Behind the science: Inside the making of the new Emotional Intelligence measure

What does it take to turn a theory into a trusted workplace assessment? 

In this behind-the-scenes conversation, we speak to Mollie Tatlow, one of the organisational psychologists behind Thomas' new Emotional Intelligence measure. From building a robust scientific framework to shaping a practical, scalable product, Mollie shares how our latest assessment was created. 

Lou Walden   0:06 

I'm here with Mollie Tatlow, a member of our academic research team. Mollie, can you tell us a bit about your role? 

Mollie Tatlow   0:25 

I'm an industrial organisational psychologist. At Thomas, this means that I conduct academic research for our psychometric assessments. 

Lou Walden   0:51 

So what does your typical week look like? 

Mollie Tatlow   0:59 
The typical week varies, which is great because that's what I want! It might include analysing data that I've collected from a research study; reading up on existing research; localising assessments into a new language, or even answering technical questions. 

Lou Walden   2:00 
What's been the most recent win for you professionally? 

Mollie Tatlow   2:19 

We recently released our new Emotional Intelligence measure for Assess. We’ve been developing a lot of new assessments, and it's great to see one of those assessments live and being used by customers – really rewarding. 

Lou Walden   2:53 

What triggered your team to develop the Emotional Intelligence assessment? 

Mollie Tatlow   3:13 

We researched the pain points of HR directors, L&D managers, directors, and leaders to learn more about what they're trying to achieve and where people science could help. We referred to academic research to understand what predicts the things they’re trying to achieve - and emotional intelligence was one of the core drivers of success in these areas.  

Lou Walden   4:10 

For those of us who don't know how you create an assessment, what is your research journey?   

Mollie Tatlow   4:36 

It can be a long journey, but usually it goes something like this:  

1. You define what you're trying to measure, what construct you're trying to target. In this case, it was emotional intelligence (EI). 

2. Then, you find or create the theory you want to base it on. Strong theories around emotional intelligence already exist, so we were able to build from them. We used a mixed method approach; a lot of the influence came from Daniel Goldman, but also the Trait Emotional Intelligence theory by Dino Petrides, who is the author of our existing TEIQue assessment. 

3. You then take that theory and design a measure/assessment. EI has many sub-components, which meant we needed several experts involved to generate ‘items’ or questions for review. Your experts check the items are actually measuring what you're trying to measure, and you create a long list of possible items which gets shortened down. An example item might be the statement ’I regularly think about my thoughts and feelings’. Creating accurate items is a crucial phase of the development process. 

4. After this we test to see if the assessment works. To do that, you must collect data from a sufficient sample size - a rule of thumb I follow is ideally over 300 people. You get people to complete that measure, and check which items are more reliable (and which should be dropped because they're not building a strong assessment). 

5. But it’s not over yet! At least, not at Thomas. We continue testing. You go back and write more items, or improve areas because time has passed, and you’ve formed new opinions. So you go through the process again to get the final measure. 

6. Then we test it alongside other constructs to check that it's predictive of all the outcomes we claim. It aligns with other models that have been based on that theory. Plus, you want to test that it's reliable over time, stays consistent for an individual. 

With all assessments, you continuously research them, improve them, and test their validity. It's an iterative, ongoing process. 

Lou Walden   10:30 

Fascinating, I knew there was a lot of work involved, but not that much! So for the rest of us, how would you - the expert - describe emotional intelligence in the workplace? 

Mollie Tatlow   10:34 

Emotional intelligence is how you perceive, understand, manage, and control your own emotions, and how you interact with others. That's relevant everywhere, all walks of life, but it's particularly relevant in the workplace because you're trying to be successful. People who can do these things consistently are more likely to get the outcomes they want and, therefore, can be more successful at work. 

Lou Walden   12:55 

You mentioned TEIQue earlier, our other emotional intelligence assessment. Thomas has the Emotional Intelligence measure in Assess, and TEIQue in Assess Accredited. Can you tell us the difference between them? 

Mollie Tatlow   13:31 

On the one hand, they're both trait-based models. TEIQue came first, and it's a really useful assessment: Trait Emotional Intelligence theory predicts successful outcomes at work more than ability-based measures. 

Where they differ is in the fact that TEIQue can be applied to many different areas of life; you could use it in relation to school, home, and work. We've designed the Assess Emotional Intelligence measure specifically - and only - for work.  

There are also differences in how you use them. TEIQue is a longer assessment with 153 items. It takes longer to complete, which means it has a lot more detail. That’s why it should only be administered by an accredited expert who can interpret the results appropriately.  

The Assess Emotional Intelligence assessment takes less than 8 minutes to complete on average. Despite all the complexity built underneath, it is designed to be understandable and actionable for anyone to use at work – which makes it a bit more scalable.  

It also includes traits that other Emotional Intelligence measures don’t - one example is ‘open-mindedness’. This goes beyond empathy and considers how open you are to different perspectives, which is key when focusing on diversity and difference in today's workplace. We’ve achieved this in the Assess Emotional Intelligence assessment by drawing on more recent research in the EI space. 

Lou Walden

Thanks Mollie, you have given us some great insight into what our industrial organisational psychologists think about all day. All the best with your next research! 
 
At Thomas, we offer two emotional intelligence assessments to meet different needs: our new Emotional Intelligence measure in Thomas Assess, designed for quick, scalable insight at work – and the TEIQue assessment, a deeper diagnostic for Assess Accredited users. Whichever you choose, you’ll be using science to unlock greater self-awareness, stronger relationships, and better outcomes at work.