significant contribution have been found for the MR scale demonstrating the importance of an ability of managing and regulating of emotions in protecting adolescents from engaging in unhealthy and risky behaviors. Because ESCQ is not an ability test, it was not very reasonable to expect that it would have significant correlations with school achievement. However, there 16 V. Taksic, T. Mohorovic and M. Duran have been found that the relationship is significant for the PU and MR subscales, if not very strong (r = .19 and .21, respectively). Moreover, total ESCQ has significant contribution in explaining the variance of school achievement over and above four classical tests of intelligence from California Tests of Mental Maturity (CTMM; AR2 = .041, p = .05), stressing the importance of the ability of managing and regulating emotions (P = 0.196, p = .007; Taksic et al., 2003). The same trend was found for a test of general intelligence (Taksic, 1998), this trend also confirmed in follow up study with the same tests from CTMM (Taksic & Mohoric, 2007). Conclusive remarks and general guidelines for the future In conclusion, it could be said that ESCQ exhibited good psychometric properties in several cultural settings (Faria et al., 2006), confirming three-factor structure. It shares some amount of common variance (up to 28%) with the scales derived from similar constructs. However, due to the sufficient reliability of the scales, a great deal of unique variance remains (more than 40%). This unique variance of the ESCQ scales has an incremental contribution in explaining life satisfaction as the crucial criterion for emotional intelligence, and even for school achievement. The relation of ESCQ with related constructs support the hypothesis that emotional competence is not only a "old wine in a new bottle", but is a distinct construct of so called (positive) "emotional traits" (Mayer, 2001) that could be operationalized. One of the authors of Big Five concept McCrae (2000) claimed: "EI appears as a variable on the boundary between personality and cognition" (p. 268). The ESCQ has proved to be a reliable and valid measure of emotional competence in varied contexts, evidencing construct, convergent, divergent and concurrent validity. However, as reliability of the Manage and Regulate Emotion scale turned out to be somewhat low in several of the studies, improvements of the formulation of some of its items might help to raise its value. 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Prispelo/Received: 8.3.2009 Sprejeto/Accepted: 31.7.2009 22 Psihološka obzorja /Horizons of Psychology, 18, 3, 23-34 (2009) © Društvo psihologov Slovenije 2009, ISSN 1318-187 Znanstveni empiričnoraziskovalni prispevek The person who eases your mind "Ibasyo" and emotional intelligence in interpersonal adaptation Hiroshi Toyota* Department of Psychology, Nara University of Education, Nara, Japan Abstract: The present study was carried out to examine the effect of the "Ibasyo" (the person who eases one's mind) and emotional intelligence (EI) on self-esteem and loneliness. Five hundred and eight Japanese undergraduates were asked to choose one of the alternatives (e. g., myself, mother, friend) to answer the question "Who is the person that eases your mind?" Then, they were asked to rate items from scales corresponding to EI, self-esteem and loneliness. Multiple regression analyses indicated that both Ibasyo and EI explained 25% of loneliness, but only EI explained 25% of self-esteem. The analyses also showed differences of sub-abilities in EI that determined the level of loneliness and self-esteem among Ibasyo groups. These results are interpreted as showing the importance of EI in adaptation. Key words: ibasyo, emotional intelligence, adaptation, self-esteem Oseba, ki te pomiri "Ibasyo" in emocionalna inteligentnost kot prediktorja prilagojenosti Hiroshi Toyota Department of Psychology, Nara University of Education, Nara, Japan Povzetek: Raziskava proučuje pomembnost "ibasyo" (osebe, ki te pomiri) in emocionalne inteligentnosti (EI) za samospoštovanje in osamljenost. V raziskavi je sodelovalo 508 Japonskih študentov, ki so morali najprej odgovoriti na vprašanje "Kdo je oseba, ki te pomiri?" tako, da so izbrali eno od alternativ (npr. jaz sam, mama, prijatelj). Nato so izpolnili vprašalnike EI, samospoštovanja in osamljenosti. Regresijska analiza je pokazala, da Ibasyo in EI skupaj pojasnujejta 25 % variance osamljenosti, medtem ko je za samospoštovanje pomembna samo EI, ki sama pojasnjuje 25 % variance. Analiza je tudi pokazala razlike med posameznimi lestvicami EI, ki določajo stopnjo osamljenosti in samospoštovanja med Ibasyo skupinami. Rezultati kažejo na pomembnost EI za posameznikovo prilagojenost. Ključne besede: "ibasyo", čustvena inteligentnost, prilagoditev, samosopštovanje CC = 3120 * Naslov / Address: Hiroshi Toyota, Department of Psychology, Nara University of Education, Nara 630-8528, Japan, e-mail: htoyota@nara-edu.ac.jp 24 H. Toyota Ibasyo is an idiosyncratic word in the Japanese culture, and is defined as the space (e. g., my room), the time (e. g., after dinner) or the person (e. g., my mother) that eases your mind. According to Toyota & Shimazu (2006), the person who eases your mind (PEM) or one feels comfortable with, such as "myself, "mother", "father", "brother", "sister", "friend" and so on, is the most critical factor in determining the interpersonal adaptation and satisfaction in daily life. Most of the researches on Ibasyo stressed the contrast between "myself and "others (e. g., mother, father, friend, and so on)". Namely it is critical whether someone depends on others or not. The oldest research by Kato (1977) examined the answer to the question: "Who is the person one feels comfortable with?", and indicated that female and male undergraduates select themselves most often, and that females secondly often selected their mothers whereas male undergraduates did their friends. Although there were individual differences in choosing the person that eases your mind, most participants select "myself", "mother" or "friend" as PEM. Recently our researches (Okamura & Toyota, 2002; Toyota & Okamura, 2001, 2002) have indicated that PEM is related to interpersonal emotions. Namely, the participants who selected "myself" as PEM ("myself" groups) were inferior in two interpersonal emotions (the level of confidence in others and subjective distance between myself and others) than those who selected "mother" or "friend". The previous studies mentioned above suggested that providing the Ibasyo as PEM, not as the place or space, was particularly important to students' adaptation. The influence of PEM on interpersonal emotions was critical but it was mediated by some factors. These studies (Toyota & Shimazu, 2006; Toyota, Oga, & Okamura, 2007) examined the factors that determine the influence of PEM on loneliness as a negative aspect of interpersonal adaptation, and indicated that the emotional intelligence (EI) determined the influence of PEM on loneliness. More recently, EI has been an interesting topic of research (Law, Wong, & Song, 2004). Salovey and Mayer (1990) proposed that EI was "the subset of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one's own and other' feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use this information to guide one's thinking and actions" (p.189). This definition of EI was followed by many other proposals (e.g. Davies, Stankov, & Robert, 1998; Mayer, Caruso, & Salovey, 2000) which although not identical with each other, contained only minor differences. The common elements of all of the definitions were as follows: an ability to understand one's own, or others', emotions or feelings; the ability to express one's own emotion or feelings; and the ability to regulate or control one's own emotion or feelings. Taksic (1998), who developed the Emotional Skills & Competence Questionnaire (ESCQ), also followed the definitions of Salovey and Mayer (1990). Therefore, the ESCQ has three subscales corresponding to the following three sub-abilities: the ability to perceive and understand emotion (PU); the ability to express and label emotion (EL); and the ability to manage and regulate emotion (MR). Based on ESCQ developed by Taksic (1998), Toyota, Morita, and Taksic (2007) have developed the Japanese version of ESCQ. "Ibasyo" and emotional intelligence 25 The present study used J-ESCQ as the measure for assessing EI. If EI has great effect on emotion based on the adaptation for interpersonal relationships, the effect size of PEM on loneliness would depend on the level of EI. It is predicted that students with higher EI levels would be lower in the level of loneliness than those with low EI ones. Toyota (2008) examined this prediction and showed the significant effect of EI on loneliness. However, as mentioned before, EI has three sub-abilities, PU, EL and MR. Among these abilities, MR is the most important to restrain the loneliness, because one has to control or regulate some unpleasant, stressful, or sad events that were the cause of feeling of loneliness by themselves. The ability to regulate or control one's own emotions or feelings about such events, namely MR, would determine the level of loneliness. If so, it is predicted that MR has a significant effect on the level of loneliness. The first purpose of the present study is to examine this prediction. The previous studies (Toyota, 2005; Toyota et al., 2007) did not examine the positive aspects of adaptation in daily life. Meanwhile, the present study used the self-esteem as an index of positive adaptation. Deci and Ryan (1985) explained the self-esteem in the context of self-determination theory (Vickey, Sepehri, & Evans, 2008). Namely they suggested that each person's internal standards determined his or her level of self-esteem. If internal standards were critical to self-esteem, it is predicted that the differences in the level of self-esteem would not be observed among "myself, "mother" and "friends" groups, and that EI have significant effects on self-esteem in all of three groups. Toyota (2008) showed that the effects of EI on the level of loneliness varied among the three groups. Namely the loneliness in myself group was strongly influenced by EI, in contrast to the mother or"friend"groups. However, the individual influences of the three sub-abilities, PU, EL and MR in EI (Taksic, 2001) on loneliness had not been examined. The third purpose of the present study is to examine the differential impact s of the three sub-abilities on loneliness and self-esteem. Method Participants The participants were 508 Japanese undergraduates, 79 of whom were males, 410 were females and 19 were unknown. The mean age was 18.8 (SD = 0.75), ranging from 18.0 to 22.6 years old, and belonging to four different universities located in Kansai Area of Japan. Instruments Ibasyo Choice Index (ICI). Ibasyo (person who eases one's mind) of each participant were assessed by the ICI. This index was developed by Toyota and Okamura 26 H. Toyota (2002). ICI includes the question, "Who is the person that eases your mind?" and eight alternatives of choice, namely "myself", "mother", "father", "grand father or mother", "brother or sister", "friend", "lovers", and "others". Participants were asked to choose one of the eight alternatives as the answer to the previous question. Japanese version of the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale (J-UCLA). This scale was originally developed and revised by Russell, Peplau, and Cutrona (1980). Moroi (1985) developed the Japanese version of this scale with high-schoolers as participants, and then adapted it to undergraduates (Moroi, 1987). This scale consisted of 20 items with a 4-point rating scale, ranging from "never" to "often", indicating how often participants feel or think about the statement expressed in each item. Moroi (1985, 1987) evidenced the positive correlation of loneliness with social anxiety and the negative correlation with self-esteem. These correlations were regarded as indicators of the concurrent validity of the scale. Japanese version of Self-esteem Scale (SES). The Japanese version of the self-esteem scale (SES) was adapted from the original one, developed by Rosenberg (1965), by Yamamoto, Matsui, and Yamanari (1982). The SES has 10 items with a 5-point rating scale, from 1 "disagree" to 5 "agree". Japanese version of the Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire (J-ESCQ). The original version of this scale was developed by Taksic (1998) using Croatian participants and is based on the theoretical framework of the emotional intelligence model (Mayer & Salovey, 1997). The original version includes 45 items divided into three subscales mentioned above: (1) PU (e. g., I notice when somebody feels down.), (2) EL (e. g., I am able to express my emotions well), and (3) MR (e. g., I try to keep up a good mood.). Studies using the original version of the ESCQ (Taksic, 2001; 2002; Taksic, Tkalcic, & Brajkovic, 2001) indicated that the coefficient alphas of the subscales were satisfactory to enable the confirmation of the reliability of the ESCQ. Toyota et al. (2007) used exploratory factor analysis and presented the J-ESCQ. J-ESCQ consisted of eight items per subscale (24 items). The alphas for the three subscales (PU, EL and MR) were .91, .88, and .65, respectively. The present study used J-ESCQ as a tool for measuring the level of EI. Participants rated each item on a 5-point rating scale ("never", "seldom", "occasionally", "usually", and "always"), indicating how often they feel or think about the statement expressed in each item. Procedure Participants in four different classes completed the above mentioned scales in the author and co-researchers classes. Participants were distributed the sheets of paper containing ICI, J-UCLA, SES, and J-ESCQ separately. They were asked to answer each scale following author's instructions. Four possible order of answering the four scales (ICI, J-UCLA, SES, and J-ESCQ) were assigned for each of the four classes. "Ibasyo" and emotional intelligence 27 Results Effects of PEM and EI on loneliness and self-esteem As Toyota (2008) indicated, the participants' choices for each of eight alternatives in ICI were counted. Table 1 indicated the number of each choice. As participants frequently chose the "myself", "mother" and "friend" options, the following analyses were conducted to these three groups. Table 2 shows the means and standard deviations for the J-UCLA (loneliness), SES (self-esteem) and J-ESCQ (EI) scores for each group. As it was critical whether someone depends on others or not in Ibasyo researches, the first main analysis focused on the contrast of "myself versus "mother" or "friend". Table 1. The number of choice for each alternative of ICI myself mother father grandfather or brother grandmother or sister friend lover others Male 21 12 3 0 3 25 13 2 Female 48 181 13 10 31 91 32 4 Unknown 7 6 1 0 0 3 2 0 Total 76 199 17 10 34 119 47 6 Table 2. Scores and their SDs for Loneliness, Self-esteem and EI as a function of group _Type of group_ "myself' "mother" "friend" N = 76 N = 199 N = 119 Loneliness M 43.64 35.83 36.26 SD 10.45 8.03 9.39 Self-esteem M 29.63 31.09 30.15 SD 8.27 6.86 7.01 EI PU M 23.00 23.97 24.10 SD 6.52 5.26 5.51 EI EL M 22.70 23.42 23.27 SD 7.44 5.77 6.17 EI MR M 25.36 27.13 27.10 SD 5.11 4.12 4.38 28 H. Toyota A multiple regression analysis was performed to determine the effects of PEM ("myself" = 1, "mother" and "friend" = -1) and EI on loneliness, and self-esteem, respectively. In each analysis, the EI score was the total one. Table 3 shows the results showing that both of the two factors, namely PEM and EI, have significant effects on loneliness and explain 25% of loneliness variance. Whereas for self-esteem, PEM have no significant effects on it, and only EI explained 25% of self-esteem variance. Table 3. Multiple regression analysis on Loneliness and Self-esteem by PEM (myself vs. mother or friend) and EI Independent variable Loneliness Self-esteem ß t ß t PEM 0.28 6.29 -0.01 0.13 EI -0.40 9.08 0.49 11.30 R .50 .50 R2 .25 .25 F 68.04*** 64.81*** Effects of PU, EL and MR in EI on loneliness and self-esteem A multiple regression analyses was performed to determine the effects of PEM ("myself" = 1, "mother" and "friend" = -1) and EI, PU, EL and MR, on loneliness and self-esteem, respectively. Table 4 shows that three factors, PEM, EL and MR, have significant effects on loneliness and explain 29% of loneliness variance. Table 4 also shows that two factors, EL and MR, have significant effects on self-esteem and explain 27% of self-esteem variance. These analyses indicate that PU has no significant effects either on loneliness and self-esteem. Table 4. Multiple regression analysis on Loneliness and Self-esteem by PEM (myself vs. mother or friend) and EI (PU, EL and MR) Independent variable Loneliness Self-esteem ß t ß t PEM 0.26 5.94** -0.00 0.10 EI PU -0.08 1.74 0.06 1.46 EI EL -0.15 3.00** 0.35 7 17** EI MR -0.32 6.83** 0.23 4.90** R .54 .52 R2 .29 .27 F 39.61** 36.67** Table 5. Multiple regression analysis on loneliness by EI subscales (PU, EL and MR) in each group Type of_"myself'_ _"mother'_ _"friend" group P t P t P t P t P t P t PU -0.19 -1.59 -0.00 -0.06 -0.13 -1.53 EL 0.05 0.45 -0.24 -3.09** -0.24 -3.29** -0.25 -2.88** -0.28 -3.31** MR -0.39 -3.67** -0.39 -3.67** -0.29 -3.94** -0.29 -4.00** -0.29 -3.38** -0.32 -3.70*** R .41 .41 .47 .47 .51 .48 R2 .17 .17 .21 .21 .24 .23 F 6.19" 15.87*** 18.11*** 27.30*** 13.35*** 18.66*** Table 6. Multiple regression analysis on self-esteem by EI subscales (PU, EL and MR) in each group Type of "myself' _"mother"_ _"friend" group P t P t P t P t P t PU 0.23 2.20* -0.05 -0.73 0.12 1.40 EL 0.30 2.85** 0.39 5.20*** 0.38 5.24** 0.37 4.33*** -0.40 4.77** MR 0.33 3.38** 0.18 2.43* 0.17 2.35* 0.22 2.54* 0.24 2.83** R .60 .49 .49 .54 .53 R2 .34 .23 .23 .27 .27 F 13.71*** 20.74 30.93*** 15.88*** 22.64*** 30 H. Toyota Effects of PU, EL and MR in EI on loneliness and self-esteem in each of PEM groups To examine the differences of the effect of PU, EL and MR on loneliness and self-esteem among "myself", "mother", and "friend" groups, a multiple regression analysis was performed to each of these groups. The results on loneliness are shown in Table 5. For the "myself" group, only MR explained 17% of loneliness variance. Whereas for "mother" and "friend", both factors, EL and MR, explained 21% and 24% of loneliness variances, respectively. The results about self-esteem are shown in Table 6. For the "myself" group, each of the three subscales, PU, EL and MR have significant effects on self-esteem and explained 34% of self-esteem variance in all. Whereas for "mother" and "friend" one, both factors, EL and MR, explained 23% and 27% of self-esteem variances, respectively. Discussion The first purpose of the present study was to examine the prediction that MR has a significant effect on the level of loneliness. Consistent with this prediction, the results showed that MR predicted the level of loneliness in all of the three PEM groups. Although Toyota (2008) indicated the importance of EI on loneliness, the present study showed that MR was especially critical to the level of loneliness. As predicted, the ability to regulate or control emotion about some events has a function to restrain the level of loneliness. However, not only MR but also EL has significant effects on loneliness. This result suggests that the ability to express and label emotions has also an important function to restrain the level of loneliness. Someone with higher EL could express his or her emotions, in turn expression of his or her emotion would leads to reduction in loneliness. Previous studies (Toyota, 2008; Toyota et al., 2007) had indicated the difference between "myself group and "mother" or "friend" groups. The consistency among these researches strongly supports that it is critical whether someone depends on others or not in adaptation. The second purpose of the present study was to examine the prediction that the differences in the level of self-esteem would not be observed among "myself", "mother" and "friends" groups, and that EI has a significant effect on self-esteem in all these groups. The results supported the above mentioned prediction. The level of self-esteem did not varied among the three groups but EI has a significant effect on self-esteem. These results could be explained in a way that self-esteem was determined by internal standard (Deci & Ryan, 1985), whereas for loneliness as mentioned above, social standards (namely the dependence on others) determine the level of it (Toyota, 2005; Toyota et al., 2007). Contrary to loneliness, EL has larger effect on self-esteem than MR. This suggests that the ability to express and label emotion led to higher self-esteem. In real situation with others, it is possible that expressing his "Ibasyo" and emotional intelligence 31 or her emotion to others brought the confidence of his or her ability to him or her. Such confidence would lead to higher self-esteem. The third purpose of the present study was to compare the effects of three sub-abilities of EI on loneliness and self-esteem among the three groups. Toyota (2008) indicated that "myself groups was strongly influenced by EI contrasted to "mother" or "friend" groups. In the present study, although the effect size of EI (total of PU, EL and MR) did not varied among the three groups, the differences of sub-ability that was critical to loneliness and self-esteem were observed. Namely for the loneliness, only MR had a significant effect in "myself" group, but both of EL and MR have significant effects in "mother" and "friend" groups. These results strongly suggested the importance of ability to regulate or control emotion of one's own, especially in "myself" group. For self-esteem, all the sub-abilities, PU, EL and MR, had significant effects in "myself group, but EL and MR had effects in "mother" and "friend" groups only. Fujiwara (1981) indicated that Japanese adolescents with higher self-esteem have lower level of social anxiety. According to Fujiwara's suggestion, the results were interpreted as follows: as the participants in "myself group have no person who eases their mind, they might feel social anxiety for others more often than those in "mother" or "friend" groups. In such situation, perceiving and understanding others' emotions would be great help to reduce the social anxiety. The reduced anxiety, in turn, would lead to self-confidence in relation to others. This self-confidence could lead to higher self-esteem. The participants in "mother" and "friend" groups have the person who eases their mind. So they were not so anxious about others, in comparison with "myself" group. Therefore their self-esteem was determined by internal standard produced by EL and MR. Namely they might be considered as the persons that could express and regulate their emotion excellently. Finally, there was differences of determinants for interpersonal adaptation (The present study used loneliness and self-esteem as index of adaptation) between "myself" and "mother" or "friend" groups. As loneliness is one of the main topic in adolescence (Uruk & Demir, 2003), so many researches were conducted to find the critical factors for loneliness (Deniz, Hamarta, & Ari, 2005; DiTommaso, Bran-nen-McNulty, Ross, & Burgess, 2003). But they only showed the factor that have relations with loneliness, but did not show the suggestion for reduction of loneliness (Toyota, 2008). The present study leads to one of the unique suggestion, indicating that it is not critical to enhance the total level of EI but to concentrate to enhance the level of MR. As it is a task for the present study to provide the precise educational suggestion to enhance the level of MR, we would like to introduce Toyota and Shi-mazu (2006). They examined the relationships among the perceived experiences of contingency, EI and self-esteem, and indicated that the perceived experiences of contingency enhanced the level of MR in EI, which in turn led to higher self-esteem. Contingent experience is one of the most successful predictors. If someone made effort to the goal, the effort brought success to him or her. The result of Toyota and 32 H. Toyota Shimazu (2006) research provided us useful suggestion about enhancing level of MR. Namely we should provide the opportunity to feel the contingency in the activity to the participants in educational program. Flexible utilization of such educational program is necessary to be established in further investigation. References Davies, M., Stankov, L., & Roberts, R. D. (1998). Emotional intelligence: In search of an elusive construct. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 989-1015. Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum Press. Deniz, M. E., Hamarta, E., & Ari, R. (2005). An investigation of social skills and loneliness levels of university students with respect to their attachment styles in a sample of Turkish students. Social Behavior and Personality, 33(1), 19-32. DiTommaso, E., Brannen-McNulty, C., Ross, L., & Burgess, M. (2003). Attachment styles, social skills and loneliness in young adults. Personality and Individual Differences, 35(2), 303-312. Fujiwara, M. (1981). Jigadouitsusei to jisonkanzyou no kankei [The relationship between identity and self-esteem]. In T. Endo (Ed.), Identity no shinrigaku [Psychology of Identity] (pp. 85-89). Kyoto: Nakanishiya Press. Kato, T. (1977). Seinenki ni okeru jiko no dokuritsusei to izonsei [Structure of self-concept in adolescence]. Shinrigaku morogurafu [Japanese Psychological Monographs], (14). Law, K. S, Wong, C. S., & Song, L. J. (2004). The construct and criterion validity of emotional intelligence and its potential utility for management studies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89, 483-496. Mayer, J. D., Caruso, D. R., & Salovey, P. (2000). Emotional intelligence meets traditional standards for an intelligence. Intelligence, 27, 267-298. Mayer, J. D., & Salovey, P. (1997). What is emotional intelligence? In P. Salovey & D. Sluyter (Eds.), Emotional development and emotional intelligence: Educational implications (pp.3-34). New York: Basic Book. Moroi, K. (1985). Koukousei ni okeru kodokukan to jikoishiki [Loneliness and self-consciousness in high-school students]. Shinrigaku kenkyu [The Japanese Journal of Psychology], 56, 237-240. Moroi, K. (1987). Daigakusei ni okeru kodokukan to jikoishiki [Loneliness and self-consciousness in undergraduates]. Jikken syakaishirigaku kenkyu [The Japanese Journal of Experimantal Social Psychology], 26, 151-161. Okamura, T., & Toyota, H. (2002, March). Daigakusei ni okeru ibasyo no kojinsa no kento (II) [An examination of individual difference of "Ibasyo" in undergraduates (II)]. Poster presented at the 13th annual meeting of Japan Society of Developmental Psychology, Saitama, Japan. Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Russell, D., Peplau, L. A., & Cutrona, M. (1980). The revised UCLA Loneliness Scale: "Ibasyo" and emotional intelligence 33 Concurrent and discriminant validity evidence. 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Poster presented at 7th European Congress of Psychology, London. Toyota, H. (2005, July). Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire: Development of a Japanese version. Paper presented in the Symposium "Cross-cultural validation of Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire (ESCQ)", at the 9th European Congress of Psychology, Granada, Spain. Toyota, H. (2008). Interpersonal communication, emotional intelligence, locus of control and loneliness in Japanese undergraduates. In J. Van Rij-Heyligers (Ed.), Intercultural Communications across University Settings-Myths and Realities: Refereed Proceedings of the 6th Communication Skills in University Education Conference (pp. 42-54). New Zealand: Pearson Education Toyota, H., Morita, T., & Taksic, V. (2007). Development of a Japanese version of the emotional skills and competence questionnaire. