Contemporary approaches to intelligence assessment - predictive validity of socio-emotional and practical intelligence tests

Savremena procena sposobnosti oslanja se na primenu testova čije su konstrukcija i interpretacija vođene teorijskim principima i empirijskim nalazima; ujedno, ona podrazumeva obuhvatno ispitivanje većeg broja sposobnosti definisanih Katel-Horn-Kerolovom (CHC) teorijom strukture ljudskog intelekta. CHC model čini teorijsku osnovu većine savremenih baterija inteligencije, ali i okvir spram koga se definišu i empirijski validiraju novi konstrukti iz domena kognitivnih sposobnosti. Istaknuto mesto među novopredloženim sposobnostima imaju emocionalna (EI) i praktična inteligencija (PI). U teorijskom delu rada prikazane su osnovne postavke CHC modela i podrobno analizirana njegova uloga u razvoju savremenih testova inteligencije, te prakse kognitivnog procenjivanja, uopšte; nadalje, izvršen je pregled vodećih teorijskih konceptualizacija, te operacionalizacija EI i PI, kao i nalaza istraživanja usmerenih na njihovu empirijsku validaciju; konačno, data je ocena ispunjenosti uslova za članstvo EI i PI u CHC strukturi sposobnosti. U empirijskom delu rada prikazani su rezultati istraživanja kojim je ispitana uloga EI i PI u predikciji psihičke dobrobiti i profesionalnog zadovoljstva i uspeha, i to kroz istraživački nacrta koji uključuje indikatore akademske inteligencije i bazičnih dimenzija ličnosti. Uzorak ispitivanja činilo je 288 odraslih osoba, zaposlenih u kompaniji mlečne industrije – Imlek AD. Od ukupnog broja, 128 (44.4%) ispitanika je bilo ženskog, a 160 (55.6%) muškog pola; raspon njihovih uzrasta kretao se od 21 do 61 godine (M=40.41). Učesnicima studije zadata je baterija testova za procenu: a) akademske (Ravenove progresivne matrice, Serije brojeva, Verbalne analogije, Test opšte informisanosti), b) emocionalne (MSCEIT) i c) praktične inteligencije (STAT-p); dodatno, ispitanici su popunili inventar ličnosti (NEO-FFI) i skalu psihičke dobrobiti (RSPWB), te izvršili samoprocenu zadovoljstva poslom i uspešnosti u njegovom obavljanju. Podatke o poziciji u poslovnoj hijerarhiji i nivou primanja obezbedio je poslodavac. Nalazi pokazuju da: (1) EI i PI ostvaruju niz statistički značajnih asocijacija s obe grupe kriterijuma – u slučaju psihičke dobrobiti korelacije s EI su niskog do umerenog intenziteta, dok su one utvrđene s PI niže i ne uvek statistički značajne; veze EI s profesionalnim zadovoljstom i uspehom su niske, dok je PI značajno povezana samo s objektivnim indikatorima poslovnog učinka; (2) dimenzije EI i PI objašnjavaju statistički značajan procenat varijanse kriterijuma – nezavisna doprinos predikciji psihičke dobrobiti daju strateške grane EI i verbalni-praktični zadatak; udeo dimenzija EI i PI bitno je niži u predviđanju kriterijuma vezanih za posao; (3) EI uzma značajniji udeo u predviđanju psihičke dobrobiti nego profesionalnog zadovoljstva i uspeha, dok PI ne beleži prednost u predikciji bilo kog kriterijuma; (4) globalni skorovi EI i PI ne daju dodatni doprinos predviđanju kriterijuma kada se kontrolišu varijacije u akademskoj inteligenciji i ličnosti, ali zato njihovi pojedini aspekti uzimaju nezavisan udeo u predikciji; (5) EI i PI sadejstvuju u predviđanju kriterijuma. U zaključku rada se diskutuju osnovni nalazi, izvode implikacije dobijenih rezultata za procenu EI i PI, te navode preporuke koje se tiču njihovog daljeg teorijskog i empirijskog utemeljivanja.Contemporary intellectual assessment rests upon theoretically and empirically driven test construction and interpretation; it also enables comprehensive examination of various Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory defined abilities. The CHC model stands as a theoretical basis for the majority of modern intelligence batteries; likewise, it is a framework against which new cognitive ability constructs are defined and empirically validated. Emotional (EI) and practical intelligence (PI) are among the most prominent of these newly proposed abilities. The theoretical section of the paper outlines the CHC theory, and gives a detailed analysis of its role in the development of modern intelligence tests; further, it provides an overview of the leading conceptualizations and operationalizations of EI and PI, and presents research findings concerning their empirical validation; finally, general conclusions are drawn regarding the current status of EI and PI within the CHC structure of abilities. The empirical section of the paper presents features and results of the study investigating the role of EI and PI in predicting psychological well-being and professional satisfaction and success, both with and without the control of academic intelligence and personality. The study sample consisted of 288 adults employed at a large dairy company - Imlek AD. Of these, 128 (44.4%) were females, and 160 (55.6%) were males; age of the subjects ranged between 21 and 61 years (M=40.41). Participants were administered a battery of tests assessing: a) academic (Raven's Progressive Matrices, Number Series, Verbal Analogies, General Knowledge), b) emotional (MSCEIT), and c) practical intelligence (STAT-p); additionally, the subjects completed a personality inventory (NEO-FFI) and the psychological well-being scale (RSPWB), and provided self-assessments of job satisfaction and success. Data on the position in the company and salary were provided by the employer. Research findings show that: (1) EI and PI displayed a number of significant associations with both groups of criteria – correlations of psychological well-being with EI were low-to-moderate, while those identified with PI were lower or non-significant; correlations between professional criteria and EI were low, while PI significantly related only to objective indices of work performance; (2) dimensions of EI and PI explained statistically significant proportions of criteria variance – EI strategic branches and the verbal-practical task gave independent contributions when predicting psychological well-being; EI and PI accounted for considerably lower proportions of professional criteria variance; (3) EI manifested greater predictive potential with respect to psychological well-being then with regard to professional outcomes; PI did not exhibit advantage in predicting any criteria; (4) EI and PI global scores did not show incremental validity, when academic intelligence and personality were held constant, while some of their dimensions surfaced as independent predictors of the criteria; (5) EI and PI contributions in predicting criteria were additive (not overlapping). The concluding section of the paper discusses key research findings, lists their implications for the assessment of EI/PI, and provides recommendations for future research concerned with EI/PI’s theoretical and empirical validation