INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2002, 37 (5), 297–308 Self-reported emotional intelligence: Construct similarity and functional dissimilarity of higher-order processing in Iran and the United States Nima Ghorbani Mark N. Bing and P. J. Watson University of Tehran, Iran University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, USA H. Kristl Davison Dan A. Mack † University of Hartford, USA University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, USA T his study employed the Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS) to assess self-reported emotional intelligence cross-culturally as an input (attention to emotions), process (clarity of emo- tions), and output (repair of emotions) information-processing system. Iranian (N 5 231) and American (N 5 220) university students responded to the TMMS along with measures of alexi- thymia, public and private self-consciousness, depression, anxiety, self-esteem, and perceived stress. Negative correlations with alexithymia and expected linkages with all other variables doc- umented the validity of the TMMS in both cultures. Most of the other measures correlated sim- ilarly in the two samples. However, private and public self-consciousness displayed a stronger positive association in Iran. These two scales were also more predictive of adjustment in Iran and of maladjustment in the United States. This difference perhaps reected a poorer integra- tion of the two dimensions of self-consciousness within a presumably more individualistic American society. Conrmatory factor analyses and measurement invariance procedures revealed cross-cultural similarities in the t of an a priori higher-order factor structure to the obtained data, but subsequent structural equation modelling techniques uncovered cross- cultural dissimilarities in the actual processing of emotional information. Specically, the higher-order factors of emotional intelligence were similar, but the interrelationships among those higher-order factors were not. As expected, Iranians displayed positive relationships among the input, processing, and output activities of the information-processing model. For the Americans, however, greater input was associated with diminished processing and output. This unanticipated relative contrast seemed congruent with speculation that the historical American emphasis on the self and individualism promotes positive, optimistic thinking. Overall, these data most importantly suggested that subtle cultural differences might exist in the processing of emotional information. C ette étude a utilisé l’Echelle Trait Meta-Mood (TMMS5 Meta-Humeur Trait) pour évaluer l’intelligence émotionnelle auto-reportée et interculturelle comme un système d’information composé par une entrée (l’attention aux émotions), un processus (la clarté des émotions) et une sortie (la réparation des émotions). Des étudiants iraniens (N 5 231) et américains (N 5 220) ont répondu au TMMS avec des mesures d’alexithymia, auto-connaissance publique et privée, dépression, anxiété, auto-estime et stress perçu. La validité de la TMMS s’est documentée à travers les corrélations négatives avec l’alexithymia et les connexions espérées avec les autres variables. La plupart des autres mesures ont eu des corrélations similaires dans les deux échantillons. Cependant la conscience de soi privée et publique a montré une association plus forte en Iran. Ces deux échelles prévoyaient également une meilleure adaptation en Iran et une plus mauvaise aux Etats Unis. Cette différence reétait peut-être une intégration plus pauvre des Ó 2002 International Union of Psychological Science http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/pp/00207594.html DOI: 10.1080/0020759024400009 8 Requests for reprints should be addressed to P.J. Watson, Psychology Department #2803, 350 Holt Hall—615 McCallie Avenue, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN 37403, USA (E-mail: paul-watson@utc.edu). The support of SABA, a human resource development corporation in Tehran, Iran, is gratefully acknowledged. This project is dedicated to the memory of Dan Mack. His untimely death deprived us of a valued friend and deprived the discipline of a talented young scientist. † (deceased)