Part V: creating the EQ-i 2.0 and EQ 360 2.0

EQ-i 2.0 Stages of Development

Building the EQ-i 2.0

The following is a broad overview of the steps taken to construct the EQ-i:

• A pool of approximately 1,000 items was created from a survey of mental health literature and from working with psychologists and psychiatrists as subject matter experts.
• Items were then narrowed down and selected based on their conceptual and statistical fit to the fifteen EI factor definitions.
  Item 133 (“I responded to every item in this inventory openly and honestly”) was added to justify invalidating the profile if the respondent indicated that he or she did not respond honestly.
• Items were placed or sequenced in an order that revealed the least threatening items first to increase rapport with respondents. The remaining items were randomly scattered throughout the inventory.
• After considering many response options the following format was chosen:

1 = Very Seldom or Not True of Me
2 = Seldom True of Me
3 = Sometimes True of Me
4 = Often True of Me
5 = Very Often True of Me or True of Me

• Scales detecting “test sabotaging” were added:

• Positive and Negative Impression Index
• Inconsistency Index
• Consideration of omitted items
• Critical items (“I get depressed”) were added to detect respondents who may be suffering from emotional disturbance.
  The final form of the EQ-i contained 133 items, comprised of fifteen subscales and three validity scales, with seven to nine items per subscale.
• The norming process was carried out over a number of years in several countries (e.g., South Africa, Germany, Israel, Canada, U.S.). Responses from nearly 4,000 participants were collected and used as normative data, which included a diverse breakdown of age, socioeconomic status, educational attainment, gender, and occupational groups.

Each of these steps involved multiple conceptual and statistical analyses and data collection efforts. For further details on the history and stages of development for the EQ-i, refer to the EQ-i Technical Manual (Bar-On, 1997, 2004).