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 105, 469-476. Toyota, H., Oga, K., & Okamura, T. (2007). Ibasyo to zyoudou chinou ga kodokukan ni ataeru eikyou [Effects of Ibasyo"the person who eases your mind"and emotional intelligence on loneliness]. Nara kyouiku daigaku kiyou [Bulletin of Nara University of Education], 56, 41-45. Toyota, H. & Okamura, T. (2001). Daigakusei ni okeru Ibasyo ["Ibasyo" in undergraduates]. Nara kyouiku daigaku kyouiku kennkyusyo kiyo [Bulletin of Institute for Educational Research of Nara University of Education], 37, 37-42. Toyota, H., & Okamura, T. (2002, May). Daigakusei no Ibasyo ni okeru kojinsa no kentou (1) [An examination of individual difference of Ibasyo in undergraduates (1)]. Poster presented at the 13th annual meeting of Japan Society of Developmental Psychology, Saitama, Japan. Toyota, H., & Shimazu, M. (2006). Syukanteki zuihankeiken to zyoudouchinou ga kanzyo ni oyobosu kouka [The influences of perceived experiences of contingency and emotional intelligence on emotion]. Nara kyouiku daigaku kiyo [Bulletin of Nara University of Education], 55, 27-34. Uruk, A. C., & Demir, A. (2003). The role of peers and families in predicting the loneli- 34 H. Toyota ness level of adolescents. The Journal of Psychology, 137(2), 179-193 Vickey, C. D., Sepehri, A., & Evans, C. C. (2008). Self-esteem in an acute stroke rehabilitation sample: A control group comparison. Clinical Rehabilitation, 22, 179-187. Yamamoto, M., Matsui, Y., & Yamanari, Y. (1982). Ninchi sareta jiko no syosokumen no kouzou [The structure of perceived aspects of self]. Kyouiku shinrigaku kenkyu [The Japanese Journal of Educational Psychology], 30, 64-68. Prispelo/Received: 14.4.2009 Sprejeto/Accepted: 4.7.2009 Psihološka obzorja /Horizons of Psychology, 18, 3, 35-34 (2009) © Društvo psihologov Slovenije 2009, ISSN 1318-187 Znanstveni empiričnoraziskovalni prispevek Cross-cultural and sex differences in the Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire scales: Challenges of differential item functioning analyses" Bo Molander' *, Stefan Holmstrom' and Vladimir Taksic2 'Department of Psychology, Umea University, Sweden 2Department of Psychology, University of Rijeka, Croatia Abstract: University students in Croatia, Slovenia, and Sweden (N = 1129) were examined by means of the Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire (Taksic, 1998). Results showed a significant effect for the sex factor only on the total-score scale, women scoring higher than men, but significant effects were obtained for country, as well as for sex, on the Express and Label (EL) and Perceive and Understand (PU) subscales. Sweden showed higher scores than Croatia and Slovenia on the EL scale, and Slovenia showed higher scores than Croatia and Sweden on the PU scale. In subsequent analyses of differential item functioning (DIF), comparisons were carried out for pairs of countries. The analyses revealed that a large proportion of the items in the total-score scale were potentially biased, most so for the Croatian-Swedish comparison, less for the Slovenian-Swedish comparison, and least for the Croatian-Slovenian comparison. These findings give doubts about the validity of mean score differences in comparisons of countries. However, DIF analyses of sex differences within each country show very few DIF items, indicating that the ESCQ instrument works well within each cultural/linguistic setting. Possible explanations of the findings are discussed, and improvements for future studies are suggested. Key words: Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire (ESCQ), cross-cultural differences, sex differences, DIF analyses * Acknowledgements: Slovenian data were provided by the courtesy of Professor Dr Andreja Avsec. We are indebted to Andreas Stenling for assistance in the DIF-analyses work, and to John Jansson for help in collecting data. We would also like to thank two anonymous reviewers who provided useful improvements. Part of the Croatian-Swedish analysis was presented at the XXIX International Congress of Psychology, Berlin 2008. This research was supported by grants from IF Metall, Sweden, and the Ministry of Science and Sport, Croatia. * Naslov / Address: Dr. Bo Molander, Department of Psychology, Umea University, 901 87 Umea, Sweden, e-mail: bo.molander@psy.umu.se 36 B. Molander, S. Holmstrom and V. Takšic Medkulturne razlike in razlike med spoloma na vprašalniku emocionalne inteligentnosti ESCQ: Izzivi analize diferencialnega funkcioniranja postavk Bo Molander' *, Stefan Holmstrom' in Vladimir Takšic2 'Oddelek za psihologijo, Univerza v Umea, Švedska 2Oddelek za psihologijo, Univerza v Reki, Hrvaška Povzetek: Hrvaški, Slovenski in Švedski študenti (N = 1129) so izpolnili samoocenjevalni vprašalnik emocionalne inteligentnosti ESCQ (Takšic, 1998). Rezultati so pokazali pomembne razlike med spoloma v skupnem rezultatu, pri čemer imajo ženske v povprečju višje rezultate, in pomembne razlike med državami in med spoloma na lestvicah sposobnosti izražanja in poimenovanja emocij ter sposobnosti zaznavanja in razumevanja emocij. Švedski študenti poročajo o višje izraženi sposobnosti izražanja in poimenovanja emocij, slovenski pa višje rezultate na lestvici sposobnosti zaznavanja in razumevanja emocij. Pri analizi diferencialnega funkcioniranja postavk (DIF) smo primerjali med seboj po dva vzorca. Analiza je pokazala, da je velika večina postavk potencialno pristranskih, najbolj v primerjavi hrvaškega in švedskega vzorca in najmanj v primerjavi hrvaškega in slovenskega vzorca. Ti rezultati kažejo na problematičnost direktnih primerjav povprečnih vrednosti med različnimi državami. Po drugi strani pa DIF analiza kaže, da je znotraj posamezne države zelo malo potencialno pristranskih postavk glede na spol. Zaključimo lahko, da vprašalnik ESCQ dobro funkcionira znotraj posameznega kulturnega/jezikovnega okolja. Predstavljene so možne razlage rezultatov kot tudi predlogi za izboljšanje nadaljnjih raziskav. Ključne besede: Vprašalnik emocionalne inteligentnosti ESCQ, medkulturne razlike, razlike med spoloma, DIF analiza CC = 2220, 3120 The concept of emotional intelligence has developed fast from being judged by researchers as quite suspicious in the early nineties to the present state of relative decency (e. g., Mayer, Salovey, & Caruso, 2008; Roberts, Schulze, Zeidner, & Matthews, 2005; Zeidner, Roberts, & Matthews, 2008; see also the paper by Taksic in the present issue). During the same period research and applications in the field have increased greatly, as has the interest in emotional intelligence by laymen. As a result of this activity various versions of tests of emotional intelligence have been assessed and applied in a number of settings, countries and cultures. In this article we will focus on cross-cultural comparisons, and, in particular, the possible problem of item bias. Not much has been published as yet on the present theme. As revealed by sources of publications, such as PsychNet, Web of Science, and Science Direct, there are very few papers published where outcomes of assessment of tests or scales are discussed in terms of cultural differences. Most papers are cross-cultural only in the meaning that assessments of tests of emotional intelligence or correlations of Cultural and sex differences in the ESCQ 37 such tests with other tests are performed in countries other than USA. Furthermore, such studies do not always report proper national assessments (e. g., control of factor structure) for comparison with the original test, which often is MSCEIT (Mayer, Salovey, & Caruso, 2002) or EQ-i (Bar-On, 1997). Thus, many studies in the field are likely to contribute to mystification rather than clarification. Also, recent summaries of research on emotional intelligence are surprisingly quiet about cross-cultural comparisons and the methodological and conceptual problems which are involved (e. g., Mayer, Roberts, & Barsade, 2008; Mayer, Salovey, & Caruso, 2008; Murphy, 2006; Roberts et al., 2005; Zeidner et al., 2008), although Mayer et al. (2008) acknowledge the need of greater attention to the factors of culture and sex, and their impact on theories and measurement of emotional intelligence. As indicated by these recent sources there is no clear picture of the extent to which present measures of emotional intelligence can be used for comparisons among different cultural settings. This state of affairs is understandable, of course, considering the massive work that has to be done for proper assessment, this work including such aspects as repeated factor analyses, item analyses, replication of original procedures, and collection of normative data in each culture. In addition, the lack of theory in the field about cross-cultural variations contributes to the slow progress. Contributing is probably also the fact that the two most influential tests (MSCEIT and EQ-i) are only commercially available. Even if assessments of these tests have been performed in other countries by the distributing company or associated researchers, results may not be easily accessible to other researchers. Anyway, international publications of assessments of MSCEIT and EQ-i seem to be directed to psychometric aspects rather than cultural aspects. The comments by J. E. Helm (1992), where she argued for studies of cultural equivalence in standardized cognitive ability testing are valid also for the field of emotional intelligence. Although research on emotional intelligence from a cross-cultural point of view is quite limited there is a vast literature on various aspects of emotion and culture. Some of the fields of research are of high relevance also for the study of emotional intelligence. One important field is the study of emotion expressions, much of which has been directed to facial expressions (e. g., Ekman, Friesen, & Ellsworth, 1972; Matsumoto, 2001; Russell, 1994). A related field is emotion perception, where recognition of emotion and various parameters of emotion, such as intensity, are of interest (e. g., Biehl et al., 1997; Izard, 1971; Matsumoto, Wallbott, & Scherer, 1987). Another field of interest is how people in different cultures experience emotions, that is, the question is if people have the same type of subjective and bodily reactions for a specific emotion (e. g., Markus & Kitayama, 1991; Scherer, Summerfield, & Wallbott, 1983). The study of emotion appraisal is an area of research dealing with " . .the process by which people evaluate the events, situations, or occurrences that lead to their having emotions" (Matsumoto & Juang, 2004, p. 250), thus an area of seemingly high importance for the study of emotional intelligence (see e. g., Mauro, Sato, & Tucker, 1992; Scherer, 1997). A last field of importance is concerned with 38 B. Molander, S. Holmstrom and V. Takšic the understanding of the concept of emotion and other related concepts and how this understanding can differ among cultures (e. g., Brandt & Boucher, 1986; Levy, 1973; Russell, 1991). An extreme example is the observation by Levy that Tahitians do not have a word for emotion. The message from the research findings in these different fields is that there are commonalities among cultures, and sometimes, as in the study of facial expressions, universal commonality. However, research in all of the listed fields also tells us that there are differences among cultures. These differences are sometimes small and sometimes large. Differences are found also among seemingly similar cultures. Thus, the cross-cultural study of emotional intelligence should not be content with relying on findings from just a few countries. Neither should there be reliance on a translation of an instrument for assessing emotional intelligence from one language to another without performing several types of controls, people's understanding of the concept of emotion being one important control. In this article we proceed from studies by Faria et al. (2006), Toyota, Morita, and Taksic (2007), and Taksic et al. (2009), where the instrument Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire (ESCQ) was assessed in seven countries in Europe and Asia (i. e., Croatia, Finland, Japan, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden). The ESCQ was developed in Croatia by Vladimir Taksic (1998) and based on the Mayer and Salovey (1997) model of emotional intelligence. The instrument comprises three subscales: Perceive and Understand emotion (PU), Express and Label emotion (EL), and Manage and Regulate emotion (MR), with a total of 45 items to be answered by the participants through ratings on a 5-point scale. This instrument is thus considered to measure subjective or self-perceived emotional intelligence. The subscales are supposed to correspond to three of the four dimensions of emotional intelligence postulated in the Mayer and Salovey model. The fourth dimension, that is, Emotional Facilitation, has, so far, been very difficult to find evidence for (e. g., Zeidner et al., 2008). In their cross-cultural assessment, based mostly on high-school and university students, Faria et al. (2006) found good agreement among most of the seven countries with respect to reliability and various forms of validity. Throughout, the factor structures of the national instruments are rather similar, as is the level of internal consistency (Taksic et al., 2009). Interestingly, the internal consistency (i. e., Cronbach's alfa) of the MR subscale was lower in all countries as compared to the other two subscales. Lower reliability of the MR dimension has been observed also in studies using the Mayer and colleagues' (2002) MSCEIT performance-based battery (e. g., Follesdal & Hagtvet, 2009; Kafetsios, 2004; Lopes, Salovey, & Straus, 2003). Thus, some caution is recommended in interpreting MR scores. Judging from the analyses performed in Faria et al. (2006) and Taksic et al. (2009) it looks as if the ESCQ measure of emotional intelligence can be used for generalizing results among countries or cultures and that the concept of emotional intelligence is pretty much the same in the studied countries. Unexplained variance exists in the study, however, and part of that variance might very well be due to cul- Cultural and sex differences in the ESCQ 39 tural variation. Actually, there were indications that some items in some countries were difficult to interpret as related to emotion. Hence, it is of importance to make analysis on item level, so items that do not function equivalently over groups can be identified. This is also a necessary step in evaluating the psychometric properties of the ESCQ scales, because presence of item bias affects the validity of the scales. If there are differences in response patterns among subgroups, this can be a sign of item bias known as differential item functioning (Smith, 2002; Swaminathan & Rogers, 1990; Zumbo, 1999). Differential item functioning (DIF) exists if an item is more difficult, discriminating, or easily guessed for one group than for another. For example, all persons at a given level on one of the ESCQ scales should have the same probability of endorsing an item in the same way regardless of subgroup (e. g., sex, age, country). DIF methods focus on the trait continuum at the item level, rather than testing for differences across groups of items, which is the typical approach (As?i, Fletcher, & Caglar, 2009; Holmstrom, 2008). Variance in item means may simply reflect divergence among the groups on the construct being measured rather than differences in how the items are functioning (Bann, Iannacchione, & Sekscenski, 2005). When translating items into other languages DIF analysis is especially valuable for evaluating the agreement among items translated into different languages (Bann et al.). Items that display language-related DIF do not measure the same concepts, and therefore the results across languages are inappropriate to combine or compare. Thus, the existence of DIF could indicate a problem with the translation or be a sign of possible cultural difference. There are several methods existing for evaluation and identification of DIF (c.f. Kristjansson, Aylesworth, McDowell, & Zumbo, 2005). In the present study ordinal logistic regression is used to evaluate DIF in ESCQ items. One of the reasons for selecting ordinal logistic regression was that this procedure is considered to be more general and flexible than the other DIF procedures (Swaminathan & Rogers, 1990). Furthermore, ordinal logistic regression is a suitable method for detecting DIF in ordinal items (Kristjansson et al.). By using data from the Faria et al. (2006) and Taksic et al. (2009) studies it is possible to further illuminate possible cross-cultural differences by examining item bias. This will be done here by comparing the data from Croatia, Slovenia, and Sweden. The choice of these three countries is based on the fact that the first two countries share the cultural and linguistic environments to a great extent although there are still some cultural and linguistic differences among them, and that Sweden differs from both countries both culturally and linguistically, and due to socio-economic factors, possibly a little less from Slovenia than from Croatia. Also, previous studies suggest that the difference among Croatia, Slovenia, and Sweden is big enough culturally to expect some differences in ratings of emotionality (Arar & Molander, 1996; Molander & Arar, 1998, 2000; Schwartz & Rubel, 2005). To our knowledge there are no previous psychological studies examining the relationship among Croatia, Slovenia, 40 B. Molander, S. Holmstrom and V. Takšic and Sweden in the area of emotional skill and competence except what is reported in the studies by Faria et al. (2006) and Taksic et al. (2009). However, all European countries investigated by these authors are also part of the European Social Survey (ESS, see www.europeansocialsurvey.org), a survey sponsored by European Union and European Research Council, and presently comprising 34 countries. Mostly, sociologically based questions are asked in the survey, but occasionally questions of relevance for emotional skills are examined. Unfortunately, Croatia has not been part of the first three rounds, but in future rounds it will be possible to make finer predictions than what is possible in the present study about cultural differences among Croatia, Slovenia, Sweden and the other European countries, where the ESCQ instrument has been assessed. To summarize, we will present the ESCQ data for Croatia, Slovenia, and Sweden, incorporating in the Method section a description of the samples and procedures used for collecting these data. After running analyses of variance on the scores we will perform DIF analyses in order to study possible biases among the three countries. In these analyses we will also examine possible sex differences, among countries, as well as within countries. Method Participants The samples in this study include a total of 1129 university students from Croatia, Slovenia, and Sweden. See Table 1 for sample characteristics. Table 1. Number (and percentage in parentheses) of participating men and women, mean age, and standard deviation of age in the Croatian, Slovenian, and Swedish samples Men Women Total M SD Croatia 201 (43%) 263 (57%) 464 20.6 2.16 Slovenia 93 (31%) 207 (69%) 300 21.5 3.08 Sweden 164 (45%) 201 (55%) 365 25.0 7.00 In Table 1 the number of participants in the Swedish sample is larger and different from what is presented in the Faria et al. (2006) study. The reason for this deviation is that the size of the Swedish sample in that study (i. e., n = 190) was considered being too small for a reliable DIF-analysis. Also, the present sample comprises university students instead of bus drivers and nurses, who were examined in the Faria et al. study. Cultural and sex differences in the ESCQ 41 Instrument The ESCQ instrument comprises 45 statements to be answered by self-ratings on a five-point scale (i. e., Never-Seldom-Occasionally-Usually-Always). In addition to total scores the instrument also provides scores for three subscales: Perceive and Understand (15 items), Express and Label (14 items), and Manage and Regulate (16 items). For a detailed description of the instrument, see the paper by Taksic in the present issue. The Slovenian version of the ESCQ instrument was translated directly from the original Croatian version, whereas the Swedish version was translated from an English version of the Croatian original version (Taksic, Tkalcic, & Brajkovic, 2001). For both the Slovenian and Swedish versions the technique of back translation was applied (e. g., van de Vjer & Hambleton, 1996). Procedure The ESCQ was administrated to students in classes during regular school hours. Participation was voluntarily and no monetary reward was given. Before the start of the testing, the participants were introduced in general terms to the purpose of the study, and informed consent was obtained. Instructions were given about how to use the scale of the instrument. The questionnaire took about 30 minutes to finish, and the whole session lasted approximately 45 minutes. Statistical methods Internal consistencies were determined by means of Cronbach's alpha, using .70 as an acceptable level (Nunnally & Bernstein, 1994). Differences in mean values on ESCQ-subscales for country and gender were evaluated with multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), and analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were conducted as post-hoc tests. For the post-hoc tests Bonferroni adjustments were used. All analyses were performed in SPSS version 15.0. In the present study ordinal logistic regression was used to evaluate DIF in ESCQ items. This DIF technique (e. g., Zumbo, 1999) is based on the ordinal logistic regression equation y = b0 + b1TOTAL + b2GRP + b3TOTAL x GRPi + ei, where TOTAL stands for total scores and GRP stands for group. In this equation si is distributed with mean zero and variance n2/3. Scripts for calculating DIF in SPSS are provided by Zumbo. 42 B. Molander, S. Holmstrom and V. Takšic Results Means and standard deviations of the ESCQ total scores and scores of the sub-scales are presented in Table 2 for country as well as for gender. Reliability analyses of the internal consistencies for country were performed on both the total scale and the subscales. Cronbach's alpha values varied between .88 and .90 for the total scale. The internal consistency for the subscales ranged from .81-.89 and .82-87 for PU and EL, respectively, to .67-.73 for the MR scale. In the later subscale alpha levels are lower than .70 for both the Swedish and Croatian samples. Table 2. Means and standard deviations of ESCQ scores for Croatian, Slovenian, and Swedish samples Croatia Slovenia Sweden Men Women Men Women Men Women M SD M SD M SD M SD M SD M SD ESCQ total 157.3 16.0 161.1 17.2 158.6 16.0 162.1 17.2 158.6 16.0 162.0 13.3 PU 51.8 6.8 53.6 7.1 53.1 7.4 55.3 7.2 50.7 6.1 52.5 5.9 EL 47.7 6.5 49.0 7.5 47.0 7.3 49.3 7.4 50.5 7.1 51.7 6.9 MR 57.8 5.9 58.5 5.9 58.6 6.3 57.5 6.3 57.4 5.2 57.8 4.8 Note. PU = Perceive and Understand (15 items); EL = Express and Label (14 items); MR = Manage and Regulate (16 items). Due to multicollinearity between the ESCQ-total scale and the subscales, a univariate analysis of variance was made for the ESCQ-total scale. The only significant difference in this analysis was obtained for Sex, F(1, 1123) = 12.43, p < .000, n2 = .01, women showing higher score than men. A 3 (Country) x 2 (Sex) multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted to determine the extent to which Countries and Sex differed in the subscales. The assumption of homogeneity was broken, and therefore the more robust Pillais trace was used when reporting significant differences. The MANOVA revealed multivariate effects for both Country and Sex, for Country F(6, 2244) = 20.22, p < .000, Pillai s trace = .10, n2 = .05, and for Sex, F(3, 1121) = 10.70,p < .000, Pillai s trace = .03, n2 = .03. When looking separately on each of the subscales, the trend was the same with significant differences in two out of three subscales. ANOVAs showed effects of Country for PU, F(2, 1123) = 10.88, p < .000, n2 = .02, as well as for EL, F(2, 1123) = 18.80, p < .000, n2 = .03. Also for the Sex factor the same two subscales showed effects, F(1, 1123) = 21.14, p < .000, n2 = .02, and F(1, 1123) = 13.27, p < .000, n2 = .01, for PU and EL, respectively. For both scales women showed higher scores than men. Post-hoc tests of analyses of variance (ANOVAs) with Bonferroni adjusted alpha levels were conducted to reveal Cultural and sex differences in the ESCQ 43 significant differences among countries. For the PU scale the Slovenian sample scored significantly higher than the two other two samples (ps < .001), and for the EL scale the Swedish sample scored higher than the others (ps < .000). Zumbos (1999) DIF-concept measures the effects of group and the interaction over and above the total-scale score. The test for statistical significance follows a hierarchy of steps for entering variables into the model. In the first step the total score variable is entered, at the second step the grouping variable (e. g., Sex) is included. In the last step, the interaction term between the variables is included in the first and second stage entered. The last step in the analysis describes whether the difference between the group responses of an item changes over the latent variable continuum. With the results from the chi-squared test for logistic regression from the first and third step, one can calculate the significant level through subtracting the chi-squared value in step three from the value in the first step. The differences in chi-squared value can then be compared to its distribution function with 2 degrees of freedom (3-1 = 2 df). To calculate the ^-squared level, the same procedure is used as for chi-squared calculation. For an item to be classified as displaying DIF, two criteria must be met: First, the chi-squared must have a p value less or equal to .01. Secondly, the effect size measure must have an ^-squared value of at least .035. In this study the effect-size criteria suggested by Jodoin & Gierl (2001) is used when quantifying the magnitude of DIF, that is, DIF is negligible for effect-size values below .035, moderate for levels between .035 and .070, and large for levels above .070. Results of the DIF calculations are depicted in Figures 1 and 2. Number of items with values equal to or higher than .035 for each country comparison and for each scale are shown in Figure 1. Number of critical items for each country comparison and sex are shown in Figure 2. Figure 1 reveals that the number of items demonstrating DIF is quite large for the total-score measure of the ESCQ instrument. The largest proportion of biased items was found in the Croatian-Swedish comparison, a noticeably smaller proportion in the Croatian-Slovenian comparison, and with the Slovenia-Sweden comparison in between. The same relationships are observed for PU and EL subscales, the MR subscale showing a small deviation, such that a somewhat larger proportion is found for Croatia-Slovenia than for Slovenia-Sweden. It should be noticed also that, generally, the MR scale shows larger DIF proportions than the other two subscales. In Figure 2 it is shown that the proportions of DIF are quite equal for men and women in all country comparisons with a slight male predominance for Croatia-Sweden and Slovenia-Sweden and with a somewhat larger proportion of DIF for women as compared to men in the Croatian-Slovenian comparison. A comparison of sex in each subscale did not reveal any distinct pattern. Possible effects of sex were examined also within each national sample. Results are shown in Table 3. The total-score measure shows that there are very few biased items in each national version of the instrument. Similar calculations for the subscales showed that for both Croatia and Slovenia there were no biased items at all in the EL and MR scales. 44 B. Molander, S. Holmstrom and V. Takšic Figure 1. Number of DIF items as a function of country comparison and ESCQ scale. Proportion of DIF items of total number of items in the scale is shown above each bar. Table 3. Number of DIF items in comparisons of sex differences for each ESCQ scale and country ESCQ Total Scores PU EL MR Croatia 3 1 0 0 Slovenia 2 0 0 0 Sweden 2 2 0 1 Note. PU = Perceive and Understand (15 items); EL = Express and Label (14 items); MR = Manage and Regulate (16 items). In Table 4 are listed the five items with the highest DIF values (all over .07) for each country comparison together with the five items with the lowest effect values of those items that are below the DIF criterion (all below .035) in all country comparisons. This table does not suggest any simple pattern for understanding the differences among the country comparisons, except that items from all three sub-scales are represented, and that some items appear in more than one comparison. Of the five items in the Croatian-Swedish comparison only one item was unique Cultural and sex differences in the ESCQ 45 45 -40 -35 -30 - E a> ^ 25 -o 0) "I 20 -z 15 -10 -5 - 0 J Cro-Swe Slo-Swe Cro-Slo Figure 2. Number of DIF items for total ESCQ scores as a function of country comparison and gender. Proportion of DIF items is shown above each bar. for that comparison. Only one item was unique also for the Croatian-Slovenian and Slovenian-Swedish comparisons, respectively. No item occurs in all comparisons, however. It should be noted that three of the five items shown in the right-hand column belong to the MR scale. Discussion As shown by the statistical analyses of the ESCQ scores, significant overall differences were obtained for both countries and sex. More specifically, the differences among countries were found for the PU (Perceive and Understanding) and the EL (Express and Label) subscales. Slovenia showed higher scores than Croatia and Sweden in the PU scale, and Sweden showed higher scores than Croatia and Slovenia in the EL scale. Our rather rough predictions about cultural differences in the introductory section, that is, that Croatia and Slovenia should be relatively close, with Sweden deviating from both countries but possibly less from Slovenia, are not fully in agreement with the results, although our predictions were intended for the total scores in the first place. Overall, women scored higher than men as expected, Men Women 46 B. Molander, S. Holmstrom and V. Takšic Table 4. The five items with the highest effect values in the DIF analysis on total ESCQ scores in each country comparison, and the five items with the lowest effect values below the DIF criterion (right-hand column) All Comparisons Items with Lowest Croatia-Sweden Croatia-Slovenia Slovenia-Sweden DIF 1 When I don't like a I can easily think of I can say that I People can tell person, I find ways a way to approach know a lot about what mood I am in to let him/her know a person I like my emotional state (EL,28) (MR,7) (EL,16) (EL,24) 2 When I see how I study and learn When I don't like a If I really want to, someone feels, I best, when I am in person, I will solve a prob- usually know what a good mood and I find ways to let lem that may seem has happened to happy (MR,11) him/her know insoluble (MR,12) him (PU,14) (MR,7) 3 I study and learn I am able to tell the I am able to tell the There is noth- best, when I am in difference if my difference if my ing wrong with a good mood and friend is sad or dis- friend is sad or dis- how I usually feel happy (MR,11) appointed (PU,15) appointed (PU,15) (MR,30) 4 I have found it easy When I see how If I observe a per- I usually understand to display fondness someone feels, I son in the presence why I feel bad for a person of the usually know what of others, I can (EL,32) opposite sex has happened to determine precisely (EL,41) him (PU,14) her/his emotions (PU,25) 5 If I observe a per- I can say that I I am able to main- I try to keep up son in the presence know a lot about tain a good mood a good mood of others, I can my emotional state even if something (MR,33) determine precisely (EL,24) bad happens (MR,1) her/his emotions (PU,25) Note. Scale origin and item number is given within parenthesis. although it should be noted that in two of the seven countries presented in the papers by Faria et al. (2006) and Taksic et al. (2009) there were differences in the opposite direction. There were no interactions between sex and country or between sex and scale in the present analyses, but with all seven countries involved Taksic et al. (2009) reported significant Sex x Country interactions for the PU and EL scales. What is striking in the present set of data is that the differences among countries in terms of mean scores are quite small, the difference between men and women being three times as large as the difference among countries. Normally, as in cross-cultural research on values (e. g., Schwartz & Rubel, 2005) it is the other way around, cultural effects are much larger than sex difference effects. This is true also here if the results Cultural and sex differences in the ESCQ 47 on the separate scales are considered. Judging from the n2-measure in the ANOVA calculations, effects are generally larger for country than for sex. The weak cultural effect is anyway indicated by the lack of significant results for the MR subscale and for total ESCQ scores. In the Faria et al. (2006) and Taksic et al. (2009) studies the present three countries were compared with Portugal, Finland, Spain and Japan. The only country standing out from the others with respect to total scores is Japan. Such a result suggests that the ESCQ instrument is not sensitive enough to detect European cultural variation in emotional skills and competence, especially if data are based on such a rather homogenous group of participants as the university students in this study. It could also be argued that making cross-cultural comparisons with as few countries as here is quite risky, as the full range of emotional competence might be missed (Schwartz & Rubel). The analysis of differential item functioning provides quite a different picture of the obtained data. As shown in Figures 1-2 and Tables 3-4, item bias is frequent in all scales, and the proportion items which are biased in the scales is varying from .14 to .63. The extent of bias in the ESCQ instrument is thus considerable, as judged by the present analysis. Furthermore, the extent of the bias seems to be a function of which countries that are compared. For all scales the Croatian-Swedish comparison gives rise to the highest proportions of item bias, followed by the Slovenian-Swedish comparison with proportions at a clearly lower level, and by the Croatian-Slovenian comparison showing proportions at the lowest level. Interestingly, these data are more in line with our hypothesis about cultural differences than the mean scores data. Somewhat surprisingly, though, Croatia and Slovenia differed more than expected, and Sweden and Slovenia differed less than expected. However, the Schwartz and Rubel studies (2005) on values, such as benevolence, tradition, security, and conformity, and where Croatia, Slovenia and Sweden are included, suggests a similar pattern for these three countries. Not surprisingly, the observed pattern for countries was obtained also for sex. Croatian men compared with Swedish men and Croatian women compared with Swedish women yielded the highest proportions of item bias, followed by corresponding comparisons for Slovenia-Sweden and Croatia-Slovenia. Note, however, that very little item bias was observed when sex comparisons were performed within each country. Thus, the existence of item bias in the ESCQ instrument is likely to be primarily related to cultural differences or differences in translations of the items, rather than to sources inherent in the instrument. The inclusion of Table 4 in this paper is primarily intended as an illustration of part of the results of the DIF procedure. It seems quite clear, however, that it will be pretty difficult to make conclusions about cultural differences or translation errors just by looking at the items in the table. The picture looks complex with some items occurring in more than one comparison and with no clear pattern among the subscales. Admittedly, Table 4 comprises quite few items, and a more thorough look 48 B. Molander, S. Holmstrom and V. Takšic at all DIF items might give a better hint. Also, the inclusion of low-DIF items in the table suggests one hypothesis that could be examined better in the total material, that is, it looks as if low-DIF items have a simpler structure than the high-DIF items, and that all of them requires judgements only about the respondent. Most of the high-DIF items require judgment about situations where somebody else is involved. Thus, with increased item complexity the likelihood of DIF due to cultural differences might increase. However, before strong conclusions about cultural differences in the ESCQ instrument can be made it is necessary to consider alternative explanations. One such explanation of high relevance here is related to the translation procedures and the question if those procedures might be different for different country comparisons. In the present case the original Croatian version of the instrument was translated to English (Taksic