Table 2 Description of the tasks, domains, and areas comprising the MSCEIT

Emotional experiencing

Individual’s ability to perceive, respond to, and manipulate emotional information.

Perceiving emotions

Awareness of emotions in oneself and others.

Faces

Participants evaluate four facial expressions, rating the intensity of an emotion (e.g., happiness, fear) on a 1 to 5 Likert scale. This task measures the ability to identify emotions in facial expressions.

Pictures

Six pictures, typically landscapes, are presented for participants to rate the extent to which each reflects an emotion (e.g., happiness, sadness) on a 1 to 5 Likert scale, assessing the ability to link emotions with environmental imagery.

Facilitating thought

Using emotions to assist cognitive processes (e.g., reasoning and problem-solving)

Facilitation

resented with five scenarios (e.g., decorating for a birthday), participants rate the usefulness of various moods (e.g., annoyance, joy) for each scenario on a 1 to 5 scale. This measures understanding of how moods facilitate thinking.

Sensation

Participants imagine experiencing an emotion in given scenarios and rate its appropriateness on a 1 to 5 scale, assessing the ability to generate suitable emotional responses.

Strategic emotions

Individual’s ability to manage and understand emotions in themselves and others.

Understanding emotions

Knowledge of emotional blends and transitions.

Changes

With 20 items describing scenarios with evolving emotions, participants identify the most likely emotional transition (e.g., frustration to anger) from a list, measuring understanding of emotional dynamics.

Blends

Participants connect 12 real-world situations to the most appropriate emotion from a list, assessing the ability to link specific situations with corresponding emotions.

Managing emotions

Ability to generate appropriate emotional responses and regulating emotions.

Emotional management

Given five emotionally challenging situations, participants rate the effectiveness of four potential coping strategies on a 1 to 5 scale, measuring the recognition of effective emotional regulation techniques.

Social management

Participants assess the effectiveness of three behavioural responses in three social scenarios on a 1 to 5 scale, gauging understanding of how actions influence others’ emotions.