Investigation of the Relationship between Emotional Intelligence, Interpersonal Perception, and Attachment Style

Abstract

ABSTRACT The study had two objectives. The first was to construct an interpersonal perception measure and show its relationship to emotional intelligence (EI). The intention of this aim was to create a more pragmatic ‘real-life’ measure of EI. The second objective was to identify how different adult attachment orientations relate to EI. The new interpersonal perception measure (PIPT) tested participants’ accuracy in determining interpersonal relationships and mood states of individuals depicted in thirty un-posed naturalistic photographs. The PIPT was found to be positively correlated with ability EI measured by the Situational Test of Emotional Understanding (STEU). The main finding regarding the relationship between attachment and EI measures was that higher self-reported insecure attachment was related to lower self-reported EI and lower proficiency on the STEU. The findings indicate that the PIPT may serve as a new pragmatic measure of EI but further research is needed to validate its use as such. The relationships found between attachment orientation and EI support the notion that characteristics of close relationships have implications for EI capabilities.