et al., 2001) and from English to Swedish. Quite a lot of effort was put into the Croatian-English version by professional linguistic people, who were native speaking Croats and fluent in English. Presumably, high knowledge of Croatian language was the case also in the Slovenian translation. Back-translation procedures were used for both the Slovenian and Swedish versions. Still, it is possible that some subtle differences in meaning have appeared in the various translated versions. It is also likely that back-translation and communication with the author of the instrument is easier for a Slovenian researcher than for a Swedish researcher due to general familiarity of the Croatian language and culture. When clusters of countries are compared, as in the present paper, it seems important to confirm translations not only in relation to the original country, but also to the other participating countries. Obviously, in future studies more attention has to be directed to the translation of the instrument (see Hambleton, 2001; van de Vijver & Hambleton ,1996; van de Vijver and Leung, 1997, for valuable guidelines). In addition to bias related to items and the translation of the instrument, biases related to method may occur. The method for collecting data it is quite simple and straightforward and participants do not need much instruction. In the present study the procedure employed seems to have been carried out in a similar fashion in all three countries, although differences are likely to exist concerning, for example, test environment, way of presenting the study and explanation of how to use the scale. It is important, of course, that scalar equivalence is established in cross-cultural research (van de Vijever & Leung, 1997). There is high reliance on the test experience of the associated researchers, but a test manual describing how ESCQ should be distributed and managed may nevertheless be of value for reducing some of the error variance occurring during data collection. Our impression, though, is that the method is quite robust and reliable and not likely to be the cause of the DIF effects. It is important that the participants in different countries are comparable with respect to background factors such as education. Here the samples are very homogenous as the participants are university students. Such a sample is a good choice in the present context, because students also are quite acquainted with test situations and with receiving verbal instructions in a group setting. It is possible, of course, that Cultural and sex differences in the ESCQ 49 students from different countries may differ in terms of university requirements and high school qualifications, but such differences are probably small in comparison with the effects of the general level of education. Thus, we don't consider the present choice of samples to be a problem. Nevertheless, future national studies should extend the choice of samples to include groups with varying cultural and educational backgrounds. Hopefully, such a national routine would also contribute to making international comparisons less biased with respect to choice of samples. The DIF variation could definitely contribute irrelevant construct variance to the ESCQ instrument. Although the studies by Faria et al. (2006) and Taksic et al. (2009) showed good consistency in factor structure among the seven countries, there is certainly room for improvement. Furthermore, internal reliabilities are generally high, only the MR scale shows lower values, close to the .70 criterion. This lower reliability seems to be of some importance, because, as shown in Figure 1, the proportions of DIF are somewhat higher in the MR scale than in the PU and EL scales, and the relation among the three countries is changed, as well. Still, the same picture remains, that is, DIFs are plenty, and the number of DIFs for Croatia and Sweden is larger than for Slovenia and Sweden, and smallest for Croatia and Slovenia. The large number of DIFs, more than half the number of items in the ESCQ total scale for the Croatian-Swedish comparison, could very well be a consequence of a too liberal criterion for flagged items. Different criteria exist in different models (e. g., Clauser & Mazor, 1998; Myers, Wolfe, Feltz, & Penfield, 2006; Swaminathan & Rogers, 1990; Zumbo, 1999). In the original paper by Zumbo the effect size criterion was set to 0.13. But this criterion is considered by Jodoin and Gierl (2001) to be too strict. They point out that there has been a lack of investigations of the effect size levels. Jodoin and Gierl evaluated the effect size measure and came up with a less restrictive threshold criterion, which has been used in the present study and in other studies (e. g. Escorial & Navas, 2007; Jette, Haley, Ni, Olarsch, & Moed, 2008). Although the choice of criterion level is no matter to take easy, the criterion used here is not likely to change the pattern of DIF much compared to other criteria in use. If DIF is observed, what should be done? According to Zumbo (1999) it is not a good idea to get rid of such items. First, dropping items may limit too much the domain that is of interest. Secondly, the fact that an item is flagged for DIF does not mean that this item necessarily is biased. One has to follow up such items with various item analyses. On the other hand, if an item is not flagged there is no bias. In the present case, it will be necessary to inspect all DIF items carefully to begin with, bearing in mind the constructs emanating from the original EI model of the instrument. Different kinds of item analyses can then be performed, as, for example, checking uniform and nonuniform items, and using iterative procedures (e. g., van de Vijver & Leung, 1997). Replicating the DIF analyses on other samples from the same countries, and extending the analyses to the four other countries included in the Faria et al. (2006) study are other steps to be taken in future studies. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the importance of performing analyses 50 B. Molander, S. Holmstrom and V. 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Prispelo/Received: 29.5.2009 Sprejeto/Accepted: 9.7.2009 54 c i-j O/ovs Filozofski.1 iakukele Melita Puklek Levpušček Socialna anksioznost v otroštvu in mladostništvu: razvojni, šolski in klinični vidik Ljubljana 2006 Psihološka obzorja /Horizons of Psychology, 18, 3, 55-34 (2009) © Društvo psihologov Slovenije 2009, ISSN 1318-187 Znanstveni empiričnoraziskovalni prispevek Validation of the Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire (ESCQ) in the Portuguese academic context Luisa Faria'* and Nelson Lima Santos2 'Faculty of Psychology and Education, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal 2Fernando Pessoa University, Porto, Portugal Abstract: The aim of this study is to present a group of validation studies of the Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire (ESCQ, Taksic, 2000, 2001) in the Portuguese academic context, and to compare them with those of the original Croatian version. The Portuguese sample includes 730 students, 381 high-school students (10th and 12th graders) and 349 university students (1st and 2nd graders), from different vocational areas (Scientific and Humanities) to whom the ESCQ was collectively administered during regular academic hours. The results point to good alpha values, similar to those of the original version (> .80), except for the "Ability to manage and regulate emotion" that proved to be less satisfactory (.67). The exploratory factorial structures evidenced 3 factors, explaining together about 30% of the total variance. The confirmatory factorial analysis revealed that the best fitted model has two correlated factors (.55; perception and expression), and integrates only 11 items from the original questionnaire (r2 > .30). The internal validity and the discriminative power of the items proved to be satisfactory. Overall, the ESCQ evidenced satisfactory results in the Portuguese academic context and good perspectives for widespread use in other settings. Keywords: emotional intelligence; self-report; construct validity; academic context. Validacija vprašalnika emocionalne inteligentnosti ESCQ na vzorcu Portugalskih dijakov in študentov Luisa Faria1 in Nelson Lima Santos2 Vacuity of Psychology and Education, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal 2Fernando Pessoa University, Porto, Portugal Povzetek: Cilj raziskave je preveriti veljavnost vprašalnika emocionalne inteligentnosti ESCQ (Takšic, 2000, 2001) na vzorcu portugalskih študentov in jo primerjati z veljavnostjo originalne, hrvaške verzije vprašalnika. Portugalski vzorec vključuje 730 oseb, od njih je 381 dijakov in 349 študentov različnih študijskih smeri. Udeleženci so vprašalnik reševali o okviru pouka oziroma v okviru fakultetnih obveznosti. Rezultati kažejo na dobro notranjo konsistentnost lestvic, ki je podobna kot pri originalnem vprašalniku (> ,80), razen za lestvico sposobnost upravljanja in uravnavanja emocij, kjer je notranja konsistentnost precej nižja (,67). Eksploratorna faktorska analiza je pokazala tri faktorje, ki pojasnjujejo približno 30% celotne variance. Konfirmatorna faktorska analiza pa je pokazala, da najboljši model za izbrane podatke vključuje dva, med seboj povezana faktorja (,55; zaznavanje in izražanje emocij), sestavljena iz samo 11 postavk originalnega vprašalnika (r2 > ,30). Notranja veljavnost in diskrimi- * Naslov / Address: Luisa Faria, Faculty of Psychology and Education, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Manuel Pereira da Silva 4200-392 Porto, Portugal, e-mail: lfaria@fpce.up.pt 56 L. Faria and N. Lima Santos nativnost teh postavk je zadovoljiva. Na splošno lahko zaključimo, da rezultati kažejo na zadovoljive merske karakteristike portugalske verzije vprašalnika ESCQ in smiselnost njegove uporabe tudi na drugih vzorcih in v drugačnih kontekstih. Ključne besede: čustvena inteligentnost, samoocenjevanje, konstruktna veljavnost CC = 3120, 2220 Emotional intelligence as "the ability to perceive emotions, to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, to understand emotions and emotional knowledge, and to reflectively regulate emotions so as to promote emotional and intellectual growth" (Mayer & Salovey, 1997, p. 5) is one of the most interesting constructs in Psychology, because it combines emotion with intelligence, accepting the fact that "emotion makes thinking more intelligent and that one thinks intelligently about emotions" (Mayer & Salovey, 1997, p. 5). Emotional intelligence is involved in several settings such as family, school, and labour, contributing to school success and positive performance in the work place, as well as to social competencies and adaptive behaviour. The development of intelligence, and also of emotional intelligence, socially interpreted as a fundamental and valuable human resource, requires the incorporation of social values and norms, which establish the criteria of success and failure, as well as the distribution of reinforcements or punishments. Consequently, it cannot be conceived independently of the social values and of the objectives of culture, in general, and of school and work contexts, in particular (Faria, 2002). So, the individuals from different cultures have been submitted to differential socialization practices, which led them to endorse various beliefs, values, expectations and norms. It is thus expected that they value differently socially relevant attributes, such as intelligence (Salili, 1994). One of the main challenges in the domain of emotional intelligence is to develop an instrument capable of assessing this construct in a multidimensional perspective, reuniting the dimensions of perceiving and recognizing emotions, understanding, analysing and expressing emotions, capable of capturing the specificities of this construct in different cultural contexts. The Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire (ESCQ, Taksic, 2000, 2001; Taksic, Jurin, & Cvenic, 2001) is one possible form of meeting this challenge, and its adaptation to the Portuguese academic context will be presented, with the main aim of developing a measure capable of assessing emotional competence in the Portuguese context. The aims of this study are to present the results of a group of validation studies of the ESCQ to the Portuguese academic context and to compare them with those of the original Croatian version, presenting for the first time the results of confirma- Validation of the ESCQ in Portuguese academic context 57 tory factor analyses (Faria & Lima Santos, 2006; Faria et al., 2006; Lima Santos & Faria, 2005). We'll explore the psychometric qualities of the ESCQ - internal consistency by Cronbach's alpha, construct validity by exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, internal validity of the items, and sensibility. Some guidelines will be drawn for the future use of the ESCQ in several contexts. Method Sample The Portuguese sample includes 730 students, 61% females and 39% males (Table 1). As regards age, 28.6% are from 15 to 16 years old, 36.7% are 17 or 18 years old, and 34.2% are older than 18 years. The subjects are high-school or secondary students (29.7% 10th graders and 22.5% 12th graders), and university students (33.7% in the 1st year and 14.1% in the 2nd year). The latter are undergraduate students in Psychology (29.8%), in Sport and Physical Education (29.2%), in Dental Medicine (26.6%) and in Engineering and Architecture (14.3%). Regarding vocational options in secondary level, 71.6% attend or attended Scientific-Natural studies, 24.0% Humanities, 2.1% Economic-Social and 1.1% Arts. In their majority, they are students who never failed (68.4%) and who appear to have an optimistic expectative with regard to their future school results (58.9%). In terms of social status, 33.4% are students whose familial group presents a High socio- professional status (SPS), 43.6% a Medium SPS and 22.9% a Low SPS, whereas 24.0% are students who come from families which have a High socio-cultural status (SCS), 19.9% a Medium-High SCS, 19.5% a Medium SCS, and 36.2% a Medium-Low SCS. Globally, the Medium SPS and the Medium-Low SCS are the most represented ones both in the female and in the male samples, and the Medium SPS and the Medium-Low SCS are the most represented ones both in secondary school and in university. From the 730 students of the sample, 33.8% have professional experience. Instrument and procedure The ESCQ (Taksic, 2000, 2001; Taksic, Jurin, & Cvenic, 2001), originally developed in the Croatian context, in different settings (academic and work), using theoretical framework of the emotional intelligence model (Mayer & Salovey, 1997), includes a total of 45 items, ranging from "Never" to "Always", and presents three dimensions or subscales: "Ability to perceive and understand emotion", with 15 items, "Ability to express and label emotion", with 14 items, and "Ability to manage and regulate emotion", with 16 items. Table 1. Sample distribution bv sex, socio-professional status (SPS), school grade and level of education Females Males Total Level of Education H SPS M SPS L SPS Total H SPS M SPS L SPS Total H SPS M SPS L SPS Total Secondary 10th grade 39 62 51 152 22 26 17 65 61 88 68 217 12th grade 29 43 29 101 17 31 14 62 46 74 43 163 Total 68 105 80 253 39 57 31 127 107 162 111 380 University 1st grade 49 40 18 107 54 62 23 139 103 102 41 246 2nd grade 27 46 12 85 7 8 3 18 34 54 15 103 Total 76 86 30 192 61 70 26 157 137 156 56 349 Total 10th grade 39 62 51 152 22 26 17 65 61 88 68 217 12th grade 29 43 29 101 17 31 14 62 46 74 43 163 1st grade 49 40 18 107 54 62 23 139 103 102 41 246 2nd grade 27 46 12 85 7 8 3 18 34 54 15 103 Total 144 191 110 445 100 127 57 284 244 318 167 729' Note. H SPS - High SPS; M SPS - Medium SPS; L SPS - Low SPS. | "1 omission in the SPS variable. r>, o Validation of the ESCQ in Portuguese academic context 59 It was collectively administered together with a socio-demographic questionnaire, in whole classes, during regular school hours, the instructions being read aloud and confidentiality and anonymity being guaranteed. The English version of the scale (Taksic, 2001) was translated into Portuguese and back-translated into English, through the collaboration of the Portuguese and Croatian authors (Van de Vjver & Hambleton, 1996). Results and discussion Reliability - Internal consistency In Table 2 we can observe the alpha values for the dimensions of the ESCQ, according to school grade. The dimensions of Ability to Perceive and Understand Emotion (15 items) and Ability to Express and Label Emotion (14 items) present the highest alpha values in every sample, and the dimension of Ability to Manage and Regulate Emotions (16 items) has the lowest alpha value of all, exactly as in Taksic (2001) studies (Table 3), probably evidencing the diverse nature of the items that involve both positive and negative emotions in interpersonal situations. The alpha values for the Global Emotional Competence Scale are the highest ones and appear to be slightly superior to those of the Croatian samples. Table 2. Alpha values for the secondary school, university and total samples Secondary University Total Sample No. of (N - = 381) (N = 349) (N = 730) Subscales items N alpha N alpha N alpha Perceive and Understand Emotion 15 377 .84 347 .84 724 .84 Express and Label Emotion 14 373 .84 343 .83 716 .84 Manage and Regulate Emotion 16 375 .67 346 .64 721 .67 Global Emotional Competence Scale 45 363 .90 340 .88 703 .89 Generally, we can affirm that the alpha values obtained suggest that the items are consistent with the dimensions to which they belong, indicating a good internal consistency for the dimensions of Ability to Perceive and Understand Emotion and Ability to Express and Label Emotion, and an acceptable internal consistency for the dimension of Ability to Manage and Regulate Emotions. The alpha values for both secondary and university samples are similar. 60 L. Faria and N. Lima Santos Table 3. Alpha values found in Taksic (2001) studies N = 834a N = 193b Subscales alpha alpha Perceive and Understand Emotion .87 .88 Express and Label Emotion .79 .79 Manage and Regulate Emotion .74 .71 Global Emotional Competence Scale .89 .88 ^Representative sample of secondary school students, from 15 to 19 years of age. bSample of university students. Validity Principal components factor analysis The exploratory factor analysis for each subsample - secondary and university - (Tables 4 and 5) extracted three factors by Varimax rotation, which explain almost 30% of the total variance of the results (29.9% for the total sample; 30.7% for the secondary school sample; and 29.9% for the university one). The factorial structure found for the secondary sample is more similar to that of the total sample than to the one obtained for the university one. Therefore, we'll present only the factorial structures for the two subsamples. In the factorial structure obtained for the secondary sample (Table 4), Factor 1 gathers 24 items: 13 of the dimension of Ability to Perceive and Understand Emotion, 9 of the dimension of Ability to Manage and Regulate Emotion, and 2 of the dimension of Ability to Express and Label Emotion; Factor 2 presents 11 items of the dimension of Ability to Express and Label Emotion; Factor 3 mixes seven items of the dimension of Ability to Manage and Regulate Emotion, two items of the dimension of Ability to Perceive and Understand Emotion, and one item of the dimension of Ability to Express and Label Emotion. All these factors have alpha values higher than .96. The factorial structure found for the university sample (Table 5) extracts factors with fewer mixtures, although none of these factors is loaded by items belonging to just one dimension, as it is the case for Factor 2 in the secondary sample. Thus, for Factor 1 there are 12 items of the dimension of Ability to Express and Label Emotion and 5 items of the dimension of Ability to Manage and Regulate Emotion; for Factor 2 we can observe 14 items of the dimension of Ability to Perceive and Understand Emotion, 2 items of the dimension of Ability to Manage and Regulate Emotion, and 1 item of the dimension of Ability to Express and Label Emotion; and for Factor 3 we can see nine items of the dimension of Ability to Manage and Regulate Emotion Validation of the ESCQ in Portuguese academic context 61 and 1 item of each of the dimensions of Ability to Express and Label and of Ability to Perceive and Understand Emotion. All these factors have alpha values higher than .97. As we can see, in both factorial structures we find mixtures of the three dimensions. However, the secondary sample seems to mix, on one hand, more aspects related with the perception and understanding of others' emotions, attributing more importance to these aspects which compose the first factor, and, on the other hand, seems to differentiate better the aspects related to emotional expression, isolating them in the second factor. In its turn, the university sample appears to associate more aspects related to expressing one's own emotions, reuniting them in the first factor, and to differentiate more aspects related with emotional perception and understanding, 14 of the 15 items of this dimension being mixed in the second factor. It is also to be noticed that Factor 3 is very similar in both samples, presenting 8 common items, which in their majority belong to the dimension of Ability to Manage and Regulate Emotion, especially in the sense of maintaining a state of optimistic spirit and of "good humor". To sum up, we can organize the observations in the following way: (i) the secondary students distinguish more the aspects related to emotional expression and the university students distinguish more the aspects related to emotional perception and understanding; (ii) the various dimensions of emotional competence seem to assume different levels of importance as school grade increases, although the aspects related to "maintaining good humor" (included in the dimension of Ability to Manage and Regulate Emotion) are considered to be the less important for both samples; and (iii) the instrument appears to be sensible to differentiating various dimensions of emotional competence, succeeding in identifying the more and the less important dimensions for students, as a function of the school context they attend (secondary vs. university), as well as the associations they make from various aspects related to emotional competence. Anyhow, it is to be noticed the reduced percentage of the total variance of the results for which the instrument is responsible in both samples (almost 30%). 62 L. Faria and N. Lima Santos Table 4. Factor analysis in principal components after Varimax rotation and index of item internal validity (secondary sample, N = 381) Factors Items/Subscales 1 3 h2 PU PU PU PU PU 30. I notice when somebody tries to hide his bad mood. 42. I notice when somebody's behaviour varies considerably from his mood. 39. I notice when somebody feels down. 21. I can notice when somebody feels helpless. 18. If I observe a person in the presence of others, I can determine precisely her or his emotions. 24. I can tell somebody's feelings by the expression on his PU face. 3. When I meet an acquaintance, I immediately notice his PU mood. 33. I notice when somebody feels guilty. 36. I notice when somebody tries to hide his real feelings. 6. When I see how someone feels, I usually know what has PU happened to him. 27. I can detect my friends' concealed jealousy. 31. I can easily persuade a friend that there is no reason to worry. 28. If I really want to, I will solve a problem that may seem insoluble. 9. I can tell the difference if my friend is sad or disappointed. 12. I can easily detect my friends' mood changes. 13. When I don't like a person, I find ways to let him know. 26. My behaviour is a reflection of my inner feelings. 10. When somebody praises me, I work with more enthusiasm. 19. When I am in a good mood, every problem seems soluble. 25. I study and learn best, when I am in a good mood and happy. 7. Unpleasant experiences teach me how not to act in the future. 40. I fulfil my duties and assignments as soon as possible, rather than think about them. 22. When I am with a person who thinks highly of me, I am careful about how I behave. 5. When something doesn't suit me, I show this immedi- PU PU PU MR MR PU PU MR EL MR MR MR MR MR MR EL .583 .555 .548 .546 .544 .518 .504 .499 .497 .483 .464 .463 .452 .442 .439 .394 .368 .356 .330 .323 .246 .227 .197 .185 .360 .489 .350 .498 .385 .321 .557 .474 .363 .507 .315 .474 .287 .435 .299 .467 .312 .479 .246 .404 .234 .396 .289 .369 .291 .388 .288 .433 .280 .464 .161 .112* .189 .325 .141 .216 .220 .341 .122 .250 .070 .154 .112 .321 .041 .107* .078 .244 11. I can easily list the emotions that I am currently experi- EL .757 .606 .620 encing. 17. I can express how I feel. EL .745 .597 .631 38. I can easily name most of my feelings. EL .732 .583 .637 14. I can express my emotions well. EL .723 .570 .631 41. I can recognize most of my feelings. EL .695 .537 .637 2. I can nearly always put my feelings and emotions into words. EL .673 .473 .523 20. I can describe my present emotional state. EL .520 .333 .478 23. I can say that I know a lot about my emotional state. EL .514 .323 .462 32. I usually understand why I feel bad. EL .425 .240 .356 8. I can easily think of a way to approach a person I like. EL .336 .276 .432 29. People can always tell what mood I am in. EL .317 .146 .324 Table 4 continues on the next page. # Validation of the ESCQ in Portuguese academic context 63 43. I try to keep up a good mood. MR .751 .567 .422 1. I can maintain a good mood even if something bad hap- MR .675 .456 .347 pens. 34. I try to contain unpleasant emotions, and reinforce posi- MR .587 .366 .353 tive ones. 44. I know how to pleasantly surprise each of my friends. PU .491 .375 .450 16. When I am in a good mood, it is difficult to bring my mood down. MR .480 .251 .342 4. I can maintain a good mood, even when the people around MR .471 .222 .274 me are in a bad mood. 15. I can easily think of a way to make my friend happy on his birthday. PU .442 .400 .466 37. There is nothing wrong with how I usually feel. MR .425 .249 .351 45. As far as I am concerned, it is normal to feel the way I MR .381 .200 .281 am feeling now. 35. I have found it easy to display fondness for a person of EL .358 .274 .416 the opposite sex. Eigen Values 5.30 4.95 3.55 % Total Variance 11.8 11.0 7.9 X = 30.66 # All the correlation coefficients present ap < .01, except those marked with asterisk, whosep <.05. Table 5. Factor analysis in principal components after Varimax rotation and index of item internal validity (university sample, N = 349) Factors Items/Subscales 12 3 h2 r # 11. I can easily list the emotions that I am currently experi- EL .760 .590 .646 encing. 17. I can express how I feel. EL .744 .577 .643 14. I can express my emotions well. EL .728 .571 .659 38. I can easily name most of my feelings. EL .685 .509 .624 2. I can nearly always put my feelings and emotions into EL .667 .461 .557 words. 20. I can describe my present emotional state. EL .645 .462 .567 41. I can recognize most of my feelings. EL .584 .456 .588 23. I can say that I know a lot about my emotional state. EL .485 .351 .476 40. I fulfil my duties and assignments as soon as possible, MR .410 .220 .233 rather than think about them. 32. I usually understand why I feel bad. EL .410 .270 .380 8. I can easily think of a way to approach a person I like. EL .369 .246 .410 5. When something doesn't suit me, I show this immedi- EL .323 .105 .220 ately. 10. When somebody praises me, I work with more enthusi- MR .316 .137 .135* asm. 26. My behaviour is a reflection of my inner feelings. EL .275 .092 .247 25. I study and learn best, when I am in a good mood and MR .264 .098 .207 happy. 13. When I don't like a person, I find ways to let him know. MR .243 .067 .136* 7. Unpleasant experiences teach me how not to act in the MR .240 .090 .210 future. Table 5 continues on the next page. 64 L. Faria and N. Lima Santos 39. I notice when somebody feels down. PU .684 .478 .526 21. I can notice when somebody feels helpless. PU .661 .459 .556 12. I can easily detect my friend's mood changes. PU .622 .438 .558 9. I can tell the difference if my friend is sad or disap- PU .580 .375 .482 pointed. 42. I notice when somebody's behaviour varies considerably PU .577 .367 .497 from his mood. 3. When I meet an acquaintance, I immediately notice his PU .570 .352 .511 mood. 24. I can tell somebody's feelings by the expression on his PU .566 .348 .508 face. 6. When I see how someone feels, I usually know what has PU .555 .328 .465 happened to him. 36. I notice when somebody tries to hide his real feelings. PU .544 .334 .494 33. I notice when somebody feels guilty. PU .542 .352 .511 30. I notice when somebody tries to hide his bad mood. PU .529 .343 .454 18. If I observe a person in the presence of others, I can PU .512 .311 .467 determine precisely her or his emotions. 31. I can easily persuade a friend that there is no reason to MR .409 .240 .222 worry. 44. I know how to pleasantly surprise each of my friends. PU .326 .263 .378 15. I can easily think of a way to make my friend happy on his birthday. PU .233 .131 .259 29. People can always tell what mood I am in. EL .175 .077 .236 22. When I am with a person who thinks highly of me, I am MR .118 .018 .098 careful about how I behave. 1. I can maintain a good mood even if something bad hap- MR .660 .452 .268 pens. 43. I try to keep up a good mood. MR .645 .434 .439 34. I try to contain unpleasant emotions, and reinforce posi- MR .518 .297 .350 tive ones. 4. I can maintain a good mood, even when the people MR .506 .278 .267 around me are in a bad mood. 37. There is nothing wrong with how I usually feel. MR .472 .258 .305 16. When I am in a good mood, it is difficult to bring my MR .441 .221 .279 mood down. 35. I have found it easy to display fondness for a person of EL .376 .263 .364 the opposite sex. 28. If I really want to, I will solve a problem that may seem MR .358 .236 .354 insoluble. 45. As far as I am concerned, it is normal to feel the way I MR .326 .164 .318 am feeling now. 27. I can detect my friends' concealed jealousy. PU .325 .205 .295 19. When I am in a good mood, every problem seems MR .293 .141 .346 soluble. Eigen Values 5.19 4.96 3.32 % Total Variance 11.5 11.0 7.4 X = 29.92 Note. PU - Perceive and Understand; MR - Manage and Regulate; EL - Express and Label. "All the correlation coefficients present ap < .01, except those marked with asterisk, whosep < .05. Validation of the ESCQ in Portuguese academic context 65 Confirmatory Factor Analysis Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) using EQS 6.1 was undertaken for the total sample, because of the more representative nature of it and considering also the need for a higher contingent of subjects to perform CFA (N = 730), to verify the factor structure of the ESCQ, complementing and clarifying the factorial structure obtained with the exploratory factor analysis. The best fitted model for the total sample has two correlated factors (.55) and integrates only 11 items from the original scale (Table 6, Figures 1 and 2), leaving out the Manage and Regulate Emotion scale and several items originally belonging to the other two dimensions, that evidenced high error variances and low loadings in the expected factors. These 11 items represent only two of the three original dimensions: "Ability to Express and Label Emotion" (F2 with seven items), and "Ability to Perceive and Understand Emotion" (F3 with four items). The 7 items of F2 are related with the expression and the description of emotions (e. g., express emotions with words, express well emotions, express the way I feel, describe my emotional state). The four items of F3 are related with the perception of emotions (e. g., to perceive humor changes in my friends, to perceive when someone feels upset). The original factor of "Ability to Manage and Regulate Emotion" evidenced items with low loadings (< .30) and high error variances, confirming previous results in the domain, and showing that is more difficult to represent this dimensions using self-report items. The alpha values for F2 (.86) and F3 (.72) are acceptable. The reconfigured model obtained in this study should be tested in further studies with new samples (Figure 2). The evaluation of the dimension of "Ability to Manage and Regulate Emotion" should be reconsidered in the future, probably using other techniques, rather than self-report items. Table 6. Adjusted fit indexes for the theoretical and the reconfigured models of the ESCQ Models X2 gl X2/gl CFI RMR. st RMSEA Theoretical 2869.8* 940 3 .74 .06 .05 Reconfigured 266.8* 42 6 .92 .05 .09 Note. CFI - Comparative Fit Index; RMRst - Root Mean-Squared Residuals (standardized); RMSEA - Root Mean-Squared Error of Approximation. *p < .001. 