Enhancing emotion perception, a fundamental component of emotional intelligence: Using multiple-group SEM to evaluate a training program

This study evaluated a training program designed to improve the ability to perceive emotions in others, a component of ability-based emotional intelligence (EI). Participants, 105 students of business administration and management, were randomly assigned to a training group or a control group (time management training). The training lasted one day and was followed by 4 weeks of online training. Participants completed the MSCEIT before training and 1 month and 6 months after training. Multiple-group SEM analyses of latent means found that the ability to perceive emotions in others using the faces task of the MSCEIT improved in the training group but did not improve in the control group. Latent moderated SEM analyses found that participants who were high in agreeableness benefitted more from the intervention than those low in agreeableness, and a similar moderating effect was found for conscientiousness. Training effects were stable after 6 months. Training did not change scores on the MSCEIT pictures task. These results suggest that the ability to perceive emotions in others can be improved through training, but that personality traits moderate the effectiveness. Potential applications for such training are discussed.