Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS)

Abstract

The Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS) is a widely utilized 16-item self-report measure designed to assess an individual’s ability to perceive, understand, and manage emotions both in themselves and others. Developed by Wong and Law in 2002, the WLEIS operationalizes the ability-based model of Emotional Intelligence (EI) within an organizational context. The scale is structured around four distinct dimensions, allowing researchers and practitioners to evaluate specific facets of emotional competence, particularly in relation to job performance, leadership effectiveness, and workplace attitudes.

The WLEIS employs a 5-point Likert scale response format, ranging from 1 (totally disagree) to 5 (totally agree). Its primary application is in management and organizational psychology research, where it serves as a critical tool for investigating the role of emotional competence in predicting success and adaptation in professional environments.

Keywords

WLEIS, Emotional Intelligence, Self-Report Scale, Organizational Behavior, Emotional Appraisal, Leadership, Psychometrics, Affective Measures

Authors

Wong, C.S., Law, K.S.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the WLEIS is to provide a concise and reliable measure of individual differences in emotional intelligence, specifically designed for use in organizational settings. The scale was developed to test the hypothesis that both leader and follower emotional intelligence significantly impact job performance and professional attitudes. It focuses on assessing perceived emotional abilities rather than maximum performance abilities.

By breaking down EI into four measurable facets, the scale allows for granular analysis of how specific emotional skills—such as self-awareness or emotional regulation—contribute to outcomes like job satisfaction, motivation, and effectiveness in leadership roles. The WLEIS has been translated and adapted globally, demonstrating its utility across diverse cultural and occupational groups in testing the impact of EI.

Construct

The WLEIS measures the construct of Emotional Intelligence (EI), conceptualized as a set of four related dimensions derived from the work of Mayer and Salovey (1997). Unlike many earlier EI measures, the WLEIS is structured as a self-report instrument that captures perceived emotional abilities. The 16 items are equally divided among the four factors, ensuring comprehensive coverage of the construct:

• Self-Emotion Appraisal (SEA): The ability to understand and express one’s own deep emotions. This addresses self-awareness of emotional states.
• Others Emotion Appraisal (OEA): The ability to perceive and understand the emotions of those around them. This relates to social awareness and empathy.
• Use of Emotion (UOE): The ability to utilize emotions to facilitate performance, motivation, and goal setting.
• Regulation of Emotion (ROE): The ability to manage, control, and regulate one’s own emotions to promote personal growth and handle difficulties rationally.

Validity

The initial validation of the WLEIS (Wong & Law, 2002) established robust psychometric properties, particularly in organizational samples. Construct validity was supported through Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), which verified the fit of the hypothesized four-factor structure (SEA, OEA, UOE, ROE). The scale has demonstrated strong discriminant validity from measures of personality traits (like the Big Five) and cognitive intelligence, confirming that it measures a unique construct.

Criterion validity has been consistently demonstrated in numerous studies showing significant positive correlations between WLEIS scores and relevant organizational outcomes, including job performance ratings, leadership effectiveness, team cooperation, and job satisfaction. This evidence confirms that the WLEIS successfully measures emotional abilities relevant to success in professional settings.

Reliability

The WLEIS exhibits strong internal consistency across its four subscales. Wong and Law (2002) reported that the four facets had an internal reliability, measured by Cronbach’s Alpha, ranging from .76 to .89 in their initial validation samples. These figures meet or exceed standard psychometric thresholds for reliable instruments used in research.

Furthermore, subsequent research utilizing the WLEIS in various populations and languages (including Chinese, English, Spanish, and others) has generally confirmed the high level of internal reliability, ensuring that the items within each subscale consistently measure the intended dimension of Emotional Intelligence.

Factor Analysis

The WLEIS is based on a clear, empirically derived four-factor structure. The scale developers utilized factor analytic techniques to confirm that the 16 items load distinctly onto the four proposed factors: Self-Emotion Appraisal (SEA), Others Emotion Appraisal (OEA), Use of Emotion (UOE), and Regulation of Emotion (ROE). Each of these four factors is measured by four specific items.

The use of Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) in the foundational studies provided strong statistical evidence that this four-factor model offered a superior fit to the data compared to alternative models (e.g., a single global EI factor or a two-factor model), thereby supporting the conceptual distinction between the emotional abilities measured by the WLEIS.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire

Format: 5-point Likert scale (1 = totally disagree to 5 = totally agree)

Language Available: Primarily English and Chinese (Mandarin/Cantonese), with numerous translations available globally.

Population Group: Adults, particularly those in organizational, management, and academic settings.

Age Group: Typically 18 years and older (Adult population).

Population Details: Originally validated using university students and working professionals in Hong Kong, and subsequently applied widely in Western samples.

Test Methodology: Psychometric properties assessment via internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and factor analysis (EFA/CFA).

Keywords

Wong and Law, EI Model, Self-Emotion Appraisal, OEA, UOE, ROE, Organizational Psychology, Trait EI

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: [email protected], [email protected]

Correspondence Address: Not provided in source material.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The WLEIS was first published and validated in 2002. Information regarding specific permissions and licensing fees for commercial use should be sought directly from the authors, C.S. Wong and K.S. Law. The instrument is frequently used in academic research without charge.

A full version of the instrument, including items and scoring, can sometimes be found in academic dissertations, such as the one available here (PDF link preserved): http://ir.canterbury.ac.nz/bitstream/10092/5185/2/thesis_fulltext.pdf.

Reference’s

• Wong, C., & Law, K. (2002). The effects of leader and follower emotional intelligence on performance and attitude: An exploratory study. The Leadership Quarterly, 13, 243 – 274.
• Wong, C.S., and K.S. Law. (2002). “Development of an Emotional Intelligence Instrument and an Investigation of its Relationship with Leader and Follower Performance and Attitudes. The Leadership Quarterly, 13, 243-274.
• Wong, C.S., Law, K.S., & Wong, P.M. (2004). Development and validation of a forced choice emotional intelligence for Chinese respondents in Hong Kong. Asia Pacific Journal of Management.
• Wong, C.S., Wong, P.M., & Law, K.S. (2004). The interaction effect of emotional intelligence and emotional labor on job satisfaction: A test of Holland’s classification of occupations. In Härtel, C. E. J., Zerbe, W. J. & Ashkanasy, N. M. (Eds.) (Forthcoming, 2004). Emotions in Organizational Behavior. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
• Condon. Ryan J., (2011). The Relationship between Self-Awareness and Leadership: Extending Measurement and Conceptualisation. University of Canterbury. Master of Science Thesis.

Items of the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS)

Self-Emotion Appraisal (SEA) Items:

1. I have a good sense of why I have certain feelings most of the time.
2. I have good understanding of my own emotions.
3. I really understand what I feel.
4. I always know whether or not I am happy.

Others Emotion Appraisal (OEA) Items:

5. I always know my friends emotions from their behaviour.
6. I am a good observer of others emotions.
7. I am sensitive to the feelings and emotions of others.
8. I have good understanding of the emotions of people around me.

Use of Emotion (UOE) Items:

9. I always set goals for myself and then try my best to achieve them.
10. I always tell myself I am a competent person.
11. I am a self-motivated person.
12. I would always encourage myself to try my best.

Regulation of Emotion (ROE) Items:

13. I am able to control my temper and handle difficulties rationally.
14. I am quite capable of controlling my own emotions.
15. I can always calm down quickly when I am very angry.
16. I have good control of my own emotions.