66 L. Faria and N. Lima Santos I Item 1 i I Item 4 I I Item 7 I I Item 10 I I Item 131 I Item 16 I I Item 19 I .»I Item 22~| -*■ I Item 25~| I Item 28~1 I Item 31 I I Item 341 I Item 37 I I Item 40 I I Item 43 I I Item 45 I I Item 2 I I Item 5 I I Item 8 I I Item 11 1 I Item 14 I I Item 171 I Item 20 I I Item 23~| I Item 26~1 I Item 29~| I Item 321 I Item 35 I I Item 38 I I Item 41 I I Item 3 I I Item 6 I I Item 9 I I Item 12 I I Item 151 I Item 18 I I Item 21 I > I Item 24~| *■ I Item 27~1 I Item 30~1 I Item 33~| I Item 361 I Item 39 I I Item 42 I I Item 44 I Figure 1. Theoretical model of the ESCQ and correlations among factors. Internal validity of the items The indicators of item internal validity (Tables 4 and 5) are, in their majority, superior to .40 in the studied samples, indicating a string correlation between the items and the three dimensions of Emotional Competence. Items 7 ("'Unpleasant experiences teach me what I mustn't do."), 10 ("When somebody praises me I work with more enthusiasm."), 13 ("When I do not like a person I try to show this to him/her."), and 22 ("When I stay with someone who admires me I am careful about Validation of the ESCQ in Portuguese academic context 67 Figure 2. Reconfigured model of the ESCQ and correlation between the two factors. the way I behave."), all of them belonging to the dimension of Ability to Manage and Regulate Emotion, present the worst indicators of internal validity, suggesting that they worse represent this dimension. As we can see, they are items that refer to aspects related to ways of behaviour, especially in situations that involve either an evaluation of the "other" or being evaluated by the "other". The items of the other two dimensions, Ability to Perceive and Understand and Ability to Express and Label Emotion, present satisfactory or good internal validity indicators, reinforcing the good internal consistency already presented by these two dimensions. Sensibility: Descriptive statistics for the dimensions and discriminative power of the items If we observe Tables 7 and 8, we can verify that for the two samples: (i) the values of the mean and of the median are close to each other for all the dimensions of emotional competence; (ii) the minimum and the maximum values are at great distance one from another; and (iii) the coefficients of asymmetry and kurtosis are mostly inferior to the unity. It is also to be noticed that in the university sample the minimum values are always higher in comparison with those of the secondary sample. As for the discriminative power of the items we can conclude that: (i) the most chosen answer alternatives are "Frequently" and "Always", showing that, in general, subjects perceive themselves as competent with regard to perceiving and 68 L. Faria and N. Lima Santos Table 7. Measures of central tendency, dispersion and distribution (secondary sample - N = 381) Subscales M Me SD Min Max Asymmetry Kurtosis Manage and Regulate 75.1 75.0 7.45 46.0 93.0 -0.349 0.486 Express and Label 63.4 64.0 9.13 28.0 83.0 -0.606 0.802 Perceive and Understand 67.2 68.0 8.00 37.0 86.0 -0.446 0.406 Global Emot. Compet. 205.6 207.0 20.85 121.0 261.0 -0.548 1.079 Table 8. Measures of central tendency, dispersion and distribution (university sample - N = 349) Subscales M Me SD Min Max Asymmetry Kurtosis Manage and Regulate 72.9 73.0 6.48 56.0 96.0 0.153 0.312 Express and Label 63.0 64.0 7.85 36.0 84.0 -0.263 0.218 Perceive and Understand 65.4 66.0 7.40 39.0 90.0 0.024 0.728 Global Emot. Compet. 201.4 201.0 17.60 148.0 270.0 0.215 0.903 understanding others' emotions and expressing and managing their own emotions; (ii) the items 1, 13 and 40 (belonging to the dimension of Ability to Manage and Regulate Emotion), 6, 18, 24, 30, 33 and 36 (belonging to Ability to Perceive and Understand Emotion), and 11 and 29 (belonging to Ability to Express and Label Emotion) concentrate greater percentage of responses in central alternatives ("Occasionally" and "Usually"), in all samples; (iii) the university sample, when compared to the secondary one, reveals low percentages of higher response alternatives ("Frequently" and "Always",) and greater percentages of central response alternatives ("Occasionally" and "Usually"). Correlations among the dimensions of the instrument Analyzing Table 9, we can observe that the dimensions of Emotional Competence are all significantly and positively correlated in the two samples. In the secondary sample, the highest correlations appear between the dimension of Ability to Manage and Regulate Emotion and Ability to Perceive and Understand Emotion, whereas, in the university sample they appear between Ability to Manage and Regulate Emotion and Ability to Express and Label Emotion. These results support the evidence already observed in the exploratory factor analysis for the secondary and university samples, indicating that students with a higher level of instruction associate more the capacity of managing and regulating their emotions with the capacity of expressing these emotions, while the other students associate Validation of the ESCQ in Portuguese academic context 69 more the managing and regulation of their emotions with the perception and understanding of them. The correlations observed by Taksic (2001), among the various dimensions of emotional competence are, in general, lower than those observed in our study (Table 10) and are similar to one another for the various samples studied by the author. It is also to be noticed that, in general, the university sample presents lower correlation coefficients. This fact may be related to university students differentiating more the various dimensions of their competence in the emotional domain. Table 9. Correlations among the subscales - secondary and university (in brackets) Express and Perceive and Global Emotional Label Understand Competence Manage and Regulate .52* (.55*) .63* (.47*) .83* (.81*) Express and Label .59* (.44*) .85* (.83*) Perceive and Understand .87* (.79*) *p < .01. Table 10. Correlations among the subscales for different samples studied by Taksic (2001) N = 834a N= 193b Express and Perceive and Express and Perceive and Label Understand Label Understand Manage and Regulate Emotion .42 .47 .43 .43 Express and Label .49 .37 a Representative sample of secondary school students from 15 to 19 years of age. b Sample of university students. Conclusions Overall, the results of the Portuguese validation studies regarding ESCQ point to good alpha values, similar to those of the original version (>.80), except for the Ability to Manage and Regulate Emotion that proved to be less satisfactory (.67). As already stated, this fact is probably due to the diversity and interpersonal complexity of the items' contents. We face a dilemma already asserted by Cronbach, either reducing the evaluation of the dimensions to homogeneous situations, guaranteeing the internal consistency and homogeneity of the scales, or opening the spectrum of situations evaluated by the items and facing the reduction of internal consistency. The future use of other complementary techniques to evaluate the Ability to Manage and Regulate Emotion scale is an important aspect to consider. 70 L. Faria and N. Lima Santos The exploratory factorial structures evidenced three factors, explaining together about 30% of the total variance. Due to the unsatisfactory results of these analyses (lower explained variance and factors with mix dimensions), we undertake CFA whose results, also unsatisfactory (low loadings and high error variances of the items), need further replication in the future, especially to explore the dimension of Ability to Manage and Regulate Emotion. The internal validity and the discriminative power of the items proved to be satisfactory. The positive correlations among the three dimensions evidenced higher values than those of the original version. Overall, the ESCQ evidenced satisfactory results in the Portuguese academic context, but the Ability to Manage and Regulate Emotion subscale needs further improvement in the future. It would be interesting to pursue the validation studies of the ESCQ via confirmatory factor analysis, as well as the analysis of structure invariance according to academic grade, because some differences were observed in the factorial structures of secondary and university subsamples. Finally, we can conclude that ESCQ is a multidimensional instrument capable of measuring emotional competence in the Portuguese cultural context, and allowing the pursuing of cross-cultural studies in the near future. References Faria, L. (2002). Teorias implícitas da inteligencia [Implicit theories of intelligence]. Paid-éia, 12, 93-103. Faria, L., & Lima Santos, N. (2006). Competencia emocional: Adaptagao e validagao intercultural do Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire (ESCQ). [Emotional competence: Adaptation and validation of the Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire (ESCQ)]. In C. Machado, L. Almeida, M. A. Guisande, M. Gon-galves, & V. Ramalho (Eds.), Actas da XI Conferencia Internacional de Avaliagao Psicológica: Formas e Contextos (pp. 349-356). Braga: Psiquilíbrios Edigoes. Faria, L., Lima Santos, N., Taksic, V., Raty, H., Molander, B., Holmstrom, S., Jansson, J., Avsec, A., Extremera, N., Fernández-Barrocal, P., & Toyota, H. (2006). Cross-cultural validation of the Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire (ESCQ). Psicologia, 20(2), 95-127. Lima Santos, N., & Faria, L. (2005). Inteligencia emocional: Adaptagao do "Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire" (ESCQ) ao contexto portugués. [Emotional intelligence: Adaptation of the "Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire" (ESCQ) to the Portuguese context]. Revista da Faculdade de Ciencias Humanas e Sociais da UFP, 2, 275-289. Mayer, J. D., & Salovey, P. (1997). What is emotional intelligence? In P. Salovey & D. J. Sluyter (Eds.), Emotional development and emotional intelligence: Educational implications. New York, NY: BasicBooks. Salili, F. (1994). Age, sex, and cultural differences in the meaning and dimensions of achievement. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 20, 635-648. Validation of the ESCQ in Portuguese academic context 71 Takšic, V. (2000, May). Convergent and divergent validity of the Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire. Paper presented at the 12th Days of Psychology, Za-dar, Croatia. Takšic, V. (2001, July). Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire. Poster presented at the 7th European Congress of Psychology, London, United Kingdom. Takšic, V., Jurin, Z., & Cvenic, S. (2001). Opercionalizacija i faktorsko-analiticka studija konstrukta emocionalne inteligencije [Operationalization and factor-analytic study of the emotional intelligence construct]. Psihologijske Teme, 8-9, 95-109. Van de Vjever, F., & Hambleton, R. K. (1996) Translating tests: Some practical guidelines. European Psychologist, 1, 89-99. Prispelo/Received: 20.5.2009 Sprejeto/Accepted: 24.7.2009 72 Filozofska fakulteta Univerze v Ljubljani Oddelek za psihologijo Gregor SOCAN POSTOPKI KLASIČNE TESTNE TEORIJE Psihološka obzorja /Horizons of Psychology, 18, 3, 73-110 (2009) © Društvo psihologov Slovenije 2009, ISSN 1318-187 Znanstveni empiričnoraziskovalni prispevek Personality traits and emotional intelligence as predictors of teachers' psychological well-being Andreja Avsec1, Polona Masnec2 and Luka Komidar1 1University of Ljubljana, Department of Psychology, Ljubljana, Slovenia 2 Gimnazija Brežice, Slovenia Abstract: We examined predictive validity of the Big Five personality traits and three dimensions of emotional intelligence (EI) regarding psychological well-being on the sample of primary and high-school teachers. Notwithstanding relatively high correlations between personality and EI scales, reported by other studies, we predicted that EI still accounts for a significant amount of variability in psychological well-being. This prediction originates in idea that different abilities concerning emotions should help individuals to be more effective in various aspects of positive functioning. One hundred fifty two teachers filled out the Big Five Inventory (BFI), Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire (ESCQ), and the short version of Riff's Psychological Well-Being Scales (RPWB). Results showed good predictive validity of personality traits, for they accounted for 22 to 43% of variability in different psychological well-being scales. Predictive validity of EI is also excellent, but when controlling for personality traits is far worse, since it accounts for only 1 to 3% of variance in well-being scales. Discriminant validity of EI scales measured by ESCQ is therefore unsatisfactory. Key words: emotional intelligence, personality traits, psychological well-being, predictive validity, teachers, Big Five Inventory BFI, Scales of Psychological Well-Being PWB, Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire ESCQ-45 Osebnostne lastnosti in emocionalna inteligentnost kot prediktorji psihološkega blagostanja učiteljev Andreja Avsec1*, Polona Masnec2 in Luka Komidar1 Univerza v Ljubljani, Oddelek za psihologijo, Ljubljana 2Gimnazija Brežice Povzetek: V raziskavi smo preverjali napovedno veljavnost petih velikih faktorjev osebnosti in treh dimenzij emocionalne inteligentnosti za psihološko blagostanje učiteljev osnovnih in srednjih šol. Kljub temu, da več raziskav poroča o precejšnjem prekrivanju samoocenjevalne emocionalne inteligentnosti z osebnostnimi lastnostmi, smo predvidevali, da emocionalna inteligentnost vseeno pojasnjuje pomemben delež variance blagostanja, saj konstrukt emocionalne inteligentnosti vključuje različne sposobnosti ravnanja z emocijami, pomembne za posameznikovo uspešno funkcioniranje v življenju. Skupaj 152 učiteljev in učiteljic je izpolnilo vprašalnik osebnostnih lastnosti BFI, vprašalnik emocionalne inteligentnosti ESCQ in skrajšano obliko vprašalnika psihološkega blagostanja RPWB. * Naslov / Address: doc. dr. Andreja Avsec, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts, Department of Psychology, p. p. 580, SI-1001 Ljubljana, Slovenia, e-mail: andreja.avsec@psiha.net 74 A. Avsec, P. Masnec and L. Komidar Rezultati so potrdili napovedno veljavnost osebnostnih lastnosti, saj napovedujejo 22 do 43 % variance različnih področij blagostanja. Napovedna veljavnost emocionalne inteligentnosti pa ob kontroliranju vpiva osebnostnih lastnosti sicer doseže nivo 1-odstotnega tveganja, vendar je praktična vrednost tega doprinosa zanemarljiva, saj pojasnjuje le 1-3 % variance. Lahko zaključimo, da naši rezultati kažejo na preveliko prekrivanje med osebnostnimi lastnostmi in emocionalno inteligentnostjo, če jo merimo z vprašalnikom ESCQ. Ključne besede: čustvena inteligentnost, osebnostne lastnosti, psihološko blagostanje, učitelji, Vprašalnik petih velikih faktorjev osebnosti BFI, Vprašalnik psihološkega blagostanja RPWB, Vprašalnik emocionalne kompetentnosti ESCQ-45 CC = 3120, 2220 When compared with the "classical" construct of intelligence, the main advantage of EI is its supposedly better predictive validity regarding real-life prosperity (Mayer, 1999). One of the aspects of a prosperous, successful life is the subjective satisfaction with life, and also positive functioning on specific areas of one's life. The classical intelligence construct is not the most appropriate predictor of such aspects of one's performance in life. On the other hand, there are several studies that show significant correlation between EI and satisfaction with life (e. g., Gallagher & Vella-Broderick, 2008; Gannon & Ranzijn, 2005; Palmer, Donaldson, & Stough, 2002). One of the goals of our study was to explore the aforementioned relationships on the sample of teachers, since their constant interaction with students demands high level of interpersonal intelligence. Past studies on teachers demonstrated the importance of EI for teaching activities (e. g., Chan, 2008; Di Fabio & Palazzeschi, 2008; Landa, Lopez-Zafra, de Antonana, & Pulido, 2006; Perry & Ball, 2007). On the basis of a theoretical framework proposed by Salovey and Mayer (1990) we can assume that higher levels of EI can improve psychological well-being. Individuals who have EI above the average are more aware of their emotions and emotions of others, and are able to effectively control their emotions. Such behavior raises the probability that a person will put more effort in self-realization and personal growth and not in seeking short-term enjoyment which often leads to undesired states when emotions control a person and not the other way around. Above average emotionally intelligent individuals are also supposed to experience higher levels of subjective and psychological well-being (especially in the areas of personal growth, positive interpersonal relationships, and self-acceptance). Because they are able to understand and control their emotions, they tend to behave more rationally when confronted by problems, have internal locus of control, perceive everyday troubles as less stressful, perceive themselves as more efficient, experience more positive than negative emotions, and receive more social support from closer as well as more distant members of their social network (Bar-On, 2000). There are several studies that dealt with the relationship between EI and Personality, EI and teachers 'psychological well-being 75 subjective well-being. Bar-On (2006) reported high correlations (r = .76) between self-reported EI and subjective well-being, and concluded that the abilities of understanding and accepting one's own emotions, setting goals in order to develop one's own potentials, and seeing events in the right perspective are the most important factors of subjective well-being. Other similar studies report lower but still significant correlations (Bastian, Burns, & Nettlebeck, 2005; Day, Therrien, & Carroll, 2005; Extremera & Fernandez-Berrocal, 2005; Gallagher and Vella-Broderick, 2008; Gannon & Ranzijn, 2005; Palmer et al., 2002). While the hedonistic view of well-being focuses on outcomes of happiness or enjoyment, eudaimonic view emphasizes the process of "living well" and the contents of one's life (Ryan, Huta, & Deci, 2008). Ryff (1989) defined psychological well-being as "striving toward perfection that represents realization of one's potentials". Shulman and Hemenover (2006) conducted an extensive study in which they also explored the relationship between EI and psychological well-being. They discovered low to moderate correlations between EI and different dimensions of psychological well-being. Psychological well-being was most highly correlated with the forth level of EI (i. e., "control of emotions"), the second highest correlation was obtained with "understanding of emotions", and the third highest correlation was discovered with "perception of emotions". One of the most substantial critiques of the construct of EI refers to its discriminant validity with regard to personality traits (Mayer, 1999), for there is a lot of evidence of high association between EI and various personality constructs. Dawda and Hart (2000) reported significant correlations between total score on EI questionnaire EQ-I (Bar-On, 1997) and all Big Five personality factors. Day et al. (2005) have also shown that there is high correlation between the score on EQ-I, extraversion, and conscientiousness. By using different questionnaires for measuring EI, namely EIS (Shutte et al., 1998) and TMMS (Salovey, Mayer, Goldman, Turvey, & Palfai, 1995), some studies found evidence of better discriminant validity. Shutte et al. discovered significant correlation between the score on EIS and openness, whereas the correlations with other Big Five factors proved insignificant. Similarly, studies that used TMMS (e. g., Extremera & Fernandez-Berrocal, 2005; Gannon & Ranzijn, 2005) showed satisfactory discriminant validity regarding neuroticism, the Big Five factor that is usually most highly correlated with EI (e. g., Shulman & Hemenover, 2006). Shulman and Hemenover reported the highest negative correlation between neuroticism and self-acceptance (i. e., a dimension of psychological well-being). Lower correlations were found with extraversion, conscientiousness, and agreeable-ness, and the lowest correlation was obtained with openness. Avsec and Socan (in press) discovered the highest correlations between dimensions of psychological well-being, openness, and agreeableness, somewhat lower with conscientiousness, and the lowest with extraversion and neuroticism. It is worth noting that these findings contradict those of Shulman and Hemenover, for they found the highest correlations between EI, extraversion, and neuroticism. In both mentioned studies, openness 76 A. Avsec, P. Masnec and L. Komidar was most highly correlated with personal growth scale of psychological well-being. Schmutte and Ryff (1997) reported that self-acceptance, environmental mastery, and purpose in life are significantly correlated with extraversion, conscientiousness, and neuroticism, personal growth with openness, positive relations with agreeableness and extraversion, autonomy with neuroticism. Predictive validity of EI for subjective well-being is somewhat lessened if we control the effect of personality traits, but even in this case EI can still account for a significant amount of variability in subjective well-being (Gannon & Ranzijn, 2005; Saklofske, Austin, & Minski, 2003). Regarding prediction of psychological well-being, Shulman and Hemenover (2006) discovered that after controlling the variance in well-being that is accounted for by personality traits, EI explained a negligible amount of variance (1 to 6%). The authors used the TMMS questionnaire, which was originally not designed to measure EI, and this fact of course renders their findings questionable. The main goal of the present study was to examine the predictive validity of ESCQ questionnaire (Taksic, 1998, 2001) for measuring EI. We assumed that EI is an important predictor of well-being, for it is necessary to understand one's emotions and emotion of others for successful personal growth and achieving autonomy. In order to successfully control one's environment and to maintain positive interpersonal relationships one must possess an ability to control emotions. Also, to perceive life as meaningful and to accept oneself, one must accept her/his emotions. Due to justified critique regarding overlapping of EI and personality we controlled the effect of personality traits when investigating the predictive validity of EI for well-being. Method Subjects One hundred fifty two teachers (29 male, 115 female; 8 participants did not report their gender) from two elementary and three high schools participated in the study. The subjects' age ranged from 23 to 60 years (M = 39 years). Most of the participants (n = 109) finished university education (7th level of education). Instruments Emotion Skills and Competence Questionnaire ESCQ-45 (Taksic, 1998, 2001) is based on the model of EI developed by Mayer and Salovey (1997). ESCQ-45 is a shortened version of the ESCQ-136 questionnaire, which was adapted for the Slovenian environment (Avsec & Taksic, 2007). It consists of 45 items, out of which 16 Personality, EI and teachers 'psychological well-being 77 comprise the Ability to perceive and understand emotions scale, 13 items comprise the Ability to express and label emotions scale, and the remaining 16 items form the Ability to manage and regulate emotions scale. The participant's task is to specify to what degree each of the items is relevant to her/him on a 5-level scale (1 - Never, 2 - Seldom, 3 - Occasionally, 4 - Usually, 5 - Always). Information regarding metric characteristics of the original Slovenian version can be found in a publication by Avsec in Taksic. Coefficients of internal consistency obtained in the present study were as follows: the Ability to perceive and understand emotions scale (a = .90), the Ability to express and label emotions scale (a = .88), the Ability to manage and regulate emotions scale (a = .76), the overall scale (a = .93). The short version of the Ruff's Psychological Well-Being Scales RPWB (Ryff, 1989) consists of 27 items. Environmental Mastery, Self-Acceptance, Positive Relations, and Purpose in Life scales are composed of 4 items, 5 items refer to the Personal Growth scale, and 6 items measure the Autonomy scale. The participants' task is to specify their level of agreement to each item on a 6-level scale (1 - Strongly disagree, 2 - Mostly disagree, 3 - Partly disagree, 4 - Partly agree, 5 - Mostly agree, 6 - Strongly agree). 10 items are keyed in the opposite direction than others. Coefficients of internal consistency obtained in the present study were as follows: Self-Acceptance scale (a = .75), Positive Relations scale (a = .60), Autonomy scale (a = .69), Environmental Mastery scale (a = .71), Purpose in Life scale (a = .69), Personal Growth scale (a = .80). The Big Five personality questionnaire (BFI; John, Donahue, and Kentle, 1991) consists of 44 items. It measures five Big Five personality scales, namely Extraversion (8 items), Agreeableness (9 items), Conscientiousness (9 items), Neuroticism (8 items), and Openness (10 items). The participants' task is to specify their level of agreement to each item on a 5-level scale (1 - Strongly disagree, 2 - Disagree, 3 - Neither agree nor disagree, 4 - Agree, 5 - Strongly disagree). 16 items are keyed inversely. Coefficients of internal consistency obtained in the present study were as follows: Extraversion (a = .79), Agreeableness (a = .71), Conscientiousness (a = .72), Neuroticism (a = .80), and Openness (a = .77). In our research we included also a test for measuring EI - TOESUS (Taksic, Arar in Molander, 2004) - but it did not relate to any other variable and did not predict any scale of well-being so we omitted it from analyses. Procedure The participants received the set of questionnaires in their own schools. The instructions were written on the first page of every questionnaire. The time allotted to each questionnaire was not limited. The majority of participants required around 30 minutes to fill out all questionnaires. 78 A. Avsec, P. Masnec and L. Komidar Results Table 1. Descriptive statistics for scales of all used questionnaires M SD BFI Extraversion 28.34 5.19 Agreeableness 36.05 4.44 Conscientiousness 34.81 4.50 Neuroticism 21.34 4.98 Openness 36.25 5.17 PWB Environmental Mastery 18.80 3.06 Self-Acceptance 19.51 3.11 Positive Relations with Others 19.74 2.95 Autonomy 24.44 4.42 Personal Growth 26.07 3.35 Purpose in Life 19.80 3.59 ESCQ Perceive & Understand Emotions 57.77 8.24 Express & Label Emotions 47.91 7.35 Manage & Regulate Emotions 58.46 6.29 In Table 1 we present descriptive statistics for the used questionnaires. We calculated correlations between personality traits, psychological well-being scales and EI scales (Table 2). Personality traits are moderately correlated to almost all psychological well-being dimensions, except for the correlation between autonomy, agreeableness and conscientiousness. Extraversion was most highly correlated to self-acceptance scale, openness to personal growth, conscientiousness to environmental mastery and purpose in life, neuroticism to self-acceptance and environmental mastery, and agreeableness to positive relations and personal growth. We obtained similar results when calculating correlations between personality traits and EI measured by ESCQ, i. e., we also found low to moderate correlations personality traits with almost all EI scales. The only exceptions were conscientiousness and neuroticism that did not correlate significantly with the ability to express and label emotions. Correlations between dimensions of EI and psychological well-being were found to be mostly low to moderate and always had a positive sign. The highest correlations were obtained between all three EI scales and positive relations dimension of well-being. Personality, EI and teachers 'psychological well-being 79 Table 2. Correlations between the dimensions of psychological well-being, EI, andperson-ality traits Personality traits Emotional intelligence scales Psychological well- Perceive & Express & Manage & being scales E A C N O Understand Label Regulate Environmental Mastery .38** .28** .48** -.51** .28** .12 .19* .32** Self-Acceptance .49** .29** .39** -.51** .35** .24** .35** .43** Positive Relations 37** .41** .33** -.29** .38** .27** .40** .40** Autonomy .28** .09 .15 -.37** .32** .09 .18* .21* Personal Growth 27** .41** .17* -.20** .47** .25** .35** .38** Purpose In Life .41** .25** .46** -.47** .29** .15 .20* .36** Perceive & Under- stand .17* .30** .17* -.10 37 ** .74** .65** Express & Label .31** .33** .13 -.11 .43** .74** .66** Manage & Regulate .30** 39** .22** -.35** 37 ** .65** .66** Note. E - Extraversión, A - agreeableness, C - Conscientiousness, N - neuroticism, O - openness. *p < .05, **p < .01. Table 3 shows the results of a hierarchical regression analysis, with personality traits (step 1) and EI scales (step 2) as predictors of psychological well-being. Personality traits account for 22% to 43% of variability in various psychological well-being scales. Because these results are very similar to those obtained by simple correlation analyses, we will focus on the contribution of EI dimensions to explained variance in psychological well-being. In spite of moderately high correlations between EI dimensions and psychological well-being scales, the regression analysis revealed low, practically negligible relative importance of EI dimensions when controlling for personality traits. This was due an issue of multicollinearity, i. e., EI scales were highly correlated; therefore it was hard to reliably assess the relative importance of each of the EI scales. Discussion The present study discovered significant predictive validity of personality traits regarding psychological well-being of primary and high-school teachers, whereas EI proved to be less important when predicting psychological well-being. The construct of personality is one of the most relevant predictor of well-being (DeNeve & Cooper, 1998; Diener & Lucas, 2003; Steel, Schmidt, & Shultz, 2008). The present study also confirmed the important role of personality for psychological well-being. The relative importance of a particular personality trait depends on the 80 A. Avsec, P. Masnec and L. Komidar Table 3. Results of hierarchical regression analysis with personality traits and EI scales as predictors of six psychological well-being scales Step Predictor ß R R2 AR2 in % Dependent variable: Environmental mastery Step 1 Gender -0.05 Age -0.10 .11 .01 1% Step 2 Extraversion 0.16 Agreeableness 0.07 Conscientiousness 0.34** Neuroticism -0.28** Openness 0.08 .64 .40 39% Step 3 Perceive & Understand -0.17 Express & Label 0.07 Manage & Regulate 0.08 .64 .41 1% Dependent variable: Self-acceptance Step 1 Gender 0.01 Age -0.18* .81 .03 3% Step 2 Extraversion 0.26** Agreeableness 0.09 Conscientiousness 0.19** Neuroticism -0.30** Openness 0.13 .66 .44 41% Step 3 Perceive & Understand -0.08 Express & Label 0.14 Manage & Regulate 0.13 .68 .47 3% Dependent variable: Positive relations Step 1 Gender 0.11 .24 .06 6% Age -0.22** Step 2 Extraversion 0.24** Agreeableness 0.27** Conscientiousness 0.15 Neuroticism -0.04 Openness 0.14 .58 .33 27% Step 3 Perceive & Understand -0.10 Express & Label 0.21 Manage & Regulate 0.08 .60 .37 3% Dependent variable: Autonomy Step 1 Gender -0.17 Age 0.04 .17 .03 3% Step 2 Extraversion 0.00 Agreeableness -0.01 Conscientiousness 0.04 Neuroticism -0.32** Openness 0.30** .50 .25 22% Step 3 Perceive & Understand -0.21 Express & Label 0.15 Manage & Regulate 0.02 .52 .27 2% Personality, EI and teachers 'psychological well-being 81 Step Predictor ß R R2 AR2 in % Dependent variable: Personality growth Step 1 Gender 0.22** Age -0.13 .26 .06 6% Step 2 Extraversion Agreeableness Conscientiousness Neuroticism 0.12 0.22** -0.03 -0.03 Openness 0.34** .56 .32 26% Step 3 Perceive & Understand Express & Label -0.13 0.14 Manage & Regulate 0.14 .58 .34 2% Dependent variable: Purpose in life Step 1 Gender 0.00 Age -0.13 .13 .02 2% Step 2 Extraversion Agreeableness Conscientiousness Neuroticism 0.16 0.07 0.28** -0.28** Step 3 Openness Perceive & Understand Express & Label 0.10 -0.12 -0.02 .61 .37 35% Manage & Regulate 0.19 .63 .39 2% *p < .05, "p < .01 82 A. Avsec, P. Masnec and L. Komidar dimension of