The Factor Structures of Ability and Trait Emotional Intelligences Relative to General Intelligence and Personality

Emotional Intelligence is a popular term used to describe one’s experience with their own emotions and awareness of others’. Although emotional intelligence is thought to be a helpful predictor of various variables such as work performance and wellbeing, there is disagreement within the field of the precise definition and method of measurement. The current study examines two of the most popular models of emotional intelligence, ability and trait models, to determine if they are the same construct or two different constructs that share a moniker. Additionally, both ability and trait emotional intelligences’ factor structures are examined through hierarchical and bifactor models to determine the best fitting model for each. Finally, ability emotional intelligence is explored relative to how it fits with current understandings of cognitive ability and trait emotional intelligence is explored relative to how it fits with current understandings of normal-range personality