Frequency of positive affect as a possible mediator between perceived emotional intelligence and life satisfaction

This study examined the incremental validity of Perceived Emotional Intelligence (PEI) as measured by the Trait Meta-Mood Scale (Salovey, Mayer, Goldman, Turvey, & Palfai, 1995) on the prediction of life satisfaction after controlling for personality and affect, which are known to be related to well-being. A sample of 173 undergraduate Spanish students completed three subscales of PEI (Attention, Clarity, and Repair), a Big Five personality inventory, and reported on the frequency of positive (PA) and negative affect (NA) during the two weeks before participating in the study. There were significant associations between life satisfaction and both Clarity and Repair. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that Clarity accounted for more variance in life satisfaction than personality or NA, but not when frequency of PA was taken into account. These results show the necessity of controlling for PA and NA independently and differentiating between intensity and frequency of affect when evaluating the incremental validity of PEI in the prediction of life satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)