well-being. We identified neuroticism, conscientiousness, and extraversion as the most important predictors of psychological well-being, which is in accordance with previous studies (Schmutte & Ryff, 1997; Shulman & Hemenover, 2006). Therefore, individuals who experience higher well-being are more likely to be energetic, dynamic, meticulous, hard-working, reliable, and able to exhibit efficient self-control and control over their emotions, to influence others around them and rarely experience negative emotions and concerns. The ability to influence others and stimulate social attention as components of extraversion (Caspi, Roberts, & Shiner, 2005) are correlated to successful environmental mastery, whereas excitement, energy, dynamism, self-assertion, tendency to experience positive emotions, and enjoying social attention are associated with the development of positive attitudes towards oneself and one's own past life. Shulman and Hemenover (2006) derived similar conclusions from their data. Therefore, individuals who are often anxious, vulnerable, angry, in a bad mood, easily frustrated, and tend to feel guilt, also have more negative attitudes towards themselves and their past life, and have more trouble accepting different aspects of themselves. All correlations between EI and psychological well-being scales were significant, except for the correlation between autonomy and ability to perceive and understand emotions. These results indicate that self-reported EI is highly related to psychological well-being, which is in accordance with previous studies (Gallagher & Vella-Broderick, 2008; Gannon & Ranzijn, 2005; Palmer et al., 2002). Although we did not include measure of work satisfaction in our investigations, we can implicitly assume an indirect association of work satisfaction with general well-being since it is derived from satisfaction with specific aspects of one's life (Diener, Scollon, & Lucas, 2004). Regarding the assumption that EI is very important for occupations that require constant and direct contact with people, it seems that EI should be very important for well-being of teachers. This view is corroborated by the highest correlation obtained in our study, namely the positive correlation between well-being and ability to manage and regulate emotions. This association supports the idea that efficient control of our emotions and emotions of others helps us with achieving goals and thus makes us more satisfied with our lives. As we have already pointed out, the main problem of trait EI construct is its overlapping with personality traits. For example, the ability to manage and regulate emotions is moderately correlated with neuroticism (it affects one's ability to control emotions) and agreeableness (it affects one's ability to establish positive relations with others). The highest correlation was obtained between EI and openness, which seems reasonable, since openness is often named "intellect" (Goldberg, 1990) and is the trait which is most highly associated with "classical" intelligence. Although many studies confirmed high interrelations between EI and personality (for a review see Avsec, Taksic and Mohoric, this issue), the correlations between personality traits and EI are not as high as to doubt the discriminant validity of EI. As reported in the study of Avsec and coworkers (this issue), the BFI could explain up to 33% of variance in the ESCQ, while in our study it could explain up to 28%. Personality, EI and teachers 'psychological well-being 83 But the results of regression analyses showed that the variance of well-being accounted for by EI (when controlling for personality traits) is practically negligible (1 to 3%). It seems that the constructs of trait EI and of the Big Five are overlapping substantially as far as prediction of well-being is concerned. Shulman and Hemenover (2006) reported similarly low proportions of explained variance in well-being by different EI scales (up to 6%) although these percentages were statistically important. In our study EI could also explain a significant amount of variance only in positive relations and self-acceptance. In our study the problem might be in the measure of psychological well-being, i. e., RPWB questionnaire. We used the short version of the questionnaire and reliabilities of some scales are much lower then in the original questionnaire. We could conclude that EI does not have a very good incremental value in predicting psychological well-being at least when we measure it with the ESCQ. The same variance of psychological well-being could be explained with personality traits. To avoid the issue of overlapping constructs, a test measure of EI could be used; but with the MSCEIT (Mayer, Salovey, & Caruso, 2002) the correlations with psychological well-being were also very low and insignificant. In the case of measure of EI as ability, the most probable cause of low correlations are the methods of EI assessment. This fact puts the importance of EI as a predictor of different criteria measures into question, but since the results of most other studies supported its importance, psychological well-being merits further investigations to gain deeper insight into the construct itself and its relation to EI. The present study represents an attempt to examine the predictive validity of EI regarding psychological well-being of primary and high-school teachers. We discovered that EI scales, specifically ability to manage and regulate emotions, and ability to express and label emotions are significantly related to all aspects of psychological well-being, but after controlling for personality traits, these correlations became practically negligible. Some limitations of the study should be mentioned. Much more female than male teachers were included in our sample and although we controlled for the gender in regression analyses the sample of males is probably not representative. The problem of unsatisfactory discriminant validity of trait EI can be avoided with direct measuring of EI with a test. 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Prispelo/Received: 26.6.2009 Sprejeto/Accepted: 31.8.2009 Psihološka obzorja /Horizons of Psychology, 18, 3, 87-110 (2009) © Društvo psihologov Slovenije 2009, ISSN 1318-187 Znanstveni empiričnoraziskovalni prispevek Validation and Standardization of the Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire (ESCQ) Among Indian University Students Tabassum Rashid* and Mohammad Ali Mohammadyfar Department of Psychology, Aligarh Muslim University, India Abstract: There is a seeming theoretical incoherence surrounding the construct emotional intelligence (EI), as well as the problematic issues related to its measurement. The development of the psycho-metrically sound measurement tools based on the coherent theoretical models is fundamental for the EI to be considered as a valid construct. The current research is aimed to reexamine the psychometric properties and the factor structure of the Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire (ESCQ), as well as to evaluate the convergent validity in terms of its relationship with the multidimensional Emotional Intelligence Scale (EIS) developed and standardized in the Indian cultural settings. The results indicated that the self-report measure of emotional competence is reliable and valid. Moreover, the factor structure of the questionnaire is confirmed, and other psychometric properties are found to be much in line with the earlier studies conducted in various cultural backgrounds. Key words: Emotional Intelligence, ESCQ, convergent validity, cross-cultural differences, internal consistency, self-rating scales Validacija in standardizacija vprašalnika emocionalne inteligentnosti ESCQ na vzorcu indijskih študentov Tabassum Rashid and Mohammad Ali Mohammadyfar Department of Psychology, Aligarh Muslim University, India Povzetek: V zvezi s konstruktom emocionalne inteligentnosti (EI) lahko govorimo o precejšnji neskladnosti v teoretičnih izhodiščih, problemi se pojavljajo tudi pri njenem merjenju. Razvoj psihometrično ustreznega instrumenta, ki temelji na koherentnem teoretičnem modelu je bistvenega pomena, da lahko EI obravnavamo kot veljaven konstrukt. Namen raziskave je preveriti merske karakteristike in faktorsko strukturo vprašalnika emocionalne inteligentnosti ESCQ, kot tudi oceniti njegovo konvergetno veljavnost v odnosu do večdimenzionalnega vprašalnika emocionalne inteligentnosti EIS, ki je bil razvit in standardiziran v indijskem jezikovnem okolju. Rezultati so potrdili, da je vprašalnik ESCQ zanesljiv in veljaven. Potrdili smo trifaktorsko strukturo vprašalnika in tudi ostale merske karakteristike vprašalnika so podobne tistim, ki so jih dobili raziskovalci v drugih jezikovnih okoljih. Ključne besede: čustvena inteligentnost, konvergentna veljavnost, samoocenjevalne lestvice, notranja konsistentnost, medkulturne razlike CC = 3120, 2220 * Naslov / Address: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tabassum Rashid, Department of Psychology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India, e-mail: tabu_456@yahoo.com 88 T. Rashid and M. A. Mohammadyfar Emotional Intelligence (EI) has emerged in the past two decades as one the most illustrious psychological constructs, and a growing new domain of psychological and behavioral research. Although the term was first mentioned in a German article entitled "Emotional Intelligence and Emancipation" by Leuner in 1966 (as cited in Mathews, Zeidner, and Roberts, 2004), there are evidences of research in the past highlighting the importance of emotions to intellectual functioning e. g., Thorndike (1921), Guilford (1956). However the EI as a psychological construct was brought to the mainstream psychology in the 1990s with the publication of Salovey and Mayer's initial articles on the construct. Several factors like the emergence of the new discipline of 'positive psychology' highlighting the importance of a rich and fulfilling emotional life, as well as the awareness to rectify the perceived inequity between the intellect and emotion in the human lives especially in the western world have contributed to the huge popularity of the concept within the academic arena of psychology (Zeidner, Mathews, & Roberts, 2004). Nevertheless, the concept caught the imagination of the general public after the Daniel Goleman's (1995) book on the theme emerged on the New York Times best-seller list. Although Goleman was censured by many researchers for the over inclusive and unclear definition of EI, as well as his contention that EI is a more important predictor of success than IQ without providing empirical support for these claims (Landy, 2005; Mayer and Cobb, 2000; Mayer, Salovey, and Caruso, 2004), nevertheless, it stimulated great deal of research on EI as is substantiated by the fact that competing theories of EI emerged after its publication. At present the theoretical framework of EI is a topic of debate and controversy. Numerous comprehensive models with varied perspective provide the alternative theoretical frameworks for operationalization of the construct. Two major models of EI have emerged over the years: a) ability model, and b) trait or mixed model. The ability model presented by Salovey and Mayer (1990) highlight that EI is a collection of abilities that combine to form four oblique first-order factors, or branches: 1) Perceiving, appraising, and expressing emotions; 2) Using emotions to facilitate thought; 3) Understanding emotions; and 4) Managing emotions. Conversely, the trait or mixed model focus more on personality traits and attributes such as optimism and motivation, but do make reference to cognitive abilities which operate while processing the emotional information (Goldenberg, Matheson, and Mantler, 2006; Livingstone and Day, 2005). The biggest criticism of mixed model theories concerns the fact that scores on most self-report measures of EI overlap considerably with measures of personality. According to Mayer et al. (2004), mixed models "often have little or nothing specifically to do with emotion or intelligence and, consequently, fail to map onto the term emotional intelligence" (p. 197). The methods of measurement of EI are debatable too, like its definition and the theoretical framework. Mixed models are generally measured by self-report questionnaires, which assess an individual's belief about his/her competencies in the area of EI. The self-report measures of EI like other psychological construct Validation and standardization of ESCQ in India 89 self-report measures are beset with certain inherent limitations and weaknesses like response biases, impression management and social desirability effects. Additionally, it is argued that self- report measures do not reflect actual performance, but assess a person's self understanding or self-perceptions. In view of the fact that they don't correlate with general intelligence (see, e. g., Paulhus, Lysy, and Yik, 1998; Mabe and West, 1982), it could be argued that they do not measure a type of intelligence. Given these criticisms and apparent inadequacies, Conte (2005) argued that mixed models are not as viable as ability models. The proposition that creation of performance-based measures analogous to the tools developed for the measurement of intelligence, are essential for EI to assume the status of a legitimate cognitive ability (Mayer, Caruso, & Salovey, 1999), led to the development of the Multi-factor Emotional Intelligence Scale (MEIS), and later the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Scale (MSCEIT). Although the predominant theories are ability models of EI, and prominent researchers in the field support the development of more ability based modes of its assessment, there are arguments against the ability based assessment methods too. Some serious reliability problems related to the scoring of both MEIS & MSCEIT have been reported. Some subtests of MEIS as well as MSCEIT failed to reveal satisfactory level of internal consistency reliability. Mayer, Caruso, and Salovey (2000) reported reliability ranging from a very low (.49) to a very high (.94) for consensus scores. Similar results were obtained by Ciarrochi, Chan, and Caputi, (2000). The criticism of self-report measurements of EI notwithstanding, self-report measures show sufficient reliability across varied cultures with decent levels of test-retest reliability over 1- and 4-month periods (Bar-On, 1997, 2000), and do relate to emotionally intelligent behavior, if not formally fulfilling the criteria for intelligence. Some researchers find it safer to state that these measures assess emotional competencies, rather than some kind of intelligence. The doctrine to measure the emotional competencies rather than abilities or intelligence is what the originator of the Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire (ESCQ) has pursued. The present study endeavors to reexamine the factor structure, seek validation, and standardization of the ESCQ in Indian cultural settings. Method Participants The sample of the study consists of 400 university students of both genders (51.2% girls and 48.8% boys). The age range was 17-30 years with mean score of 20.18 years and Standard Deviation of 2.33. 90 T. Rashid and M. A. Mohammadyfar Measures The two scales Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire (ESCQ) and Emotional Intelligence Scale (EIS) were simultaneously administered in the classes and the halls of residence of a university in northern India. Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire (ESCQ): Originally, developed in Croatian settings using theoretical framework from the Emotional Intelligence Model of Mayer and Salovey (1997), and later translated into English. The psychometric qualities and the relations of ESCQ with several relevant constructs in Croatian, Portuguese, Finnish, Swedish, Slovene, Spanish, and Japanese contexts were conducted using target samples of mainly high school and university students, as well as older subjects (workers and supervisors), evidencing construct, convergent, divergent and concurrent validity. The scale is classified as a "trait emotional intelligence" or "perceived emotional intelligence" measure, and consists of 45 items divided into three subscales - (i) Perceiving and Understanding Emotions (PU), (ii) Expressing and Labeling Emotions (EL), and (iii) Managing and Regulating Emotions (MR) (Taksic, Jurin, & Cvenic, 2001). The responses are measured on a 5-point Likert Type scale. The authors report Cronbach Alpha scores of ESCQ for reliability between .87 and .92 for the total scales as well as the subscales. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) performed on large samples of high school students has confirmed three factor structure (Taksic, 2005). Common variance (up to 28%) with the scales derived from similar measures has been reported. Emotional Intelligence Scale (EIS): Developed and standardized by Singh (2004) in Indian settings, the scale is based on Goleman's (1998) Model of EI competencies, and consists of 60 statements (items) grouped under five categories namely: Self Awareness, Self Regulation, Motivation, Social Awareness, and Social Skills. Higher score indicates high level of emotional intelligence in all the five categories. The scale was administered on a sample of 263 managers (191 male and 72 female) with an average age of 37 years, from various functional areas and representing a set of heterogeneous business organizations in India. To examine the concurrent validity three measures, Emotional Expressions, Organizational Commitment, and Quality of Life, were used. All the five dimensions of EIS are positively correlated with all the three measures. To ascertain the face validity and content validity, agreement of three experts on each item belonging to the dimension it aimed to measure was considered. Sufficient level of internal consistency has been reported for reliability. Alpha reliability of Social Skills dimension is reported to be highest (.87) followed by Self-Regulation and Empathy dimensions (.83). The dimension of Motivation has an Alpha reliability of .80 followed by the Self Awareness with .71. EIS was administered concurrently with ESCQ to assess convergent validity of the latter. Validation and standardization of ESCQ in India 91 Results The Kaiser-Mayer-Olkin measure for the sample is .842, which suggests that there is variability in the data to conduct factor analysis. The result of Bartlett's Test of Sphericity (Approximate chi-square = 3450, df= 903, p = .0005) suggests that the items were sufficiently correlated to conduct Component Analysis. Factor Rotation and Interpretation As mentioned earlier, the initial factor analysis of the scale has reported three factors for the ESCQ, and a number of researchers have confirmed the three factor structure of the ESCQ. In the current research also, the results of exploratory factor analysis showed that three factors have eigenvalue greater than one. Table 1 given below shows the eigenvalues of the factors before and after Promax rotation. Table 1. Eigenvalues And Total Promax Explained Extraction Sums of Squared Loadings Rotation Component Total % of Variance Cumulative % Total 1 7.10 16.52 16.52 5.66 2 2.05 4.76 21.28 4.24 3 1.88 4.38 25.66 3.72 For allocation of items to the factors, factor loading of items after rotation was considered. The item number 7 had factor loading equal to .376 on the first factor and .203 on the third factor, therefore, item number 7 was deleted. Again, item number 8 had factor loading equal to .320 on the first factor and .257 on the third factor, item number 12 had factor loading equal to .271 on the first factor and .247 on the second factor, item number 15 had factor loading equal to .329 on the first factor and .362 on the second factor, item number 18 had factor loading equal to .301 on the first factor and .282 on the second factor, item number 24 had factor loading equal to .334 on the second factor and .378 on the third factor, item number 27 had factor loading equal to .333 on the second factor and .289 on the third factor, item number 30 had factor loading equal to .211 on the first factor and .224 on the second factor, item number 40 had factor loading equal to .210 on the second factor and .285 on the third factor. All the above mentioned items were deleted, and the rest of the items with consideration of factor loading after rotation have been allocated to factors as shown in Table 2. 92 T. Rashid and M. A. Mohammadyfar Table 2. Allocated items to first factor with rotated loadings Item Rotated No. Item content_loadings 13 When I meet an acquaintance, I immediately notice his/her mood. .472 14 When I see how someone feels, I usually know what has happened .392 to him. 16 I can easily think of a way to approach a person I like. .248 20 I do not have difficulty to persuade a friend that there is no reason .289 to worry. 25 If I observe a person in the presence of others, I can determine pre- .569 cisely his/her emotions. 26 I do not have difficulty to notice when somebody feels helpless. .469 35 I can detect my friends' concealed jealousy. .632 36 I notice when somebody tries to hide his/her bad mood. .579 37 I notice when somebody feels guilty. .567 38 I notice when somebody tries to hide his/her real feelings. .537 39 I notice when somebody feels down. .639 41 I have found it easy to display fondness for a person of the opposite .474 sex. 42 I notice when somebody's behavior varies considerably from his/her .528 mood. The item numbers 13, 14, 25, 26, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, and 42 are the items which were allocated to first subscale, namely Perception and Understanding of Emotions (PU) by the authors of the scale. In the current study only the item number 34 was deleted because it decreased the internal consistency of the questionnaire. Item number 19 was originally allocated to the factor 1 by the authors of scale. However, in current research, the same item is allocated to the factor 2. Also, the items number 15, 18 and 45 were deleted in order to find simple solution. The items number 1, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 29, and 33, are allocated to the third subscale, i. e., Management and Regulation of Emotions (MR) by the authors of the questionnaire. The item numbers 19, 22 and 32 are added to this subscale, and the item number 3 is deleted because as reported earlier it has reduced internal consistency ofthe questionnaire. Also, the item numbers 7, 8, 12, 30, 31 and 40 were deleted because they had significant factor loading on more than one factor. However, this subscale which is extracted as the 2nd factor in current study is the 3rd factor in the original research. The item numbers 2, 6, 17, 21, 23, 28, 43, and 44 were allocated to the 3rd factor called expression and labeling emotions (EL). However, this subscale was reported as second factor in the original version by the authors of the scale. The item numbers 22 and 32 were allocated to second subscale, and the item numbers 16 and 41 were allocated to the first subscale. Also item numbers 24 and 27 were deleted in order to find simple solution. Validation and standardization of ESCQ in India 93 Table 3. Allocated items to second factor with rotated loadings Item Rotated No. Item content loadings 1 I am able to maintain a good mood even if something bad hap- .178 pens. 4 Unpleasant experiences teach me how not to act in the future. .341 5 When somebody praises me, I work with more enthusiasm. .399 10 When I am with a person who thinks highly of me, I am careful .400 about how I behave. 11 I study and learn best, when I am in a good mood and happy. .527 19 I can easily think of a way to make my friend happy on his/her .472 birthday. 22 I can recognize most of my feelings. .432 29 I try to control unpleasant emotions, and strengthen positive ones. .455 32 I usually understand why I feel bad. .380 33 I try to keep up a good mood. .518 Table 4. Allocated items to third factor with rotated loadings Item Rotated No. Item content loadings 2 Putting my feelings and emotions into words comes easily to me. .544 6 When something doesn't suit me, I show this immediately. .345 17 I am capable to list the emotions that I am currently experiencing. .524 21 I am able to express my emotions well. .493 23 I am capable to describe my present emotional state. .600 28 People can tell what mood I am in. .395 43 I can easily name most of my feelings. .420 44 I am able to express how I feel. .527 Reliability of the ESCQ In order to examine the reliability of the ESCQ and its subscale internal consistency, Cronbach a coefficient was used. The results are reported in table 5. Convergent validity of the ESCQ To determine the Convergent Validity of ESCQ, Emotional Intelligence Scale (EIS) developed and standardized by Singh in 2004 on the Indian population was used. The EIS is quite popular among Indian researchers and is reported to be valid and reliable. The EIS was simultaneously administered with ESCQ to 100 participants (50 girls, and 50 boys) for determining the convergent validity of ESCQ. The mean score and standard deviation of their age were 21.45 and 2.04 respectively. 94 T. Rashid and M. A. Mohammadyfar Table 5. Internal consistency and Inter-correlation of ESCQ and its subscales Subscale PU MR EL Total ESCQ Cronbach a coefficient .788 .695 .687 .826 MR .410** EL .432** .338** Total ESCQ 499** .474** .405** **p < .01 level (2-tailed). Table 6: Correlation matrix of ESCQ, EIS and their subscales Subscale PU MR EL Total ESCQ Self Regulation .379** .516** .326** .493** Self Awareness .476** .492** .357** .551** Motivation .434** .394** .386** .506** Social Awareness .478** .348** .364** .504** Social Skills .356** .235* .291** .373** Total E.I.S .499** .474** .405** .576** *p < .05, "p < .01. Table 6 shows that all correlational values of the ESCQ, EIS and their subscales are positively significant. From the results, it could be deduced that the ESCQ is a valid scale for measuring the Emotional Skills and Competence among university student sample in India. Standardized scores In order to compute the standardized scores of ESCQ and its subscales among Indian university students, it is essential to test the differences between the mean scores of ESCQ and its subscales with consideration of gender. To determine the difference vis-à-vis gender, Independent Samples i-test was administered. In order to test out the normality of the distribution of sample, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was applied. Table 8 and 9 present the results. A perusal of table 8 shows that there are no significant differences between the mean scores of ESCQ and its subscales with consideration of gender. Since there is no significant difference between the mean scores of ESCQ and its subscales, standardized scores are computed for total sample. Hence there is no need to compute standardized scores separately for girls and boys population. Table 9 presents the standardized score of ESCQ and its subscales among the university student sample in India. Validation and standardization of ESCQ in India 95 Table 7. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for normality of the comparing groups distributions Girls_ _Boys Variables (K-S)Z p (K-S)Z p PU 0.79 .58 0.95 .33 ML 1.35 .05 1.08 .20 EL 0.88 .42 0.82 .51 ESCQ 0.57 .90 0.81 .53 Table 8. Independent samples t-test for comparison of mean scores of ESCQ and its subscales with consideration of gender subscales gender M N t df p PU Female 45.60 205 -1.533 398 .126 Male 46.80 195 MR Female 39.33 205 1.282 398 .201 Male 38.68 195 EL Female 27.76 205 -0.820 398 .413 Male 28.18 195 ESCQ Female 112.72 205 -0.675 398 .500 Male 113.68 195 Table 9. Standardized scores of ESCQ and its subscales Percentages PU MR EL ESCQ 5 33.00 3.00 19.00 89.00 10 36.00 33.00 21.00 95.00 15 38.00 34.00 23.00 10.00 20 4.00 35.00 24.00 103.00 25 41.00 36.00 25.00 104.00 30 42.00 36.00 25.20 106.00 35 44.00 37.00 26.00 108.00 40 45.00 38.00 27.00 109.40 45 45.35 39.00 27.00 111.00 50 46.00 39.00 28.00 112.00 55 47.00 4.00 28.00 114.00 60 48.00 4.40 29.00 116.00 65 49.00 41.00 3.00 118.00 70 5.10 42.00 31.00 12.70 75 52.00 42.00 31.00 123.00 80 53.00 43.00 32.00 126.00 85 54.55 44.00 33.00 128.00 90 56.00 45.00 34.00 131.00 95 58.00 47.00 36.00 135.00 96 T. Rashid and M. A. Mohammadyfar Discussion This study was aimed to further explore the factor structure and other psychometric properties of the Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire (ESCQ). We were particularly interested in assessing the convergent validity of the scale with Emotional Intelligence Scale (EIS) developed and standardized in a diverse cultural setting. Consistent with the findings in other countries and cultural settings ESCQ showed enough variability as well as sufficient level item correlation (KMO measure of sampling adequacy was reported to .842, which is larger than required .6). The three sub-scales extracted resemble the original, albeit there were some minor differences in the allocation of the items to the sub-scales, and the order of factors. All sub-scales had the sufficient level of alpha co-efficient (internal consistency). The sub-scale Perception and understanding of emotions (PU) had an alpha value of .808, management and regulation of emotions (MR) .696 and expression and labeling emotions (EL) .714, and for the total score of ESCQ .848. The sufficient level of correlation between ESCQ and EIS is on 99% as well as 95% of confidence level indicates satisfactory convergent validity of ESCQ. In view of the fact that no significant differences between the mean scores of ESCQ and its sub-scales in consideration of gender was found, therefore the standardized scores are reported for the whole sample and not separately for two genders. References Bar-On, R. (1997). The Emotional Intelligence Inventory (EQ-i): Technical manual. Toronto, Canada: Multi-Health Systems. Bar-On, R. (2000).Emotional and social intelligence: Insights from the Emotional Quotient Inventory. In R. Bar-On & J. D. A. Parker (Eds.), The handbook of emotional intelligence (pp.363-388). San Francisco: Jossey, Bass. Ciarrochi, J. V., Chan, A. Y. C., & Caputi, P. (2000). A critical evaluation of the emotional intelligence construct. Personality and Individual Differences, 28, 539-561. Conte, J. M. (2005). A review and critique of emotional intelligence measures. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26, 433-44. Goldenberg, I., Matheson, K., & Mantler, J. (2006). 