Emotional Intelligence Test: We all have EQ. What Does It Look Like For You?

Truity launched a validated Emotional Intelligence assessment, which you can take for free here. 

If you’re wanting to move into a leadership role at work, develop stronger relationships or improve your emotional well-being, you may want to assess and develop your emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence or “EQ” is the ability to perceive, interpret, control, evaluate and leverage emotions so that we can communicate with and relate to others constructively. 

So, just how emotionally intelligent are you? Truity partnered with Cameron Berg, a cognitive science researcher, to develop a validated, research-backed EQ test (that you can take here), which pinpoints a person’s top EQ strengths. The assessment is based on existing validated EQ models and data from Truity’s 157,204-participant survey. 

“Since its inception, a number of different models have been established as reliable metrics for quantifying EQ,” said Berg. “These models all exhibit specific advantages and disadvantages, which motivated us to attempt to reconcile the strongest elements of each assessment into a single upgraded construct.” 

Rather than show an overall EQ score, Truity’s test shows participants how high they score across five factors: 

1. Self-awareness: Self-awareness describes the ability to effectively recognize and identify one's own emotional experiences. People who score higher on this construct are more likely to be highly in tune with their emotions and possess a keen sense of what they are feeling at any given moment.
2. Social awareness: Social awareness describes the ability to effectively perceive and understand the emotions of others. People who score higher on this construct are more likely to be highly attuned to nonverbal cues, such as body language and facial expressions, which can provide valuable information about others' emotional states.
3. Emotional control: Emotional control describes the ability to regulate and manage one's own emotions. People who score higher on this construct are more likely to have a strong sense of control over their emotional experiences and can direct their emotions in ways that serve their goals. 
4. Empathy: Empathy is the ability to understand and relate to the emotional experiences of others. People who score higher on this construct are likely to be highly attuned to how people are feeling and to show care and sensitivity towards others. 
5. Emotional well-being: Emotional well-being describes an individual's overall state of psychological, emotional and social prosperity. People who score higher on this construct are likely to have positive attitudes toward life and experience high levels of satisfaction in their day-to-day activities. 

By looking at their scores across each factor, test takers can see what EQ constructs may already be strengths, or “superpowers,” and which areas may need development. For example, a person may be extremely emotionally resilient but struggle to empathize with others or vice versa. 

How Truity’s EQ Test Was Developed 

There is a lot that goes into crafting a validated assessment, and the research and testing phase of development took researchers eight months.

First, we looked at the best existing models of EQ, including the original model created by the researchers who coined the term EQ, a model that suggests EQ was predictive of success in the workplace, and a cross-culturally validated model that conceptualizes EQ as a personality trait rather than an ability or a skill. 

Then, we attempted to synthesize the core elements of each of these models into a single coherent framework. From here, we were able to identify the five factors of EQ. In order to develop a strongly data-driven EQ assessment, multiple iterations of the assessment were tested and analyzed before settling on the final version.

“After two full test iterations, the final assessment reconciled the competing structures of existing EQ assessments, with five statistically valid categories,” said Berg. 

Outside of building upon existing frameworks, the biggest difference between Truity’s EQ model and others is the size of the sample used to validate the test. 

“We leveraged scale in a way that is typically not available in traditional academic research,” Berg said. “We used data from over 150,000 respondents to build the current version of the test. By contrast, other assessments are typically validated on the order of 1,000 respondents. This is a difference that will likely be reflected in the quality of the final constructs.” 

Benefits of Understanding Your EQ 

There is a reason that emotional intelligence is being taught in business schools and cultivated within organizations around the world. Seventy-one percent of employers say that emotional intelligence is more important than IQ when it comes to hiring the right employees. 

What’s more, people with higher levels of emotional intelligence are significantly more likely to be effective leaders. High EQ is associated with strong communication and collaboration skills, and the ability to handle negative emotions and stressful situations. 

“Emotional intelligence is more than a buzzword,” said Molly Owens, CEO and Founder of Truity. “It’s becoming increasingly clear that it’s the factor that drives much of our success. Organizations are becoming more collaborative and team-focused, and they want to hire people who can fit into that culture and be effective. EQ is an essential skill for relationship-building, inside and outside of the workplace, and it’s also closely linked with a person’s overall mental well-being.” 

Lower levels of emotional intelligence can lead to misunderstandings, conflict, and an inability to constructively cope with challenging situations, which can lead to anxiety, depression and aggressive behaviors. The good news is that EQ can be learned and developed over time — and a great starting point to developing stronger EQ is understanding where you currently fall across all five factors. 

Whether you’re an EQ guru or have a few areas to work on, we can all benefit from prioritizing our emotional intelligence for greater satisfaction at work and in our relationships. To find out your score across all the facets of emotional intelligence and discover your EQ superpower, take Truity’s free, research-based test here.