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Prispelo/Received: 20.5.2009 Sprejeto/Accepted: 31.8.2009 98 JAZ in MI Raziskovanje Temeljev Soáalne Vsihologije v Matej Cernigoj Psihološka obzorja /Horizons of Psychology, 18, 3, 99-110 (2009) © Društvo psihologov Slovenije 2009, ISSN 1318-187 Znanstveni empiričnoraziskovalni prispevek The Relationship of Trait Emotional Intelligence with the Big Five in Croatian and Slovene University Student Samples Andreja Avsec1*, Vladimir Taksic2 and Tamara Mohoric2 'Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia Department of Psychology, Faculty of Science and Arts, University of Rijeka, Croatia Abstract: The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between trait emotional intelligence (EI) and the Big Five factors of personality in two samples of Croatian and Slovenian university students. If EI is to be of significant value, it must measure something unique and distinct from standard personality traits. The Croatian sample consisted of 257 undergraduate students from University of Rijeka and Osijek and in Slovene sample there were 171 undergraduate students from University of Ljubljana. Participants filled out the Emotional Skills and Competences Questionnaire (ESCQ, Taksic, 1998) and the Big Five Inventory (BFI; John, Donahue, & Kentle, 1991). After controlling for nationality and gender, the Big Five explained up to 33% of the variance of EI. For the Perceive and Understand Emotions Scale only openness and extraversion explain important part of the variance; for the Express and Label Emotions Scale extraversion and conscientiousness are important predictors. The Big Five traits are able to explain the highest proportion of the variance in the Manage and Regulate Emotion Scale; neuroticism is the strongest predictor, but extraversion and conscientiousness also predict important part of the variance. Although high, this percentage of explained variance does not put in question the discriminant validity of EI questionnaire. Key words: trait emotional intelligence, emotional competence, ESCQ, five factor personality model, BFI Povezanost emocionalne inteligentnosti s petimi velikimi faktorji osebnosti na hrvaškem in slovenskem vzorcu študentov Andreja Avsec1, Vladimir Takšic2 and Tamara Mohoric2 Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia Department of Psychology, Faculty of Science and Arts, University of Rijeka, Croatia Povzetek: Namen raziskave je preveriti povezanost emocionalne inteligentnosti (merjenje s samo-ocenjevalnim vprašalnikom) s petimi velikimi faktorji osebnosti na vzorcu hrvaških in slovenskih študentov. Tako smo želeli preverili veljavnost vprašalnika emocionalne inteligentnosti ESCQ, katere del je tudi diferencialna veljavnost, da torej vprašalnik meri nekaj drugega kot osebnostne lastnosti. Hrvaški vzorec je vključeval 257 študentov Univerze na Reki in Univerze v Osijeku, slovenski pa 171 študentov Univerze v Ljubljani. Udeleženci so rešili vprašalnik emocionalne inteligentnosti ESCQ * Naslov / Address: doc. dr. Andreja Avsec, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts, Department of Psychology, p. p. 580, SI-1001 Ljubljana, Slovenia, e-mail: andreja.avsec@psiha.net 100 A. Avsec, V. Takšic and T. Mohorič (Takšic, 1998) in vprašalnik velikih pet faktorjev osebnosti BFI (John, Donahue, Kentle, 1991). Re-gresijska analiza je pokazala, da po kontroliranju nacionalnosti in spola velikih pet faktorjev osebnosti pojasnjuje do 33 % variance emocionalne inteligentnosti. Lestvico zaznavanja in razumevanja emocij pomembno napovedujeta odprtost in ekstravertnost. Pomembna prediktorja lestvice izražanja in poimenovanja emocije sta ekstravertnost in vestnost. Največ pojasnjene variance prispeva pet velikih k lestvici upravljanja in uravnavanja emocij. Najpomembnejši prediktor je nevroticizem, pomembna prediktorja sta tudi ekstravertnost in vestnost. Kljub relativno visokemu deležu pojasnjene variance pa diskriminativna veljavnost vprašalnika ESCQ ni problematična. Ključne besede: čustvena inteligentnost kot osebnostna lastnost, emocionalna kompetentnost, ESCQ, pet-faktorski model osebnosti, BFI CC = 3120 The study of emotional intelligence (EI) is currently a personality domain of considerable interest. In our research we focused on trait EI, which is frequently criticized because of its use of self-report questionnaires and consequently its problematically high relations to personality traits (Matthews, Zeidner, & Roberts, 2002). Many trait EI questionnaires were designed (Perez, Petrides, & Furnham, 2005), most of them in English speaking cultures. With these questionnaires discriminant validity of trait EI was well established (De Raad, 2005; Van Rooy, Viswesvaran, & Pluta, 2005), although we found rare studies that tested the relations between personality traits and trait EI in non-English speaking cultures (e. g., Law, Wong, & Song, 2004; Mikolajczak, Luminet, Leroy, & Roy, 2007). Our main goal was to examine these relations in two non-English speaking cultures with the questionnaire designed in Croatian language. Results from this study could add an important contribution to the research of trait EI confirming its importance and unique share in individual's personality. Studies on EI expanded in the last few years, starting with the first article about this topic in the early 1990s (Mayer, DiPaolo, & Salovey, 1990). In recent years, a debate has emerged in the EI literature regarding whether or not self-report measures provide an accurate assessment of one's standing on this construct. Accordingly, some authors (Petrides & Furnham, 2000, 2001) have proposed a new conceptualization of EI that is directly relevant to this discussion. They make a distinction between trait EI and ability EI. In other words, according to these authors trait EI and ability EI are two separate constructs rather than two different ways of measuring the same construct. The ability EI concerns actual abilities and ought to be measured with maximum-performance tests. Trait EI encompasses behavioral dispositions and self-perceived abilities and is measured through self-report (Petrides & Furnham, 2001). The main critic of trait EI is it's presumably too high relation with personality traits. Matthews et al. (2002) have provided arguments that several of the components of EI relate to combinations of the Big Five factors (see also Petrides & Furnham, Emotional intelligence and the Big Five 101 2001; Saklofske, Austin, & Minski, 2003; Van der Zee, Thijs, & Schakel, 2002). Trait EI seems to combine the evaluative positive poles of each of the big five personality factors. Meta-analysis of 25-28 studies found the following average corrected correlations between EI and the Big Five: .32 with openness, .33 with conscientiousness, .27 with agreeableness, .40 with emotional stability, and .36 with extraversion (Van Rooy et al., 2005). One can expect a positive relationship between EI and extraversion. Extraverts are open to others and tend to be unreserved and informal in their contacts with other people. They are more sociable and consequently have more opportunities and motivation for practicing social skills, which are part of EI, at least in some mix models (e. g., Bar-On, 1997; Petrides & Furnham, 2000). Beside this the core dimension of extraversion is positive affectivity (Lucas, Diener, Grob, Suh, & Shao, 2000) thus it could be supposed that extraverted individual would report about higher optimism and positive emotions, that is about characteristics which are also present in some EI questionnaires scale. Results confirmed that extraversion is related to trait EI (Davies, Stankov, & Roberts, 1998; Dawda & Hart, 2000; Van der Zee et al., 2002), particularly to some aspects of EI such as social skills and optimism/mood regulation (Saklofske et al., 2003), and emotional management (Gannon & Ranzijn, 2005). Agreeableness relates to motivation to maintain positive interpersonal relationships thus empathy should be a part of agreeableness construct. Individuals high in agreeableness tend to be friendly and warm, tend to have respect for others, and tend to be sensitive to other people's wishes. These characteristics could probably be related to the cognitive and behavioral processes directed to the emotions of others. De Raad (2005) used 437 items from several EI questionnaires and classified them into the categories comprised by the Abridged Big Five Circumplex (AB5C) model. The majority of the EI items were classified in categories of agreeableness and emotional stability of the Big Five. It should also be noted that empathy is sometimes used as a measure of EI or at least as one aspect of it (e. g. Bar-On, 1997; Davies et al., 1998) so high correlations between EI and agreeableness are not unexpected. Not all measures of trait EI are focused to others (some measures are focused to one's own emotions) and thus it is not surprising that the average correlation from different studies is not so high (Van Rooy et al., 2005). McCrae (2000) suggests there is little reason to expect a relationship between EI and conscientiousness. The carefulness, reliability, persistence, and goal-direct-edness of individuals high in this trait has no conceptual resemblance to the monitoring, interpreting of, and coping with emotions. For example, Van der Zee et al. (2002) haven't found an important relationship between this traits, however most of the studies report about important relations of Conscientiousness and EI (Dawda & Hart, 2000; Gannon & Ranzijn, 2005; Petrides & Furnham, 2001; Saklofske et al., 2003) and meta-analysis also reports about average correlation of .33 (Van Rooy et al., 2005). 102 A. Avsec, V. Takšic and T. Mohorič Emotionally unstable individuals are worried, easily provoked, depressive, and vulnerable so one could argue that EI is no more than a combination of emotional stability and intelligence. The ability to cope with emotions is very similar to the emotional stability construct so a positive relationship between EI and emotional stability can be expected. Most of the studies report important relations of emotional stability with EI (Dawda & Hart, 2000; Davies et al., 1998; Gannon & Ranzijn, 2005; Saklofske et al., 2003). Although frequent intense negative affective experiences are central to neuroticism, a lack of understanding about those experiences is not a central characteristic of the trait, as some authors (Shulman & Hemenover, 2006) point out. The construct of EI comprises different abilities, and one of them (but not the only) being understanding of emotions. Managing and regulating emotions is also a key component of EI and thus is not surprising to have the highest average correlation of EI precisely with emotional stability (Van Rooy et al., 2005). Finally, a positive relationship between EI and openness can be expected. McCrae (2000) even suggested that EI should have the strongest relations to the openness to experience dimension. This quasi-ability factor of personality is somewhat similar to intelligence, at least with the words people usually use to describe intelligent people ( e. g., imaginative, sensitive, flexible, curious and independent). But the evidences for a relationship between EI and openness are not uniform. Schutte et al. (1998) reported that 33-item EI scale had a significant correlation with openness and non-significant relationships with other Big Five personality traits. On the other hand, some researchers found much lower correlations (De Raad, 2005). Interestingly, these results are opposite of findings for the ability EI where higher correlations with openness are found (Van Rooy et al., 2005). The aim of our study was to examine relationship between trait EI and the Big Five in samples of Croatian and Slovenian students. If EI is to be of any significant value, it must measure something unique and distinct from standard personality traits. Previous studies reported that trait EI is relatively independent from traditionally defined personality traits, supporting the discriminant validity of the EI construct (Petrides & Furnham, 2001; but see De Raad, 2005). In our study important but not high correlations of trait EI with all five personality factors are expected. Researchers found non-consistent correlations between trait EI and personality traits which could be the consequence of the fact that EI self-reported questionnaires originated from somewhat different theoretical background than personality questionnaires. Thus it is important to analyze these relations on the level of subscales. It could be predicted that the Perceive and understand emotions scale should have the smallest correlations with personality because it presumably comprise emotional ability which is not a part of any personality trait. On the other side, the Manage and regulate emotions scale should have the highest relations to personality, at least with emotional stability since an individual who has a tendency to experience strong negative emotions probably has more difficulties with their regulation. And finally the Express and label emotions scale should be related to extraversion, since extraverts are open to others and tend to be unreserved and informal in their contacts with Emotional intelligence and the Big Five 103 other people, thus expressing openly their inner feelings. The present study is also important for determining the construct validity for the used trait EI measure. In the current literature one can find a large number of self-report measures of EI. For example, Perez and co-workers (2005) cited 15 different EI scales. Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire ESCQ (Taksic, 1998) is one of these self-report questionnaires, which was translated into several languages (Faria et al., 2006) but it's construct validity was not fully determined yet. Similar relations between trait EI and personality traits in Slovene and Croatian language would be the indicator of the questionnaire's construct validity. Method Participants The Croatian sample consisted of257 undergraduate students (200 women and 57 men) from the University of Rijeka and Osijek. The Slovene sample consisted of 171 undergraduate students (141 women and 30 men) from University of Ljubljana. Students were from the first to the forth years of the study. Instruments Emotional Skills and Competences Questionnaire (ESCQ, Taksic, 1998). A measure of trait EI that consists of 45 items divided into three subscales: the Perceive and understand emotions scale (PU) has 15 items, the Express and label emotions scale (EL) has 14 items and the Manage and regulate emotions scale (MR) has 16 items. Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 - "Never applied to me" to 5 - "Always applied to me". There are moderate positive correlations between the subscales (r = .35-.51) that allowed the researcher to form a linear combination measure of overall emotional competence (Taksic, 1998). The questionnaire was translated and used in several different languages and cultures and had shown satisfactory psychometric properties (Avsec & Taksic, 2007; Faria et al., 2006; Toyota, Morita, & Taksic, 2007). In our samples the first two scales have internal reliability above .85. The third scale, Manage and regulate emotions, has somewhat lower reliability (a = .76 for Croatian sample and a = .67 in Slovene sample). The Big Five Inventory (BFI; John, Donahue, & Kentle, 1991). The BFI consist of 44 short and easy-to-understand phrases aimed to assess the prototypical traits defining each of the Big Five dimensions. Extraversion has eight items, of which three are reverse-scored. Agreeableness and conscientiousness are each represented by nine items, including four reversals, for each scale. Neuroticism has 8 items, with 3 reversals; openness has 10 items, 2 reversed. BFI items are rated on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 - "Disagree strongly" to 5 - "Agree strongly". The BFI scales have shown substantial internal consistency, retest reliability, and clear factor structure, 104 A. Avsec, V. Takšic and T. Mohorič as well as considerable convergent and discriminant validity compared to longer Big Five measures (John & Srivastava, 1999). Coefficients of internal reliability in both samples are satisfying (for agreeableness a = .70 in both samples; for other scales a > .79). Procedure Participants were tested in several groups of 20-50 students at their faculties during the lectures. Participation in the study was voluntarily and anonymous. Results First, we examined the differences between Croatian and Slovene sample and between genders, in EI and the Big Five using two-way ANOVAs. As far as EI concerns, important differences between nationalities emerged only in the Perceive and understand emotions scale (MCro=57.3, SDao = 6.9, MSlo = 60.7, SDSlo = 7.3, F(1, 427) = 11.52, p = .001; n2 = 026) where Slovene participants reported higher scores. Differences between nationalities emerged also in the third and fifth factor of personality, in agreeableness (MCro = 32.2, SDCro = 4.7, MSlo = 33.3, SDSlo = 4.7, F(1, 427) = 5.0,p = .026, n2 = .012) and openness (MCr° = 37.1, SDCro = 5.7,mJo = 38.3, SDSlo = 5.9, F(1, 427) = 7.8, p = .005, n2 = 018) where Slovene participants reported higher scores. As far as gender differences in EI concerns, important gender differences emerged in two out of the three scales: in the Perceive and understand emotions scale (Mm = 56.0, SDM = 7.3, MF = 59.3, SDF = 7.1, F[1, 427] = 13.0, p = .000, n2 = .030) and in the Express and label emotions scale (Mm = 45.1, SDM = 7.7, MF = 47.7, SDf = 7.4, F[1, 427] = 11.9, p = .001, n2 = .027). Males and females differed also in conscientiousness (Mm = 30.0, SDM = 5.0, MF = 31.7, SDF = 5.5, F[1, 427] = 7.8, p = .006, n2 = .018) and neuroticism (Mm = 20.1, SDM = 4.7, MF = 23.2, SDF = 5.7, F[1, 427] = 17.4, p = .000, n2 = .039). Interaction between nationality and gender is important for the Express and label emotions scale (F[1, 427] = 8.2, p = .004, n2 = 019) and for openness; Slovene males are more opened, whereas in Croatian sample females report higher openness than males (F[1, 427] = 4.4, p = .037, n2 = .010). Table 1. Correlations between the ESCQ Subscales and the Big Five Factors Perceive, Under- Express, Label Manage, Regulate stand emotions emotions emotions Croatian Slovene Croatian Slovene Croatian Slovene Extraversion .27** .16* .42** .41** .45** .40** Agreeableness .05 .07 .11 .16* .24** .24** Conscientiousness 19** .09 .23** .23** 41** .20** Neuroticism -.09 .04 -.20** -.11 -.49** -.32** Openness .27** .29** .21** .28** .31** .22** *p < 0.05 (2-tailed), **p < 0.01 (2-tailed). Emotional intelligence and the Big Five 105 Correlations between EI and the Big Five are presented for Croatian and Slovene sample separately in Table 1. Results confirmed our expectations about lower relation of the Perceive and understand emotions subscale with personality factors. This scale was related only to extraversion and openness and in Croatian sample also to conscientiousness. The second subscale - Express and label emotions - was related to all five factors except to neuroticism in Slovene sample and to agreeableness is Croatian sample. As predicted, it had the highest correlations with extraversion. We also predicted that the Manage and regulate emotions scale will have the highest correlation with neuroticism but this was confirmed only in Croatian sample. The Manage and regulate emotions scale was related to all five factors of personality, with the highest correlations for neuroticism and extraversion. We tested the differences in correlations between Croatian and Slovene sample with Fisher z transformation. Important differences (at the .05 level) emerged only in correlations for the Manage and regulate emotions scale with conscientiousness (z = 2.34), and with neuroticism (z = -2.06). Both correlations were higher in Croatian sample. Table 2. Results of the Hierarchical Regression Analyses of the ESCQ Subscales on the Big Five, Controlling for Gender and Nationality Predictor b R R2 Perceive, Understand Emotions Step 1 (method enter) Nationality 0.23** .23 .05 Step 2 (method enter) Gender 0.17** .28 .08 Step 3 (method stepwise) Openness 0.26** .39 .15 Step 4 (method stepwise) Extraversion 0.14** .41 .17 Express, Label Emotions Step 1 (method enter) Nationality 0.15** .15 .01 Step 2 (method enter) Gender 0.13** .20 .05 Step 3 (method stepwise) Extraversion 0.40** .44 .20 Step 4 (method stepwise) Conscientiousness 0.14** .46 .21 Step 5 (method stepwise) Openness 0.12** .48 .23 Manage, Regulate Emotions Step 1 (method enter) Nationality 0.06 .06 .00 Step 2 (method enter) Gender -0.02 .06 .01 Step 3 (method stepwise) Neuroticism -0.44** .44 .19 Step 4 (method stepwise) Extraversion 0.30** .52 .27 Step 5 (method stepwise) Conscientiousness 0.20** .55 .30 Step 6 (method stepwise) Openness 0.17** .57 .33 **p < 0.01 (2-tailed) We conducted hierarchical regression analyses of the ESCQ scales on the Big Five. We were especially interested in that part of explained variance of trait EI 106 A. Avsec, V. Takšic and T. Mohorič which could be explained by the Big Five factors. We entered gender and nationality into regression first to eliminate possible influence of these variables. Gender was an important predictor only for the Perceive and understand emotions subscale, explaining 3% of the variance (Table 2). Nationality turned out to be a little bit stronger predictor, predicting 8% of the variance of the Perceive and label emotions scale and 4% of the variance of the Express and label emotions scale. After controlling for nationality and gender, the Big Five explained up to 32% of the variance of EI. Although high, this percentage of explained variance does not put in question the discriminant validity of this EI questionnaire. As expected, the Perceive and understand emotions scale had the weakest relation with the Big Five, and the Manage and regulate emotions scale had the strongest. For the Perceive and understand emotions scale only openness and extraversion explained important part of the variance, accounting for 9% of the variance. For the Express and label emotions scale extraversion and conscientiousness were important predictors, accounting for 17% of the variance, after controlling for gender and nationality. The Big Five were able to explain the highest proportion of the variance in the Manage and regulate emotion scale (32%). Neuroticism was the strongest predictor of the Manage and regulate emotion scale, but extraversion and conscientiousness also predicted important part of the variance. Discussion The results indicated important relations between trait EI and the Big Five, although the relations are not too high to set doubts about the differential validity of the trait EI construct. Our results confirmed previous findings concerning gender differences. Most studies report higher results for trait EI for women (e. g. Petrides & Furnham, 2001; Shutte et al., 1998) which are supposed to be at least partly a consequence of differential socialization of boys and girls. Interestingly, in our study gender differences did not occur for the Manage and regulate emotions scale while in Petrides and Furnham's study (2000) the only gender difference was for the Social skills factor, which include some sort of regulation of emotions. We were also interested to see if there are any differences in the results for different nationalities. The results indicated important differences between Croatian and Slovene sample in the Perceive and understand emotions scale. Differences between nationalities on ESCQ were also found in other studies (Faria et al., 2006). Because there could be many reasons for differences in nationalities, among other also methodological, we could hardly interpret these results as they reflect actual differences in trait EI. For example, specifics of the sample could influence the average scores since the samples were not matched on all demographic variables. The main concern of this study was the relation between trait EI and the Big Emotional intelligence and the Big Five 107 Five. We hypothesized the similar structure of this relation for Croatian and Slovene sample, since this could be used as an indicator of good construct validity of the ESCQ questionnaire. Only two correlations coefficients differed importantly in selected samples, both for the third scale of ESCQ, the Manage and regulate emotions scale. One possible reason is the difference in internal consistency of this scale for Croatian and Slovene sample. Due to one item in this scale (item 10) the internal consistency on Slovene sample is somewhat lower (a = .67), as we already reported. The different alphas in both samples could be the cause of different correlations with the Big Five. In spite of lower reliability, this scale has the highest correlations with the Big Five in comparison to other two ESCQ scales. Because of the critics of the trait measures of EI stating that trait EI is nothing more than a set of already known personality traits, this issue was a central problem of our study. The ESCQ, together with Emotional Intelligence Scale (Schutte et al., 1998) derives directly from Mayer and Salovey's theory of EI as a mental ability (Mayer & Salovey, 1997). So it would be reasonably to expect lower correlations with the Big Five dimensions compared to questionnaires of EI which derived from the mix models ( e. g., Bar-On, 1997), in spite of relying on and using self-report measures. Results indeed indicate important but not too high relation to personality traits, except for the Manage and regulate emotions scale. Using regression analyses on the ESCQ scores we determined that up to 35% of variance could be explained with the Big Five. Although the scales ESCQ are interrelated (r = .35-.51), the results of regression analyses indicated different importance of the Big Five factors for the each scale of the ESCQ. The best predictor for the Perceive and understand emotions scale was openness and this finding confirmed McCrae (2000) assertion on the importance of openness for EI due to it's close resemblance to crystallized intelligence. Openness is the factor which comprises characteristics relevant to intelligent people and is related to constructs such as self-reflection, self-consciousness, personal growth. It could be expected that all of these characteristics of the individual heighten their emotional competences although the evidence for a relationship between EI and openness is not uniform ( e. g., Schutte et al., 1998; De Raad, 2005) Extraversion emerged as the best predictor for the Express and label emotions scale. This aspect of EI refers to expression and visibility of emotions, similarly as extraversion in its broad sense refers to directing the energy to outer world. Extraverts are open to others and tend to be unreserved and informal in their contacts with other people thus expressing openly their inner feelings. Many studies have reported about important relations between trait EI and extraversion (Dawda & Hart, 2000; Davies et al., 1998; Saklofske et al., 2003; Van der Zee et al., 2002; Van Rooy et al., 2005). And finally, the best predictor for the Manage and regulate emotions scale was neuroticism. The ability to cope with emotions is very similar to the emotional stability. Individual who is not depressed, anxious, angry, and who manage his/her emotions has high EI, at least that part which refers to managing their own and also 108 A. Avsec, V. Takšic and T. Mohorič other's emotions. Many other studies, using different measures of trait EI report about important correlations between trait EI and neuroticism (Dawda & Hart, 2000; Gannon & Ranzijn, 2005; Saklofske et al., 2003). Agreeableness did not add any significant contribution to the explained variance of EI in all three regression analyses. Because we used stepwise method of regression analyses the real importance of weak predictors could be underestimated, but the correlations (Table 1) also indicate that agreeableness is the factor which has the lowest correlations with the EI. The average correlation between trait EI and agreeableness in meta-analysis was also low (Van Rooy et al., 2005), which is not surprising since not all scales of trait EI focus to others. If we take closer looks to correlations it could be seen that there is no relation of agreeableness with the Perceive and understand emotions scale. Although understanding other's emotions is the first step in empathy or cognitive component of empathy, it does not necessary leads to sympathy and consequently to better interpersonal relationships which are frequently related to agreeableness. Agreeableness had also very low correlations with the ability to express and label emotions and a bit higher but still weak correlations with the Managing and regulating emotions scale. For better interpersonal relationships, which are an indicator of agreeable persons, it is more important to regulate and not so much to express their own emotions. The obtained correlations between Big Five dimensions and ESCQ subscales are pretty the similar with those from previous studies. Toyota, Morita, and Taksic (2007) used Japanese version of the Big Five Personality inventory (BFS) and got the same pattern of correlations, except for openness to experience, where the correlations were a bit higher (.40 to .54). In her diploma work Tropin (2005) has compared ESCQ subscales and Big Five descriptors and found even higher correlations with openness to experience (.41 to .58). Also, Managing and regulating emotions scale showed the highest correlations with each Big Five dimensions (.39 to .52). There are some limitations to our study. Like in many other studies the sample of university students is not representative for all young people. Although there may be a minor possibility that the structure of the sample could have influenced the structure of interrelations, it is quite possible that it has influenced the obtained gender differences. In the literature there exist quite a lot of studies examining relations between trait EI and personality traits since the validity of this relatively new construct of EI has yet to be scientifically verified and tested. Thus it seems reasonable to define exact relations of the Big Five and different EI measures. 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Prispelo/Received: 10.7.2009 Sprejeto/Accepted: 15.9.2009 Psihološka obzorja /Horizons of Psychology, 18, 3, 111-128 (2009) © Društvo psihologov Slovenije 2009, ISSN 1318-187 Predstavitev EuroPsy certifikat - standardi izobraževanja za psihologe v Evropi Vlasta Zabukovec', Anja Podlesek2, Bojan Musil3 'Društvo psihologov Slovenije, Predsednica delovne skupine za EuroPsy 2Oddelek za psihologijo, Filozofska fakulteta, Univerza v Ljubljani 3Oddelek za psihologijo, Filozofska fakulteta, Univerza v Mariboru EuroPsy certificate - European standards of education for psychologists Vlasta Zabukovec', Anja Podlesek2, Bojan Musil3 'Slovenian Psychological Association, Ljubljana, Slovenia, President of the Europsy working group 2Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana 3Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor Ključne besede: EuroPsy certifikat, EFPA, kurikul, stopnje izobraževanja Key words: EuroPsy certificate, EFPA, curriculum, educational phases CC = 3410 Ta prispevek, vezan na EuroPsy certifikat, je nadaljevanje prvega, kjer so bila predstavljena izhodišča certifikata, ki je bil sprejet na Generalni skupščini EFPE, julija 2009 v Oslu, v času 11. evropskega kongresa psihologije. V tem delu je poudarek na izobraževanju in na standardih, ki bi ta proces znotraj Evrope poenotili oz. približali v tolikšni meri, da lahko govorimo o skupnem vsebinskem jedru za psihologijo. Predstavljena bo struktura prve, druge in tretje stopnje in minimalne zahteve, ki jih mora posameznik doseči v procesu izobraževanja. Z vidika strukture in zahtev pa bosta predstavljena ljubljanski in mariborski program psihologije. Naslednji, tretji prispevek pa bo namenjen predstavitvi kompetenc, ključnih pri delu psihologov, in v tem kontekstu bo predstavljen tudi koncept supervizirane prakse. * Naslov / Address: izr. prof. dr. Vlasta Zabukovec, Univerza v Ljubljani, Oddelek za bibliotekarstvo, informacijsko znanost in knjigarstvo, p. p. 580, SI-1001 Ljubljana, Slovenia, e-mail: vlasta.zabukovec@ff.uni-lj.si 112 V. Zabukovec, A. Podlesek in B. Musil Struktura izobraževanja EFPA je na svoji Generalni skupščini leta 2001 potrdila minimalne standarde za izobraževanje psihologov v Evropi. Tako lahko za EuroPsy zaprosi le tisti psiholog, ki lahko dokaže, da se je izobraževal v skladu s kurikulom, ki vključuje 360 ECTS, od tega 60 ECTS oz. eno leto (6. leto supervizirane prakse). Kurikul sestavljajo tri stopnje: 1. stopnja - diploma ali enakovredno 2. stopnja - magisterij ali enakovredno 3. stopnja - praksa pod supervizijo. 1. in 2. stopnja sta del univerzitetnega kurikula, za 3. stopnjo pa to ni nujno. Vendar se pričakuje, da države, ki so sprejele EuroPsy, stremijo k organizirani obliki supervizirane prakse. Izhodišča standardov za izobraževanje predvidevajo, da imajo študenti, ki zaključijo tak program, enakovredno znanje, spretnosti in kompetence. Potrebno je vedeti, da magisterij ali zaključeno petletno izobraževanje (300 ECTS) zagotavlja osnovno usposobljenost, ki je potrebna za začetek psihološke prakse. Za specializirano prakso na področjih (i) klinične psihologije in psihologije zdravja, (ii) psihologije dela in organizacije, (iii) pedagoške psihologije in (iv) ostalih področij psihologije, ki so v posameznih državah posebej uveljavljene, pa je potrebno dodatno usposabljanje. Prva stopnja Nudi osnovno izobrazbo na področju vseh disciplin psihologije ter glavnih psiholoških teorij in tehnik. Zagotavlja uvod v psihološke veščine ter osnovno znanje za psihološko raziskovanje. Ne vodi do poklicnih kvalifikacij v psihologiji in ne zagotavlja potrebne usposobljenosti za opravljanje samostojne psihološke prakse. Druga stopnja Ta pripravi študente za samostojno strokovno psihološko prakso. Ta del kurikula je lahko priprava za nadaljnje doktorsko usposabljanje ali na zaposlitev kot psiholog. Lahko pa je specializiran in je priprava na prakso na določenem strokovnem področju psihologije: na področju (i) klinične psihologije ali psihologije zdravja, (ii) pedagoške psihologije, (iii) psihologije dela in organizacije ali (iv) na drugem pomembnem strokovnem področju. Študent mora na drugi stopnji pokazati sposobnost osvajanja raziskovalnih veščin, tako pri pripravi na raziskovalno delo kot na poklicno kariero psihologa. EuroPsy 113 Tabela 1. Struktura prve stopnje Vsebina / cilji Posamezniki Skupine Sistemi / družba Orientacija Metode v psihologiji Znanje Zgodovina psihologije Pregled specialnosti in področij v psihologiji Eksplanatorne teorije Obča psihologija Znanje Nevropsihologija Psihobiologija Kognitivna psihologija Diferencialna psihologija Socialna psihologija Razvojna psihologija Psihologija osebnosti Psihologija dela in organizacije Klinična psihologija in psihologija zdravja Psihologija izobraževanja Psihopatologija Teorije tehnik Teorija podatkov in testna teorija Znanje Teorija vprašalnikov Teorija vrednotenja Eksplanatorne teorije Trening spretnosti ocenjevanja Veščine Trening spretnosti intervjuvanja Teorije tehnik Trening sestavljanja testov in vprašalnikov Veščine Trening skupinske intervencije Metodologija Uvod v metode: eksperimentalne metode Znanje Kvalitativne in kvantitativne metode Metodologija Eksperimentalna praksa, Veščine Metodološka in statistična praksa Trening pridobivanja podatkov, kvalitativna analiza Etika Etični kodeks in strokovna etika Znanje in spretnosti Akademske veščine Zbiranje podatkov, knjižnične in bibliografske veščine Veščine Branje / pisanje prispevkov Etika Nepsihološke teorije Epistemologija Znanje Filozofija Sociologija Antropologija Tabela 2. Struktura druge stopnje Vsebina / cilji Posamezniki Skupine Sistemi / družba Orientacija Znanje Orientacija v okviru prakse in možnosti specializacije Eksplanatorne teorije Znanje Predmeti o eksplanatornih teorijah obče psihologije in / ali psihobio-logije in / ali razvojne psihologije in / ali psihologije osebnosti in / ali socialne psihologije. Npr. teorije učenja, teorija arhitekture kognicije. izpopolnjene teorije osebnosti._ Predmeti o eksplanatornih teorijah psihologije dela in organizacije in / ali psihologije izobraževanja in / ali klinične psihologije in / ali psiholoških poddiscip-lin. Npr. teorije delovne uspešnosti, teorije situacijske kognicije, teorije vodenja, _teorije motenj osebnosti._ Teorije tehnik Predmeti o teorijah tehnik obče psihologije in / ali psihobiologije in / ali razvo- Znanje jne psihologije in / ali psihologije osebnosti in / ali socialne psihologije. Npr. psihometrična teorija, teorija ocenjevanja EEG._ Predmeti o teorijah tehnik psihologije dela in organizacije in / ali psihologije izobraževanja in / ali klinične psihologije in / ali psiholoških poddisciplin. Npr. _teorije analize dela, teorije učnih potreb, teorije svetovanja in psihoterapije._ Eksplanatorne teorije Trening veščin z uporabo zgoraj navedenih eksplanatornih teorij pri ocenjevanju Veščine v raziskovalnem / laboratorijskem okolju. Npr. trening meijenja EMG, trening ocenjevanja osebnosti._ Trening veščin z uporabo zgoraj navedenih eksplanatornih teorij pri ocenjevanju pri aplikaciji / v naravnih okoliščinah. Npr. trening analize napak, ocenjevanje _učnih motenj._ Teorije tehnik Trening veščin z uporabo zgoraj navedenih teorij tehnik pri intervencijah v razisk- Veščine ovalnem / laboratorijskem okolju. Npr. trening sestavljanja testov, načrtovanje učnega eksperimenta_ Trening veščin z uporabo zgoraj navedenih teorij tehnik v intervencijah pri aplikaciji / v naravnih okoliščinah. Npr. trening oblikovanja sistemov za ocenjevanje uspešnosti, oblikovanje sistema treninga, razvoj terapevtskega načrta, psihotera-_PUiL_ Metodologija Izpopolnjeno načrtovanje raziskovanja Znanje Temeljna in izpopolnjena multivariatna statistika vključno z analizo ANOVA Multipla regresijska analiza, faktorska analiza Načrtovanje kvalitativnega raziskovanja vključno z izpopolnjenim intervjuvanjem in uporabo vprašalnikov, kvalitativna analiza podatkov Metodologija Trening veščin na področju zgoraj navedenih metod in tehnik Veščine Etika Etični kodeks in profesionalna etika Znanje in spretnosti Akademske in splošne Trening veščin na področju pisanja poročil in prispevkov strokovne veščine Trening veščin na področju strokovnega intervjuvanja itd. Veščine Nepsihološke teorije Teoretični in praktični predmeti s področij drugih disciplin, pomembnih za Znanje psihološko dejavnost. Npr. medicina, pravo, poslovna ekonomija Osnovna usposobljenost RAZISKOVANJE Osnovna usposobljenost STUDIJSKA PRAKSA 116 V. Zabukovec, A. Podlesek in B. Musil Študijska praksa Njen cilj je zagotoviti uvodno strokovno usposabljanje na terenu, da bi študentom omogočili: - integracijo teoretičnega in praktičnega znanja; - učenje postopkov, povezanih s psihološkim znanjem; razmišljanje o svojih dejavnostih in dejavnostih drugih ljudi in razpravljanja o tem; - začetek prakse pod supervizijo; - pričetek dela v okolju s strokovnimi kolegi. Ta vrsta usposabljanja poteka ponavadi na drugi stopnji univerzitetnega kurikula, vendar je možno tudi drugače. Trajanje študijske prakse naj bi bilo 3 mesece oz. 15 ECTS. Študijska praksa naj bi bila raznolika in naj bi vključevala naslednje: opazovanje dejanskih situacij, kjer se uporabljajo psihološke tehnike; - uporaba osnovnih tehnik pod supervizijo; - sodelovanje pri projektih z določeno vlogo; - analiza in razpravljanje o »primerih«. Kraj, kjer se lahko opravlja študijska praksa, je lahko javna ali zasebna ustanova, ki: - zagotavlja storitve, ki ustrezajo izobrazbi pripravnika; lahko zagotovijo, da bodo večji del supervizije opravili profesionalni psihologi; ga prizna nacionalno združenje psihologov ali/in ga akreditira univerza. Raziskovanje Do zaključka izobraževanja naj bi študenti pokazali usposobljenost za raziskovanje in do takrat že opravili manjši raziskovalni projekt, bodisi v laboratoriju na univerzi ali na terenu; uporabljajo lahko eksperimentalne pristope ali bolj naturalistične pristope, na primer kvazieksperimente, študije primerov, pogovore ali študije s pomočjo vprašalnikov. Ob tem se bodo seznanili z naravo in etiko psihološkega raziskovanja ter spoznali osnovne metode, ki jih uporabljajo psihologi. Te dejavnosti trajajo od 3 do 6 mesecev ali enakovredno (tj. 15-30 točk ECTS). EuroPsy 117 Tretja stopnja (leto prakse pod supervizijo) Tretja stopnja se šteje za strokovno usposabljanje na terenu z namenom: priprave za samostojno prakso kot psiholog z licenco (ali enakovredno); razvoja delovne vloge psihologa na podlagi edinstvenega usposabljanja in osebnosti vsakega posameznika, izboljševanja integracije teoretičnega in praktičnega znanja. To usposabljanje ponavadi poteka po koncu druge stopnje in po končanem univerzitetnem programu. Traja 12 mesecev ali enakovredno (60 točk ECTS). Praksa je sestavljena iz delno samostojnega dela pod strokovno supervizijo. Ta oblika usposabljanja je bistvena za pridobivanje strokovne kvalifikacije psihologa, ker je uporaba znanja in veščin, pridobljenih v strokovnem okolju na prvi in drugi stopnji, predpogoj za razvoj kompetenc psihologov. Diplomanti, ki končajo prvo in drugo stopnjo brez obdobja prakse pod supervizijo, ne morejo biti kvalificirani za samostojno delo kot psihologi. Praksa pod supervizijo se ponavadi izvaja v javnih ustanovah ali v zasebnih podjetjih, ki: zagotavljajo storitve, skladne z izobrazbo udeleženca usposabljanja, lahko zagotovijo, da bo supervizijo opravil profesionalni psiholog, so akreditirani in jih priznava nacionalni organ, ki ureja pridobitev tega poklica. Ustanove, kjer lahko kandidat opravlja prakso, so: bolnišnice ali klinike, šole in izobraževalne ustanove ter javne dejavnosti, kot je npr. socialno varstvo. Opravljanje supervizirane prakse je možno tudi v delovnih organizacijah, v športnih klubih, na področju kadrovskega managementa ipd. Minimalne zahteve programa izobraževanja in usposabljanja Skupno trajanje izobraževanja in usposabljanja Kurikulum mora trajati vsaj 5 let (300 točk ECTS; 1 točka ECTS predstavlja 25-30 ur študentove obremenitve); razdeli se lahko na 180 točk na prvi stopnji in 120 točk na drugi stopnji, kar ustreza bolonj ski strukturi "3+2" (3 leta za dodiplomski in 2 leti za magistrski študij), čeprav se univerze in države razlikujejo glede na strukturo izobraževalnih sistemov. Tretja stopnja (praksa pod supervizijo) mora trajati vsaj 1 leto (60 točk ECTS) ali enakovredno. To pomeni skupaj 6 let ali 360 točk ECTS. 118 V. Zabukovec, A. Podlesek in B. Musil Zgradba kurikuluma Akademski kurikulum mora vključevati vse sestavne dele kurikuluma, navedene v preglednicah 1 in 2. Vendar pa lahko obstajajo razlike pri poudarkih na področjih študija in/ali vrstah izobraževalnih ciljev. V preglednici 3 so opisane meje, do katerih se lahko zgradba kurikuluma razlikuje. V operativnem smislu to zagotavlja prilagodljivo opredelitev "skupnega jedra" evropske psihologije. Te zahteve je mogoče razumeti tudi, kakor sledi: 1. Glavni del prve stopnje je treba nameniti teoretičnim predmetom in usposabljanju v veščinah na področju psihologije; vendar pa je treba določen del nameniti za metodologijo in nepsihološko teorijo (npr. filozofijo ali sociologijo), kar ponavadi velja za pomembno pri študiju psihologije. Predlagano je, da mora biti del, namenjen teoretičnim predmetom in usposabljanju v veščinah ter usmeritvenim in akademskim veščinam, vreden med 125 in 135 točk (več kot 2 leti). V okviru teoretičnih predmetov in usposabljanja v veščinah mora biti večji del namenjen vedenju posameznika. Vedenje ljudi v skupinah in družbi morata vsako posebej prejeti najmanj 20 točk. 2. Metodologija mora zajemati vsaj 30 točk, nepsihološka teorija pa med 15 in 25 točk. Skupaj morajo ti sestavni deli kurikuluma predstavljati od 45 do 55 točk. 3. Na drugi stopnji je treba približno 60 enot (1 leto) porabiti za teoretične predmete, seminarje, naloge itd. Da bi zagotovili, da se dovolj pozornosti namenja posameznikom v okviru sistemov in/ali družbe, mora biti število točk, namenjeno temu, vsaj 30. 4. Od 15 do 30 točk je treba nameniti pripravništvu ("stažu"), od 15 do 30 pa raziskovalnemu projektu ali nalogi. Ti dejavnosti morata zajeti največ 60 enot (1 leto). 5. Vsaj 60 enot (1 leto) je treba porabiti za prakso pod supervizijo. 6. Na prvi stopnji ni treba napisati referata, disertacije ali naloge, ker sama diploma ne pomeni kvalifikacije za samostojno prakso. Vendar pa je raziskovalna disertacija potrebna za drugo stopnjo. Več informacij bralec najde na strani European Federation of Psychologists' Associations, EuroPsy - the European Certificate in Psychology: Regulations, http://www.efpa.eu/europsy/what-is-europsy in na strani Društva psihologov Slovenije, EuroPsy - evropski certifikat iz psihologije, http://www2.arnes.si/~dpsih/ Tabela 3. Minimalne zahteve (v točkah ECTS) pri izobraževanju za samostojno poklicno prakso na področju psihologije Stopnja Sestavni del Posameznik Skupina Družba Skupaj 1. stopnja: ("diploma" ali enakovredno) Usmeritev Učni načrt mora vključevati usmeritve psihologije, poddiscipline in področja strokovne dejavnosti Najmanj 125 Teoretični predmeti in praktične vaje Najmanj 60 Najmanj 20 Najmanj 20 Akademske Vključiti je treba usposabljanje na področju akadem- veščine skih veščin Metodologija Najmanj 30 Najmanj 45 Nepsihološka Najmanj 15 teorija Najmanj 180 2. stopnja Teoretični pred- Najmanj 30 Najmanj 60 (magisterij ali enakovredno) meti, seminaiji, naloge itd. Praksa Najmanj 15-30 Najmanj 30 Raziskovalni Najmanj 15-30 projekt / naloga Skupaj 120 3. stopnja Praksa pod supervizijo Najmanj 60 Skupaj 60 Skupaj 360 Tabela 4. Predmetnik prvostopenjskega študijskega programa Psihologija UL Učna enota_ECTS 1. semester Uvod v psihologijo 4 Metodologija psihološkega raziskovanja 3 Opisna statistika 5 Motivacija in emocije 6 Razvojna psihologija otroštva 6 Nevrofiziologija 3 Splošni izbirni predmet3 3 2. semester Statistično zaključevanje 6 Kognitivna psihologija 9 Psihologija mladostništva in odraslosti 5 Uvod v socialno psihologijo 3 Uvod v psihologijo dela in organizacije 4 Splošni izbirni predmet3 3 3. semester Korelacijske metode 5 Psihologija osebnosti 7 Socialno vplivanje 5 Nevropsihologija 3 Uvod v pedagoško psihologijo 3 Uvod v klinično psihologijo 4 Splošni izbirni predmet3 3 4. semester Osnove meijenja v psihologiji 6 Socialna resničnost 6 Pedagogika in andragogika za psihologe 5 Psihologija učenja 7 Dva izbirna strokovna predmetab 3 5. semester Testna teorija 7 Stališča, socialne kognicije in reprezentacije 6 Psihopatologija in socialna patologija 5 Psihologija pouka 5 Psihologija dela 4 Uvod v svetovanje in psihoterapijo 3 6. semester Zgodovina in smeri psihologije 3 Uporabna razvojna psihologija 5 Razvojnopsihološka diagnostika 7 Interakcija, grupa, aplikacija 5 Psihologija pouka 3 Psihologija dela 4 Izbirni strokovni predmet0 3 " Prosta izbiniost - študent izbere katerikoli predmet iz drugih študijskih programov UL. b Študent izbere dva od naslednjih strokovnih predmetov: Fiziologija dela, Komunikologija za psihologe, Kvalitativno psihološko raziskovanje, Medvrstniško nasilje v šoli, Nova, mejna in posebna področja psihologije, Otroška igra in risba, Psihologija vsakdanjega življenja, Socialna psihologija in družboslovje/humanistika, Učenje v skupinah. c Študent izbere enega od naslednjih strokovnih predmetov: Individualne razlike v otroštvu in mladostništvu, Inteligentnost, nadarjenost, ustvarjalnost, Psihologija potrošnika, Psihološka preventiva, Zdravstvena psihologija. 122 V. Zabukovec, A. Podlesek in B. Musil Študij psihologije na Univerzi v Ljubljani V postopku bolonjske prenove je Oddelek za psihologijo Filozofske fakultete Univerze v Ljubljani razvil in na Svetu RS za visoko šolstvo akreditiral študijska programa prve in druge stopnje po modelu 3+2. Razvoj programov je temeljil na dokumentih certifikata EuroPsy, primerjavi s programi na drugih evropskih univerzah, obstoječem štiriletnem programu študija psihologije na Univerzi v Ljubljani in zahtevah UL. Ljubljanska programa prve in druge stopnje študentom dajeta splošna znanja s področja psihologije in nista specializirana na njeno posamezno področje. Prvostopenjski študij je univerzitetni študij in opremi študenta z osnovnim znanjem in veščinami s področja temeljnih in aplikativnih disciplin psihološke znanosti in nekaterih drugih, s psihologijo povezanih znanosti. Študent se orientira v različnih področjih psihologije, spozna glavne teorije in metode v psihologiji, pridobi osnovne psihološke spretnosti in spozna osnove raziskovanja v psihologiji. Pridobljena teoretična in metodološka znanja lahko prenaša na druga področja družboslovja. S triletnim prvostopenjskim študijem kandidat/ka pridobi naziv diplomirani psiholog (UN) / diplomirana psihologinja (UN)'. Drugostopenjski študij da študentu dodatno teoretično znanje, razumevanje in veščine na različnih področjih psihologije. Študent izpopolni svoje raziskovalne veščine in se usposobi za uporabo psiholoških diagnostičnih pripomočkov ter izvajanje psihološke obravnave. Diplomant/ka dobi naziv magister / magistrica psihologije. V preglednicah 4 in 5 sta navedena predmetnika posameznih programov. Kot vidimo, je večina predmetov semestrskih. S tem je olajšana mobilnost študentov (30 točk ECTS lahko študent namreč pridobi na kateremkoli drugem akreditiranem študijskem programu psihologije). Program je strukturiran tako, da si predmeti, vezani na vsako področje psihologije, sledijo od uvodnih do zahtevnejših. Na prvi stopnji se pojavljajo splošnejši predmeti. Temeljiteje so pokrite vsebine teoretičnih disciplin, medtem ko so v programu zajete le osnovne vsebine aplikativnih področij. Učenje večine psiholoških veščin in osvajanje zahtevnejših teoretičnih, predvsem pa aplikativnih znanj poteka šele na drugi stopnji. Tako bi lahko rekli, da na prvi stopnji študent pridobiva tako splošne kot specifične psihološke kompetence, medtem ko druga stopnja poudarja slednje. V Sloveniji je trg dela razmeroma majhen. Zaradi boljše zaposljivosti diplomantov sta oba študijska programa splošna in razvijata kompetence na najrazličnejših področjih psihologije, kompetence za raziskovalno in praktično delo. Programa sta zato sestavljena tako, da kontaktne ure (ure predavanj, seminarjev, vaj in drugih oblik dela v stiku z izvajalci programa) predstavljajo približno polovico ur študentove obremenitve. Oba programa skupaj vsebujeta tudi obvezne pedagoško-andragoške predmete, 1 Tako poimenovanje po zakonskih določitvah sledi iz imena študijskega programa. Za našo stroko žal ni najbolj primerno, saj naziv sugerira, daje diplomant prvostopenjskega programa že psiholog oz. lahko opravlja psihološko dejavnost. Zato bo potrebno v prihodnje posebej skrbno javnosti predstavljati minimalne zahteve za pridobitev licence za opravljanje psihološke dejavnosti. EuroPsy 123 Tabela 5. Predmetnik drugostopenjskega študijskega programa Psihologija UL Učna enota_ECTS 1. semester Uporabna psihometrija 7 Uporabna kognitivna psihologija 4 Diferencialna psihologija 4 Razvojnopsihološke teorije 7 Kliničnopsihološka diagnostika 8 2. semester Psihosocialni odnosi v šoli 8 Psihoterapija 10 Kadrovska psihologija 9 Splošni izbirni predmeta 3 3. semester Psihologija abnormnosti 3 Organizacijska psihologija 6 Izbirni strokovni modulb 15 Magistrsko delo 3 Splošni izbirni predmeta 3 4. semester Didaktika psihologije 4 Psihološka delovna praksa 14 Magistrsko delo 12 a Prosta izbirnost - študent izbere katerikoli predmet iz drugih študijskih programov UL. b Študent izbere enega od petih strokovnih modulov (s predmeti v oklepajih): - Razvoj otrok v različnih družbenih skupinah (Otrok v družini in vrtcu, Medkulturne razlike v otrokovem razvoju, Socializacija otrok v različnih okoljih), - Psihologija kognicije in osebnosti (Pozitivna psihologija, Kognitivna nevroznanost, Napredna metodologija psihološkega raziskovanja), - Šolska psihologija (Šolsko psihološko svetovanje, Diagnostika v izobraževanju, Stres v šoli), - Psihologija v gospodarstvu (Od inženirske do kiberpsihologije, Okoljska psihologija z ekologijo, Ekonomska psihologija), - Klinična otroška psihologija in psihoterapija (Klinična psihologija otroštva in mladostništva, Razvojni koncepti v psihoterapiji, Otroci v posebnih življenjskih pogojih) razporejene skozi vseh pet let izobraževanja. Tako razvijajo vsi kandidati za magistre psihologije tudi kompetence, potrebne za poučevanje psihologije v srednjih šolah ali prenos znanja drugim ljudem v drugačnih situacijah. Programa sta skladna z minimalnimi standardi za pridobitev certifikata EuroPsy. V programih se v različnih predmetih pojavljajo vse vsebine, navedene v preglednicah 1 in 2, nekatere bolj, druge manj obširno. Na prvi stopnji je 90 % vsebin obveznih. Metodološki predmeti skupaj pokrivajo minimalno 32 točk ECTS, nepsihološka teorija 25 točk ECTS (od tega so obvezne pedagoško-andragoške vsebine, študent pa sam izbere še za 9 točk ECTS drugih vsebin, pri čemer se mu 124 V. Zabukovec, A. Podlesek in B. Musil priporoča vsebine s področja sociologije, filozofije, antropologije ipd.). Študent lahko sam izbere tudi za 9 točk ECTS strokovnih vsebin. Obravnava vedenja ljudi v skupinah in družbi je vključena z različnimi deleži v različne predmete. Na drugi stopnji je 69 točk ECTS namenjenih obveznim teoretičnim, predvsem pa aplikativnim vsebinam, 6 točk izbirnim splošnim (zunanjim) predmetom, 15 točk pa izbirnim strokovnim vsebinam (strokovnemu modulu), kjer študent poglobi znanje in izpopolni veščine na področju psihologije, ki ga posebej zanima. Na drugi stopnji študent tudi opravlja študijsko prakso v skupnem obsegu 15 točk ECTS, pri čemer je 1 točka namenjena hospitacijam v okviru Didaktike psihologije, preostalih 14 točk (7 tednov) pa delu v eni ali več izbranih institucijah. Medtem ko za zaključek prvostopenjskega študija ni predvidena izdelava diplomskega dela ali diplomski izpit, pa se druga stopnja zaključi z izdelavo magistrskega dela in njegovim zagovorom, v obsegu 15 točk ECTS. Čeprav študent lahko po končani prvi stopnji zapusti izobraževanje (in lahko opravlja razne organizacijske, trženjske, medijske in založniške dejavnosti, sodeluje v programih socialnega varstva ipd.), sta študijska programa prve in druge stopnje nastavljena tako, da bi ju lahko brez večjih težav pretvorili v model izobraževanja 5+0, se pravi v enoten magistrski študij psihologije. Cilj programov je študentu v petih letih podati koherenten sistem kompetenc za opravljanje splošne psihološke dejavnosti, zato se prvostopenjski program že v celoti osredotoča na razvoj profila psihologa. Ker so v prvostopenjskem programu že izrazito zastopane vsebine, ki razvijajo temeljne psihološke kompetence, se v program druge stopnje poleg diplomantov akreditiranih programov psihologije (iz Slovenije ali tujine) lahko vpišejo le še diplomanti tistih sorodnih strokovnih področij, ki so v svojem prvostopenjskem izobraževanju pridobili dovolj velik delež podobnih oz. kar psiholoških vsebin in s tem kompetenc. Sorodna področja so: socialno delo, pedagogika in andragogika, socialna pedagogika, specialna in rehabilitacijska pedagogika, tiflopedagogika in pedagogika specifičnih učnih težav. Tudi ti kandidati pa morajo pred vpisom opraviti do 60 točk ECTS diferencialnih izpitov, in sicer iz tistih predmetov, ki v njihovem dotedanjem študiju niso bili zadovoljivo pokriti. Kandidati z zaključenim katerimkoli drugim prvostopenjskim študijskim programom lahko kandidirajo za vpis le, če je njihov program pokrival vsaj 50 točk ECTS vsebin, sorodnih vsebinam iz prvostopenjskega študijskega programa Psihologija. S tem se vsakemu magistru psihologije zagotovi, da izpolnjuje minimalne zahteve za pridobitev certifikata EuroPsy. Več o študijskih programih Oddelka za psihologijo UL najdete na spletnih straneh: http://psy.ff.uni-lj .si/ Študij psihologije na Univerzi v Mariboru Oddelek za psihologijo Filozofske fakultete Univerze v Mariboru bo v prihajajočem študijskem letu izvajal prvi in drugi letnik akreditiranega triletnega univerzitetnega študijskega programa prve stopnje Psihologija. Prav tako je v pripravi EuroPsy 125 dvoletni drugostopenjski študijski program s področja psihologije. V snovanju povsem novega študijskega programa psihologije na Univerzi v Mariboru so bile upoštevane sledeče smernice: - bolonjska reforma visokošolskega prostora v Evropi; skupne smernice EFPA za izobraževanje psihologov v Evropi (EuroPsy) in primerjava s psihološkimi študijskimi programi drugih evropskih univerz; - povezava s prakso oz. praktična usmerjenost programa. Na podlagi skupne zaveze evropskega visokošolskega prostora morajo dejansko vsi novi študijski programi, ki poskušajo biti nacionalno akreditirani in mednarodno (evropsko) priznani, upoštevati osnovne smernice bolonjske reforme. Med slednjimi (in v pomenu za izobraževanje psihologov) lahko izpostavimo dvostopenjski študij, kreditni sistem študija, prehodnost med programi, izbirnost in mobilnost, poudarek na interaktivnem delu in individualnem delu študenta, povezanost s prakso oziroma poudarek na aplikativnosti. Stopenjskost, kreditni sistem, izbirnost in povezovanje z drugimi področji, poudarek na povezovanju s prakso so prav tako pomembne smernice EFPA standardov za izobraževanje psihologov v Evropi, tako da EuroPsy dejansko pomeni prenos bolonjskih smernic na področje izobraževanja in usposabljanja psihologov (Musil, 2007). Kakšen je torej dejanski izgled mariborskega študijskega programa psihologije v navezavi na evropske standarde izobraževanja psihologov? V preglednici 6 so semestralno prikazani vsi predmeti prvostopenjskega študijskega programa psihologije s pripadajočimi kreditnimi točkami (ECTS). Program je triletni študij (skupno 180 kreditnih točk), ki daje osnovno orientacijo v področjih, teorijah in tehnikah psihologije ter povezavah s sorodnimi znanstvenimi disciplinami (podrobnejše informacije o programu so dostopne na http://www.ff.uni-mb.si/index.php?page_id=211 ali http://www.uni-mb.si/povezava.aspx?pid=5331). Študenti zaključijo študij tako, da opravijo 26 obveznih vsebin (24 predmetov, praktično usposabljanje in diplomsko seminarsko nalogo), 4 izbirne predmete znotraj študijskega programa (nepsihološki teoretski predmet, metodološki predmet in 2 izbirna predmeta znotraj stroke) in 2 prosto izbirna predmeta. Študenti tako zberejo 180 kreditnih točk in pridobijo naziv diplomirani psiholog (UN) / diplomirana psihologinja (UN). Če učne enote študijskega programa prve stopnje navežemo na EFPA standarde oz. smernice za strukturo prve stopnje (preglednica 1), lahko neposredno razberemo naslednje vsebine: predmet v programu Zgodovina in metode psihologije se navezuje na orientacijo; predmeti Uvod v razvojno psihologijo, Psihični razvoj od spočetja do mladostništva, Zaznavni procesi, Višji spoznavni procesi, Motivacija in emocije, Razvojna psihologija mladostništva in odraslosti, Osebnost, Pedagoška psihologija 1 in 2, Psihopatologija s socialno patologijo, Socialna psihologija 1 in 2, Klinična psihologija, Psihologija v organizacijah se navezujejo na znanje eksploratornih teorij, predmet Medosebni odnosi in komunikacija pa na veščine eksploratornih Tabela 6. Predmetnik, ovrednoten s točkami ECTS, v mariborskem prvostopenjskem študijskem programu _Učna enota_ECTS 1. semester Obvezne vsebine Zgodovina in metode psihologije 6 Fiziologija 6 Statistika za psihologe 9 Tuj j ezik v psihologij i 3 _Uvod v razvojno psihologijo_6 2. semester Obvezne vsebine Psihični razvoj od spočetja do mladostništva 7 Zaznavni procesi 5 Višji spoznavni procesi 6 Motivacija in emocije 4 Računalništvo za psihologe 3 Izbirni predmet 1 (iz nabora nepsiholoških teoretskih predmetov) _Uvod v sociologijo. Filozofija psihologije_5 3. semester Obvezne vsebine Razvojna psihologija mladostništva in odraslosti 7 Osebnost 6 Pedagoška psihologija 1 7 Psihopatologija s socialno patologijo 5 Izbirni predmet 2 (iz nabora metodoloških predmetov) _Kvalitativna metodologija. Mutivariatne analize_5 4. semester Obvezne vsebine Socialna psihologija 1 7 Pedagoška psihologija 2 7 Psihološko-metodološki praktikum 6 Socialna in kulturna antropologija 5 Izbirni predmet 3 (iz nabora izbirnih predmetov znotraj stroke): Dejavniki razvoja. Teorija navezanosti in njena aplikacija. Uvod v ge- 5 stalt terapijo. Vedenje odjemalcev. Medkulturna psihologija. Religija in _posameznik. Psihologija glasbe. Nevroetologija_ 5. semester Obvezne vsebine Socialna psihologija 2 6 Psihometrija 7 Klinična psihologija 7 Psihologija v organizacijah 7 _Praktično usposabljanje_3_ 6. semester Obvezne vsebine Izbrana poglavja iz psihologije 5 Medosebni odnosi in komunikacija 5 Diplomska seminarska naloga 5 Izbirni predmet 4 (iz nabora neizbranih izbirnih predmetov znotraj stroke, po- 5 danih pri izbirnem predmetu 3 v 4. semestru) _2 prosto izbirna predmeta (2^5 ECTS)_l_0 128 V. Zabukovec, A. Podlesek in B. Musil teorij; na sklop teorij tehnik in metodologijo se navezujejo predmeti Statistika za psihologe, Računalništvo za psihologe, Kvalitativna metodologija ali Multivariatne analize, Psihometrija, Psihološko-metodološki praktikum ter deloma Zgodovina in metode psihologije; predmet Izbrana poglavja iz psihologije ter posredno Tuj jezik v psihologiji in Diplomska seminarska naloga se navezujejo na etiko in akademske veščine; predmeti Fiziologija, Socialna in kulturna antropologija, Uvod v sociologijo ali Filozofija psihologije pa podajo orientacijo in znanje nepsiholoških teorij. Glede na preglednico 3 lahko povzamemo, da teoretični predmeti in praktične vaje (skupaj s izbirnimi predmeti znotraj stroke, praktičnim usposabljanjem in diplomsko seminarsko nalogo) pokrivajo minimalno 124 točk ECTS, pri čemer pa je omenjeno količino točk možno povečati glede na potencialne izbore pri dveh prosto izbirnih predmetih (skupno do 10 točk ECTS); metodološki predmeti so zastopani v obsegu 30 točk ECTS, nepsihološke teorije pa s 16 točkami ECTS. Glede na omenjeni razrez točk študijski program izpolnjuje standarde za pridobitev certifikata EuroPsy. Poleg slednjega pa lahko poudarimo precejšnjo izbirnost programa (30 točk ECTS oziroma okoli 17 % skozi vsa tri študijska leta), praktično usposabljanje in integracijo humanistično-družboslovnih vsebin v program (sociologija, filozofija, antropologija). Prvostopenjski študij psihologije predstavlja uvodni študij, kjer je poudarek na pregledu splošnejših psiholoških vsebin in povezavi s predmeti sorodnih znanstvenih disciplin, proti zaključku študija pa se študenti prav tako seznanijo z osnovnim pregledom in vsebinami aplikativnih področij. Skozi vsa tri leta je preko oblik dela (seminarske in laboratorijske vaje) in vsebin (metodološki predmeti, psihološko-metodološki praktikum, diplomska seminarska naloga) znatno prisotno usmerjanje v raziskovalno delo študentov ter preko praktičnega usposabljanja tudi neposreden stik znanj in veščin s praktično izkušnjo. V kontekstu EuroPsy se študij na prvi stopnji logično nadgradi v nadaljnjem drugostopenjskem študiju. Oddelek za psihologijo Filozofske fakultete Univerze v Mariboru pripravlja drugostopenjski dvoletni študijski program, ki bo usmerjen na področje psihologije v izobraževanju in svetovanju. Znotraj omenjenega programa je predvideno precejšnje sodelovanje in vključevanje raznolike prakse, od šolskega polja in izobraževanja psihologije do zdravstva in psihoterapevtskih področij. Vsekakor je cilj prizadevanj mariborskega oddelka, da študenti preko dokončanih dveh stopenj (3+2) pridobijo vse potrebne kompetence za samostojno opravljanje psihološke dejavnosti in preko predvidene tretje stopnje v evropskih standardih izobraževanja psihologov (praksa pod supervizijo) tudi pridobivanje certifikata EuroPsy. Literatura Musil, B. (2007). EuroPsy - evropska diploma iz psihologije: Kaj prinaša v slovenski psihološki prostor? Psihološka obzorja, 16(2), 113-118. Prispelo/Received: 19.7.2009 Psihološka obzorja /Horizons of Psychology, 18, 3, 129-131 (2009) © Društvo psihologov Slovenije 2009, ISSN 1318-187 Ocena knjige Ocena knjige "Emotion in education" Marjeta Sarič* Univerza v Ljubljani, Oddelek za pedagogiko in andragogiko, Ljubljana Review of the book "Emotion in education" Marjeta Sarič University of Ljubljana, Department of Pedagogy andAndragogy, Ljubljana Ključne besede: čustva, izobraževanje, pedagoška psihologija, recenzije Key words: emotions, education, educational psychology, reviews CC = 3500 Schutz, P. A. in Pekrun, R. (ur.) (2007). Emotion in Education. San Diego: Elsevier Čustva pri učenju in poučevanju so bila doslej deležna manj pozornosti kot drugi psihološki procesi, npr. spoznavni procesi, motivacija (čeprav močno povezana s čustvi), ustvarjalnost in drugi. V zadnjih letih pa se povečuje raziskovalni interes tudi za področje čustev pri učenju in poučevanju, kar izkazujejo tudi tematske številke vodilnih strokovnih publikacij, kot sta npr. Teaching and Teacher Education in Educational Psychology Review, obe iz leta 2006. Zbornik Emotion in Education skuša povzeti in združiti najnovejše študije s področja čustev in čustvene regulacije v izobraževanju. Predstavljena so teoretična izhodišča, ki so se osnovala tekom zadnjih let povečanega interesa na tem področju, prikazani pa so tudi konkretni raziskovalni načrti, ki osvetljujejo, na kakšen način se je možno lotiti tega kompleksnega področja raziskovanja. Dela, zbrana v knjigi, presegajo dosedanjo usmerjenost na negativne emocije, kot sta dobro proučena testna anksioznost pri učencih ali stres pri učiteljih, in je s predstavitvijo celostnih teoretskih okvirjev ter posameznih raziskovalnih programov usmerjeno k širšemu naboru doživljanja pri pouku, torej * Naslov / Address: asist. mag. Marjeta Šarič, Univerza v Ljubljani, Filozofska fakulteta, Oddelek za pedagogiko in andragogiko, p. p. 580, SI-1001 Ljubljana, Slovenia, e-mail: marjeta.saric@ff.uni-lj.si 130 M. Šaric tudi k pozitivnim emocijam (v tem vidim povezavo z mlajšo toda vse bolj vplivno usmeritev v psihologiji, pozitivno psihologijo). Urednika Paul A. Schutz in Reinhard Pekrun sta dva izmed vodilnih raziskovalcev s področja pedagoške psihologije. Zborniku še poveča njegovo širino in raznolikost to, da so izbrani avtorji prispevkov iz različnih držav (ne zgolj iz ZDA, kot je to običajno, ampak tudi iz nekaterih zahodno-evropskih držav in Avstralije). Nekateri prispevki so izrazito teoretsko usmerjeni, drugi članki so predstavitev raziskovalnega dela, uvodno in zaključno poglavje urednikov pa povezujeta vse prispevke v celoto. Osrednji del je razdeljen v tri vsebinske sklope. Prvi je namenjen teoretičnemu uokvirjanju raziskovanja čustev v izobraževanju. Čustva, ki se nanašajo na učne dosežke in so akademsko usmerjena, so bolj intenzivno obravnavana kot tista, ki vzniknejo iz drugih okoliščin, na primer čustva socialne narave, ki izhajajo iz druženja z vrstniki (v svojem članku jih omeni Weiner, znan po svoji atribucijski teoriji). Težko jih je razmejiti, vendar se mi zdi potrebno izpostaviti enostransko usmerjanje na doživljanje v povezavi z učnimi dosežki, saj lahko nastane nova slepa pega v proučevanju čustev v izobraževanju. Drugi sklop prispevkov se nanaša na doživljanje učencev v šolskem kontekstu. V treh prispevkih iz tega sklopa gre za kompleksne modele, kako organizirati čustva, posamezno pa so obravnavana naslednja čustva, ki jih doživljajo učenci: sramota, interes (zanimivo, uvrščen je k čustvom, sama bi ga obravnavala kot motivacijski dejavnik) in testna anksioznost. V tretjem sklopu je obravnavano doživljanje učiteljev, kjer imamo spet nekaj prispevkov, ki iščejo enoten model čustvovanja učiteljev in dva prispevka, ki se ukvarjata s konkretnim čustvom, to je jeza. Po en prispevek iz drugega in tretjega sklopa pa sta širše družbeno, celo politično naravnana in se dotikata odnosov moči v družbi. Bogastvo predstavljenega zbornika je v tem, da na enem mestu predstavi raznovrstna teoretična izhodišča in raziskovalne programe, ki so na tem področju že vzpostavljeni. Enotne, vseobsegajoče teorije na tem področju ni in je tudi še ni pričakovati glede na to, da je proučevanje čustev šele v začetkih. Po presoji urednikov je za izčrpen pregled in meta-analizo še premalo zbranih podatkov. Optimizem vliva zaključek, kjer urednika povzameta bistveno, kar je že narejeno na tem področju in izluščita to, kar je še posebej pomanjkljivo proučeno in bi bilo potrebno nadaljnjih študij: kako se različne emocije med seboj združujejo, kakšni so vzorci in različni nivoji doživljanja, manjkajo longitudinalne študije za opazovanje procesa in razvoja doživljanja, pa tudi interdisciplinarni pristop k proučevanju. Še posebej bi izpostavila poziv k raziskovanju pedagoških intervencij: kako organizirati šolske situacije tako, da bodo čustva, ki jih doživljajo učenci, učitelji in drugi vključeni v pedagoški proces, optimalno prispevala k razvoju posameznika in skupnosti? V zborniku so predstavljeni raznoliki pristopi k metodologiji raziskovanja čustev v šolskem kontekstu. Tako najdemo bolj tradicionalne, kvantitativne in deduktivno naravnane, kot tudi eksploratorne, neeksperimentalne in inovativne raziskovalne metodologije. Avtorji prispevkov so raziskovalci, ki so svoje delo že Ocena knjige 131 objavljali v relevantnih strokovnih publikacijah, zato so seznami literature ob koncu vsakega prispevka bogat vir za nadaljevanje in poglabljanje raziskovanja čustvenega dogajanja pri učenju. Po mojem osebnem občutku so prispevki vendarle precej bolj strogo znanstveno kot praktično pedagoško obarvani - pogrešala sem na primer »mehkejše« vidike čustvenega doživljanja v šolskem prostoru, kot sta na primer pojem čustvene geografije Andyja Hargreavesa (2002), ali pa usmerjenost na osebne vidike poučevanja in identiteto učiteljev, kot jo opisuje Jennifer Nias (1996). Po drugi strani pa je razumljivo, da so v zvezi s konkretnimi napotki raziskovalci precej zadržani, saj je prav zaradi pomanjkanja konkretnih in zanesljivih raziskovalnih podatkov in koherentnih, celostnih teoretičnih okvirjev, težko oblikovati konkretna, v raziskavah utemeljena priporočila. Odprta naravnanost urednikov do različnih pristopov omogoča, da razširimo in poglobimo razumevanje tega kompleksnega področja. Zaradi svoje znanstvene usmerjenosti je knjiga prej namenjena raziskovalcem kot praktikom. Raziskovalci bodo v njej našli ideje, predloge in dobra izhodišča za proučevanje čustvenega dogajanja pri učenju. Vendar lahko tudi strokovnjaki iz prakse v zborniku najdejo možne razlage za to, kar se dogaja, in potrditev, da sta učenje in poučevanje celostna procesa, ki ne zajemata zgolj spoznavnega področja, ampak da so vidiki spoznavanja, doživljanja, vrednotenja med seboj prepleteni in povezani v kompleksno celoto. Literatura Hargreaves, A. (2002). Teaching in a box: Emotional geographies of teaching. V C. Sugrue, in C. Day (ur.), Developing teachers and teaching practice. London: Routledge/Falmer. Nias, J. (1996). Thinking about feeling: The emotions in teaching. Cambridge Journal of Education, 26(3), 293-306. Prispelo/Received: 11.3.2009 132 Psihološka obzorja /Horizons of Psychology, 18, 3, 133-131 (2009) © Društvo psihologov Slovenije 2009, ISSN 1318-187 Ocena knjige Ocena knjige "Ethics for European Psychologists" (Etika za evropskega psihologa) Polona Matjan Štuhec* Univerza v Ljubljani, Oddelek za psihologijo, Ljubljana Review of the book "Ethics for European Psychologists" Polona Matjan Stuhec University of Ljubljana, Department of Psychology, Ljubljana Ključne besede: Stalna evropska Komisija za etiko, EFPA, meta etični kodeks, etična načela Key words: Standing Committee of Ethics, EFPA, meta code of ethics, ethical principles CC = 3450 Lindsay, G., Koene, C., Ovreeide, H., Lang, F. (2008) Ethics for European Psychologists. USA, Europe, Hogrefe & Huber Publishers. [ISBN 978-0-88937-357-0] Stalna komisija za etiko (Standing Committee of Ethics) pri Evropski federaciji poklicnih psiholoških združenj (EFPA) dela od leta 1991. Meta etični kodeks za evropskega psihologa je bil sprejet leta 1995, revizija s spremembami je bila narejena po desetih letih uporabe in je zajela spremembe, ki jih je prinesla desetletna uporaba načel. Ankete, s katerimi je komisija skušala ugotavljati stanje na področju etične prakse psihologov v Evropi, so pokazale izrazito različno etično prakso, posebej na področju uporabe sankcij za posamezne etične prekrške. Tako je padla odločitev, da bo komisija svoje znanje in izkušnje zapisala v knjigi, ki je dobila naslov: Etika za evropske psihologe. Celotna komisija, katere članica je avtorica te ocene zadnjih petnajst let, je o vsebini knjige diskutirala leto dni, preden so bila poglavja končno napisana. * Naslov / Address: asist. dr. Polona Matjan Štuhec, Univerza v Ljubljani, Filozofska fakulteta, Oddelek za psihologijo, p. p. 580, SI-1001 Ljubljana, Slovenia, e-mail: polona.matjan@ff.uni-lj.si 134 P. Matjan Štuhec Avtorji pisnega izdelka so štirje člani, prvi trije so nosilci vsebine etičnih načel, zadnji avtor je poleg strokovnega dela našel založbo in omogočil tisk. Geoff Lindsay je sprva delal kot šolski psiholog, trenutno vodi center za razvoj, ocenjevanje in raziskovanje v šoli na Univerzi v Warwicku v Veliki Britaniji, kjer predseduje tudi fakultetni komisiji za etiko na področju raziskovanja. Bil je predsednik Britanskega društva psihologov in ustanovni član Stalne komisije za etiko pri EFPA. Casper Koene je delal kot klinični psiholog s klienti z učnimi motnjami, težavami z zaposlovanjem in v ambulantni psihiatriji. Bil je ustanovitelj Evropske komisije za etiko psihološkega dela in več kot desetletje njen vodja. Prav tako je predsedoval Svetovalnemu odboru etične komisije pri NIP - Nizozemskem društvu psihologov. Poklicno etiko psihologov uči v več podiplomskih programih na Nizozemskem. Haldor Ovreeide je specialist klinične psihologije, ki dela v zasebnem Inštitutu za družino in razvoj odnosov na Norveškem. Uči in daje konzultacije o terapevtski komunikaciji z otroki in družinami po nordijskih državah ter povsod tam tudi poučuje poklicno psihološko etiko. Bil je predsednik Etične komisije Norveškega združenja psihologov ter predsednik dvema vladnima komisijama o razvijanju vloge in kakovosti sodnega izvedenca ob ukrepih, ki zadevajo odločitve v najboljšo korist otroka. Fredi Lang je delal kot zdravstveni in organizacijski psiholog na področju bolezni aidsa in zasvojenosti. Trenutno je direktor za poklicne zadeve v glavni pisarni Nemškega združenja psihologov v Berlinu. Je tudi predsednik Etične komisije pri tem združenju. Vsebina knjige sledi meta etičnemu kodeksu za evropske psihologe, ga razdela in teoretično utemelji. Posebej dragoceni so primeri, ki jih najdemo v večjem številu pri vsakem poglavju. Zbrali so jih vsi člani komisije iz pritožbene prakse svojih držav in predstavili kot ključne pri delu psihologov. Na osnovi teh primerov lahko vsak psiholog praktik, pa tudi vsak, ki psihologijo poučuje ali na tem področju raziskuje, in se zato pri svojem delu vsak dan srečuje z etičnimi dilemami, prepozna in uvidi, kaj neko načelo pomeni in kakšno vsebino in pomen ima načelo v tem času in v našem prostoru. Načela psihološke etike imajo daljši časovni rok, vendar ne neomejenega. Nekaj, kar je bilo sprejemljivo pred 80 leti, je danes nedopustno. Še bolj pa se spreminja praksa in način, kako etična načela izvajamo. Knjiga daje podroben in natančen vpogled v priporočila za etično delo evropskih psihologov. Knjiga se začne s predstavitvijo odnosa med poklicno etiko in psihologijo, pregleda etične dimenzije in etični diskurz ter predstavi najpomembnejša etična načela, kot jih opredeljuje evropski meta kodeks. Tako razdela po hierarhični vrsti načelo spoštovanja, načelo kompetenc, načelo odgovornosti in načelo poštenosti. Geoff Lindsay kot pretežno raziskovalec v svojem poklicnem delu se dotakne psihologije kot znanosti in poudari pomen etike pri raziskovalnem delu psihologa. Posebej definira še psihološko prakso in razdela razloge za praktično uporabo etičnih načel. Ocena knjige 135 Odnos med etičnimi načeli in obstoječo zakonodajo je za psihologe posebej pomemben. Tako kot se izvajanje in uporaba etičnih načel v evropskih državah kar precej razlikuje, je tudi zakonodaja zelo različna. Haldor Ovreeide se loteva konflikta, v katerem se znajde psiholog v situaciji, ko mu zakon nalaga drugačno ukrepanje kot bi mu etični kodeks. Lahko je neko dejanje zakonito, pa ni etično, lahko je nezakonito in tudi neetično ali obratno. Odnos med zakonom in etiko je kompleksen. V uvodu v evropski meta etični kodeks Lindsay in Ovreeide poudarita namen meta kodeksa, ki naj služi predvsem kot vodilo nacionalnim psihološkim združenjem pri oblikovanju svojega kodeksa. Ni pisan za uporabo psihologu kot posamezniku, ampak strokovnemu združenju kot okvir, v katerem naj bodo etična načela razdelana in uporabna v domačem etičnem kodeksu. Za psihologa, ki pri svojem delu pomembno posega v osebnost drugega in zato lahko hitro krši osnovne človekove pravice, je posebnega pomena vprašanje, kdo vse je klient. Evropska komisija za etiko razume klienta široko, tako tistega, ki je v neposrednem kontaktu s psihologom, kot tudi vse tiste, ki so posredno vključeni v psihologovo delo in na katere morda psiholog takoj ne pomisli. Zadnji posredni klient je celo širša družbena skupnost, v kateri psiholog dela in morda objavlja. Za evropskega psihologa je najpomembnejše, da pri svojem delu ljudi, s katerimi prihaja v odnos, spoštuje. Bolj kot vse znanje, veščine ali pomembna znanstvena odkritja, psihologa na etičnem področju določa njegov odnos do soljudi. Zato je načelo spoštovanja človeka pri psihologovem delu vodilno načelo. Vsebuje tudi pravilo zasebnosti in zaupnosti, ki zahteva od psihologa znanje in veščino vzpostavitve informiranega pristanka. Informirani pristanek za psihologa ni formalnost, ampak pomembno vsebinsko določilo odnosa med psihologom in klientom, ki predstavlja začetek delovnega odnosa in možnost izpeljave delovnega procesa. Najdemo 16 primerov, iz katerih je razviden pomen spoštovanja človeka in predvsem pomanjkljivosti in pasti pri pridobivanju informiranega pristanka. Naslednje načelo, ki ga knjiga »Ethics for European psychologists« razloži, je načelo kompetentnosti. Kompetentnost kot osnovno vodilo spremenjenih univerzitetnih programov, se pri etičnem delu psihologa pojavlja na drugem mestu. Psiholog se mora zavedati in poznati vsebino in meje svoje kompetentnosti ter uporabljati postopke, za katere si je pridobil ustrezna teoretična znanja in praktične veščine. Za ilustracijo knjiga navaja 17 primerov, ki so podrobno obrazloženi. Sledi načelo odgovornosti. Široko in tesno se prepleta z ostalimi načeli etičnega kodeksa. Včasih je odgovornost težko ločiti od kompetentnosti in poštenosti, pa tudi od pridobivanja informiranega pristanka. Načelo je razdeljeno na šest podpoglavij, od splošne odgovornosti, do razširjene odgovornosti in podaljšane skrbi. Za ilustracijo in boljše razumevanje Fredi Lang navaja 6 primerov. Casper Koene se loteva načela poštenosti in odprtosti, ki vsebuje tako pomemben princip konflikta interesov in izkoriščanja. Avtor ugotavlja, da so dvojne vloge, v katerih se lahko znajdeta psiholog in njegov klient, potencialna nevarnost za konflikt 136 P. Matjan Štuhec interesov in za potencialno izkoriščanje. Priporoča, da se psiholog dvojnim vlogam čim bolj skrbno izogiba. Iz svoje dolgoletne prakse v vlogi predsednika etične komisije Koene navaja v ilustracijo 19 primerov, v katerih prikaže tako neetično kot tudi etično ustrezno ravnanje psihologa. Ob koncu knjige je poglavje posvečeno načinu in možnostim ob reševanju etičnih dilem, tudi drugim možnostim, ki obstajajo razen disciplinskega postopka za kršitelja. Tako je predstavljena mediacija, arbitraža, prevzgojni ukrepi in šele na koncu možnosti disciplinskih ukrepov. V razmislek o različnih možnostih Koene opiše 6 primerov. Avtorji se ozrejo v prihodnost, v etične dileme, ki jih prinaša uporaba nove tehnologije, predvsem interneta in opozarjajo na nevarnosti in pasti, ki jih bomo šele spoznali in na potrebo, da bomo dorekli etična pravila tudi na področju novih tehnologij. Knjiga »Etika za evropskega psihologa« je za slovenskega psihologa izjemnega pomena, posebej zaradi bogatih in ilustrativnih primerov, v katerih se lahko najde in prepozna prav vsak. Na žalost trenutno obstaja zgolj v angleškem originalu, ampak upajmo, da za večino kolegov to ni več največji problem. Prispelo/Received: 30.6.2009 137 138 V naslednji številki (letnik 18, številka 4, 2009) Psiholoških obzorij bodo predvidoma objavljeni naslednji prispevki [Forthcoming articles]: Andreja Avsec Validacija slovenske verzije Vprašalnika psihološkega blagostanja RPWB Eva BoŠTJANčič Vpliv nezavednih motivov na stil vodenja Petra Fišer in Zlatka Cugmas Povezanost med dojenčkovo oziroma malčkovo navezanostjo na mater in njegovim vedenjem pri vadbi plavanja Renata Marčič in Darja Kobal Grum Povezanost samopodobe in samospoštovanja z agresivnostjo Saša Poljak Discipliniranje otrok v družini - načini, stališča in medgeneracijske povezave Barbara smolej Fritz in Cirila Peklaj Samoregulativni procesi kot prediktorji uspešnosti učencev glasbene šole pri glasbeni teoriji Bojan Varjačič Psihoanalitične teorije psihoz Navodilo avtorjem prispevkov Opredelitev prispevkov V Psiholoških obzorjih so objavljeni prispevki, napisani v slovenskem ali angleškem jeziku (izjemoma, po presoji uredniškega sveta, še v kakšnem drugem svetovnem jeziku). Znanstveni in strokovni prispevki morajo biti napisani v jedrnatem, razumljivem, jasnem in logičnem ter jezikovno ustreznem slogu. Avtorji morajo sami poskrbeti za jezikovno lekturo prispevkov. Empirični članek avtor napiše kot poročilo o raziskavi. Vsebovati mora vse značilne dele, ki odslikujejo korake raziskovalnega procesa: uvod, metodo (s podpoglavji udeleženci, pripomočki oziroma inštrumenti ter postopek), rezultate, razpravo in literaturo. Za teoretski članek se predvideva, da v podrobnostih preuči in kritično analizira določene modele ali teorije. Empirični podatki so predstavljeni le, če so v neposredni zvezi s teorijo. Pregledni članek kritično ovrednoti na različnih mestih že objavljene prispevke. Značilni deli preglednega članka so opredelitev in razlaga problema, povzetek predhodnih raziskav, pojasnitev medsebojnih odnosov, protislovij, pomanjkljivosti in na koncu predlogi za nadaljnje raziskovanje. Struktura prispevka Prispevek mora vsebovati v slovenskem in angleškem jeziku napisane: naslov prispevka, ključne besede (okrog pet), ki najbolje opredeljujejo vsebino, in povzetek prispevka, ki vsebuje bistvene informacije o prispevku. Povzetek naj obsega do 300 besed (če je članek po dogovoru napisan v katerem od drugih svetovnih jezikov, morajo biti navedene informacije v tem, a tudi nujno v slovenskem in angleškem jeziku). V besedilu naj (zaradi postopka slepe recenzije) ne bo navedeno ime in/ali naslov avtorjev. Empirični prispevek naj v nadaljevanju sledi naslednjim splošnim pravilom: 1. Uvodni del ne sme biti preobširen, vendar mora ponuditi glavno teoretično ali konceptualno ogrodje, v katerega je vpet raziskovalni problem. 2. Raziskovalni problem mora biti jasno formuliran, predstavljati mora logično nadaljevanje uvodnega dela prispevka. Problem mora biti relevanten in v zastavljeni obliki še neraziskan. Poudarjeno mora biti, katere nove dileme odpira. 3. Raziskovalne hipoteze in spremenljivke morajo biti operacionalizirane in postopki opazovanja in merjenja morajo biti natančno opisani. Kratek, a natančen opis izbire udeležencev, uporabljenih psiholoških inštrumentov in raziskovalnega načrta je nujen. 4. Uporabo statističnih postopkov in rezultate morajo avtorji opisati s potrebno natančnostjo. Tabele morajo vsebovati le nujne informacije. Če je potrebno, so podrobnosti lahko predstavljene v dodatku (prilogi). 5. Razprava in interpretacija izsledkov se mora nanašati na znane koncepte in teorije, ne glede na to, ali jih dobljeni rezultati podpirajo ali ne. 6. Trditev ali dognanja drugih avtorjev so v besedilu potrjena z referenco. Na koncu prispevka je priložen seznam literature, na katero se besedilo sklicuje. Za druge vrste sestavkov se ta struktura ustrezno in smiselno prilagodi. Tehnična navodila za predložitev prispevkov APA standardi Oblika poslanih rokopisov naj sledi standardom in priporočilom, opisanim v priročniku za pisanje raziskovalnih poročil, ki ga je izdalo ameriško združenje psihologov (APA Publication Manual, 5. izd., 2001). Vsak rokopis, ki bo prispel v objavo v revijo Psihološka obzorja, ki bo ustrezal tehničnim (oblikovnim) zahtevam in bo sodil v okvir "namena in ciljev revije ", bo po postopku dvojne slepe recenzije poslan v oceno dvema kompetentnima ocenjevalcema. Oblikovni izgled Avtorji besedilo prispevka pripravijo v enem od standardnih računalniških programov za obdelavo besedil (npr. Word za Windows) in ga shranijo v datoteki standardnega formata, npr. .doc ali .rtf. Besedilo naj bo napisano z dvovrstičnim ali 1,5 vrstičnim razmikom, z razločnimi naslovi, podnaslovi in oštevilčenimi stranmi. Napisano naj bo z eno osnovnih oblik pisave (Times Roman, Arial, Helvetica, Courier) velikosti 12, besedilo naj bo levo poravnano. Začetki odstavkov naj ne bodo umaknjeni navznoter, pač pa naj bo pred vsakim novim odstavkom, naslovom, podnaslovom, predvidenim mestom za sliko ali tabelo vrinjena prazna vrstica. Prispevek naj ne bo daljši od dveh avtorskih pol (32 strani po 32 vrstic z okoli 60 znaki v vrstici oziroma 60.000 znakov, vključno z razmiki). Tabele, slike, opombe Za vsako tabelo in sliko mora biti v prispevku nakazano približno mesto, kjer je predvidena (npr. 'vstaviti sliko 1' ali 'vstaviti tabelo 1'). Tabel in slik avtorji ne vstavljajo v besedilo, pač pa jih pripravijo v ločeni datoteki, v katero najprej vstavijo vse tabele in nato vse slike, vsak prikaz na svoji strani (če je potrebno, lahko slike shranijo tudi v več ločenih datotekah). Zaporedna številka slike in besedilo, ki sliko opisuje, naj bosta v besedilo vstavljena takoj za mestom, kjer je označen predvideni položaj slike (npr. najprej v svoji vrstici podamo informacijo: 'vstaviti sliko 1', pod njo pa ime in za piko naslov slike: 'Slika 1. Odnos med X in Y ...'). Slike morajo biti izdelane brezhibno in z dovolj velikimi črkami, številkami in ostalimi znaki (nabora Arial ali podobno), ki omogočajo pomanjševanje brez večje izgube preglednosti. Avtorji ne uporabljajo barv, pač pa, če je potrebno, različne dobro razločljive rastre, sivine in/ali vzorce. Avtorji naj grafe v datoteko s tabelaričnimi in grafičnimi prikazi prilepijo v taki obliki, da jih bo možno urejati v izvornem programu (npr. Excelov grafikon naj prilepijo kot predmet in ne kot sliko ali metadatoteko). Fotografije z visoko ločljivostjo (> 300 dpi) naj bodo shranjene v kar najboljši kvaliteti grafičnega formata JPG, TIF ali PNG. Sheme in diagrami naj bodo iz izvornega programa prilepljene v datoteko kot predmet, izjemoma kot slike navedenih grafičnih formatov z visoko ločljivostjo. V primeru posebnih zahtev (npr. pri uporabi manj običajnih programov za generiranje slik ali če se določene slike ne da izdelati računalniško), naj se avtorji o načinu priprave slik predhodno posvetujejo s tehničnim urednikom revije (e-naslov: luka.komidar@ff.uni-lj.si). Tabele naj bodo natipkane z enojnim razmikom. Nad tabelo naj bo (v datoteki s tabelaričnimi in slikovnimi prikazi) izpisana zaporedna številka tabele in za piko njen naslov (npr. Tabela 1. Korelacije med ...). Tabela mora biti informativna brez posebnega sklicevanja na besedilo, torej opremljena s potrebnimi informacijami in po potrebi z opombami. Avtorji se v besedilu sklicujejo na sliko ali tabelo (npr. z 'glej sliko 1', 'v tabeli 2' ...), saj prikaz ne bo nujno na mestu, ki ga je predvidel avtor. V poglavju o rezultatih naj bo isti podatek vedno prikazan le enkrat. Avtorji naj se odločijo, kateri način (slika, tabela ali prikaz v vezanem besedilu) je najbolj primeren in informativen. Opombe pod črto naj bodo vključene v prispevek le izjemoma. Citiranje, literatura Uporabljene reference drugih avtorjev naj bodo v besedilu citirane po harvardskem sistemu: npr. Rostohar (1952) ali (Rostohar, 1952). Kadar je citiranih več avtorjev, so navedeni v abecednem redu, npr. (Bujas, 1953; Rostohar, 1952; Trstenjak, 1953). Citati posameznih referenc so ločeni s podpičjem, npr. (Petrič, 1970; Petrovič, 1969). Kadar sta citirano delo napisala dva avtorja, se ves čas v prispevku navaja priimka obeh avtorjev (npr. Schutz in Gessaroli, 1993). Kadar so citirano delo napisali trije, štirje ali pet avtorjev, so pri prvem citiranju vedno navedena imena vseh soavtorjev, npr. (Toličič, Šebek, Pečjak in Zorman, 1957), pri morebitnih naslednjih citatih pa le ime prvega avtorja, za druge pa je dodano le "idr."; drugi citat bi se tako glasil (Toličič idr., 1957). Kadar je citirano delo napisalo šest avtorjev ali več, se v vsem prispevku navaja le ime prvega avtorja in doda "idr.". Kadar je citiranih več del istega avtorja, napisanih v istem letu, so letnicam dodane male črke po abecednem redu, npr. (Peršič, 1968a, 1968b). V seznamu literature na koncu prispevka so navedena po abecednem redu avtorjev (in brez zaporednih številk) vsa v besedilu citirana dela (in samo ta). Celoten seznam literature mora biti napisan v skladu z APA standardi citiranja. Pri navedbi vira so vedno izpisana imena vseh avtorjev prispevka, ne glede na to, koliko jih je. Navedki prispevkov v revijah morajo vsebovati priimek avtorjev, začetnice imena, leto izdaje, naslov prispevka, polno (neokrajšano) ime revije (v poševnem tisku), letnik (v poševnem tisku), če se v vsakem zvezku znotraj istega letnika število strani začne z 1, tudi številko zvezka (v oklepaju, stičnim z letnikom, v navadnem tisku), in navedbo strani, na katerih je natisnjen prispevek (pri tem uporabljamo pomišljaj -, ne vezaj -). Paziti je potrebno na ločila, ki ločijo posamezne enote navedka. Primer navedbe: Plomin, R. in Caspi, A. (1998). DNA and personality. European Journal of Personality, 12, 387-407. Navedba avtorske knjige vsebuje priimek avtorjev, začetnice imena, leto izdaje, naslov knjige (v poševnem tisku), kraj izdaje in založbo. Primer navedbe: Lazarus, R. S. (1991). Emotion and adaptation. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Navedba poglavja avtorja v knjigi z urednikom vsebuje priimek avtorjev, začetnice imena, leto izdaje, naslov poglavja v knjigi, začetnice imena ter priimek urednikov, označbo, da gre za urednike, naslov knjige (v poševnem tisku), strani, na katerih je natisnjeno poglavje, kraj izdaje in založbo. Primer navedbe: Schutz, R. W. in Gessaroli, M. E. (1993). Use, misuse and disuse of psychometrics in sport psychology research. V R. N. Singer, M. Murphey in L. K. Tennant (ur.), Handbook of research in sport psychology (str. 901-917). New York: Macmillan. Vsaka navedba prispevka, katerega naslov ni v angleščini, mora imeti v seznamu referenc v oglatem oklepaju (v enakem tisku kot naslov prispevka) dodan tudi angleški prevod naslova prispevka. Primera navedbe: Pogačnik, V. (1995). Pojmovanje inteligentnosti [Conceptions of intelligence]. Radovljica: Didakta. Tušak, M. (1998). Barvne preference, simbolika barv in osebnost [Colour preferences, colour symbolism and personality]. Psihološka obzorja, 7(4), 67-79. Oddajanje prispevkov Avtorji besedilo in druge dele prispevka pripravijo v elektronski obliki. Datoteke, ki naj bodo poimenovane s priimkom prvega avtorja in dodano specifično oznako (npr. novak-besedilo.doc; novak-tabeleslike.doc), avtorji pošljejo glavni in odgovorni urednici na elektronski naslov cveta.pucko@pef.uni-lj.si. Ob prvem pošiljanju prispevka avtorji pripravijo dodatno datoteko (npr. novak-kontaktnipodatki.doc) z osnovnimi podatki o prispevku in avtorjih: izpišejo naslov prispevka, ime in priimek avtorjev, strokovne nazive, ime inštitucije, v kateri so zaposleni (v slovenščini in angleščini), in natančen naslov tistega avtorja, s katerim bo uredništvo revije komuniciralo (tudi elektronski naslov, številko telefona in, če je možno, telefaksa ter URL naslov). Če bo potrebno (npr. v primeru, da prispevek vsebuje veliko simbolov, ki jih računalniki recenzentov ne bi ustrezno interpretirali, ali v primeru, da recenzenti želijo pregledovati natisnjeno obliko prispevka), bo urednica naknadno zaprosila še za natisnjeno obliko prispevka. Po končanem redakcijskem postopku in strokovnih recenzijah bo avtor prejel recenziji prispevka in kratko mnenje urednice glede sprejetja besedila v objavo. V primeru, da je prispevek sprejet v objavo, avtorji upoštevajo vse prejete pripombe, popravke in sugestije ter pripravijo končno verzijo prispevka. V končni verziji naj bo prva stran besedila takoj za naslovom prispevka dopolnjena še z imenom in priimkom avtorjev, imenom in krajem inštitucije, kontaktnimi podatki in morebitnimi dodatnimi informacijami o financerju študije, o tem, da je bil prispevek predstavljen na kakšnem od kongresov, ali zahvalo. Za angleškim naslovom naj bodo dodani imena in priimki avtorjev ter ime, kraj in država njihovih institucij v angleščini. Avtorji tudi končno verzijo prispevka oddajo glavni in odgovorni urednici v elektronski obliki. Če je potrebno, natisnejo en izvod prispevka in ga pošljejo na naslov urednice (v tem primeru bodo tipkopis in slike mesec dni po objavi uničeni, če avtorji ne bodo posebej pisno zahtevali vrnitve originalnih gradiv). Zaključne opombe Poslana končna verzija rokopisa pomeni tudi potrditev avtorjev, da prispevek v enaki ali podobni obliki ni bil objavljen v kateri drugi domači ali tuji publikaciji in da tudi v bodoče ne bo brez poprejšnjega soglasja izdajatelja Psiholoških obzorij. S spletnih strani http://psy.ff.uni-lj.si/iGuests/Obzorja/Avtorjem/avtorjem.html avtorji natisnejo, izpolnijo in podpišejo Obrazec za odstop avtorskih pravic ter ga po navadni pošti pošljejo urednici. Uredniški odbor, uredniški svet ter izdajatelj ne prevzemata odgovornosti za strokovna mnenja in trditve oziroma zaključke, ki so jih podali avtorji v posameznih prispevkih. Instructions for Authors Papers should be written either in Slovenian or English language (occasionally, the Scientific Board might also accept for publication papers in other languages). Scientific and technical papers should be written in economic, intelligible, clear and concise style. An empirical paper should report original research, presenting all the standard elements of scientific investigation (introduction, method — including participants, instruments and procedure - results, discussion, references). A theoretic paper is expected to examine in detail and critically analyse selected models and/or theories, and empirical data are described only if they are directly related to the theory. A review paper is expected to evaluate previously published work and it is typically composed of the following sections: problem definition, summary of previous research, explanation of subject matter inter-relations, contradictions, problems, and suggestions for further research. Meta-analytic study is a particular type of article, based on the established meta-analysis methodology, comparing different empirical investigations addressing a common problem. The manuscript must contain the English and Slovenian version of the title, keywords (about five, defining the contents) and abstract in up to 300 words (the authors that do not speak Slovene should ask the Editor for help). If the paper is written in some other world language, the title, keywords, and abstract must be provided in that language in addition to the English and Slovenian version. A typical empirical paper should be written in accordance with the following guidelines: 1. Introduction should not be too extensive, yet it should provide the necessary conceptual framework. 2. The problem should be clearly and consistently defined, following logically from the introduction. It should be of sufficient relevance and novelty, whereby the new dilemmas opened should be emphasised. 3. Research hypotheses and variables of interest should be concisely defined; the observation and measurement procedures should be precisely described. A short but accurate description of psychological instruments applied and of the methodology in general (research design, selection of participants) is mandatory. 4. Application of statistical techniques should be described in sufficient detail. The tables and figures may only contain essential information (if necessary, details can be presented separately in appendix). 5. Discussion and interpretation of the findings should refer to the established concepts and theories, regardless of whether they are supported by the findings or not. The Editorial and Scientific Board assume no responsibility for the expert opinions, claims, and conclusions stated by the authors in their papers. Technical Aspects of Manuscript Preparation The manuscripts should be prepared in accordance with the APA Publication Manual (Fifth Edition, 2001). Each manuscript, meeting the technical standards and falling within the aims and scope of the journal, will be subject to double-blind review by two reviewers. The manuscript must be typeset in a standard font (Times Roman, Arial, Helvetica, or Courier, 12 pt size), with left justification and double spacing. Titles and subtitles must be clearly indicated and pages must be numbered (no other header/footer information is allowed). The paragraphs must not be indented and they must be separated by a blank line. The paper should normally not exceed 32 standard pages (32 rows by 60 characters) in length. The main text, without author(s) name(s) and institution(s), should be saved in a .doc or .rtf file (e.g., in MS Word - if non-Windows software is used, the author must perform the necessary conversion to assure seamless operation on the Windows platform). Tables and figures should not be included in the text (but indicate their position). They should be added as separate files in a standard graphics format (EPS, JPG, PDF, PS, BMP, GIF, TIF etc.). Another separate file must be added containing the basic information on the paper - name(s) of the author(s), title(s), institution(s), title of the paper and exact address of the author the Editorial Board will contact for further correspondence (including telephone number, fax number, e-mail address, home page URL if possible etc.). The files should be named by the first author's surname and a short description of the file (e.g. socan-text.doc, socan-figure1.jpg, socan-about_authors.doc). All the files should be sent by e-mail to cveta.pucko@pef.uni-lj.si. On request, the printed version (three copies) of the manuscript should be sent to Editor-in-Chief. Each table and/or figure with the proper caption should be provided on a separate sheet. Provide figures in camera-ready format without excessively small details. The manuscript will be destroyed one month after publication unless the author submits a request in writing for the originals to be returned to her/him. After editorial consideration and review process a copy of the manuscript will be returned to the author together with the two reviews and editorial opinion on acceptability. In case the manuscript is accepted for publication, the author must take into account all the suggestions (including language and style changes) while preparing the final version. For all other aspects of the final version the instructions for the initial version apply, except that the authors' names and institutions should be added into the text and contact information should be added in a footnote. Additional information on funding and/or congress presentation and acknowledgements should be entered in a footnote, which will be attached to the paper's title. Submission of the final version implies author's declaration that the paper has not been published in any other Slovenian or foreign publication in its present (or similar) form. At the same time it implies author's consent that the paper or its parts can only be reproduced in any other publication by permission of the publisher of the Horizons of Psychology. The 'Consent to Publish & Transfer of Copyright' form available at http://psy.ff.uni-lj.si/iGuests/Obzorja/Instructions/instructions.html should be printed, signed and posted to Editor-in-Chief. For any additional correspondence please make use of e-mail.