Emotional Perception and Distortion Correlates With Rorschach Cognitive and Interpersonal Variables

Abstract

Although emotional intelligence is frequently measured with performance tasks, they are often correlated with self-report measures of personality. The present research compared the scores of two performance tests: the Rorschach Inkblot Method for personality (scored using R-PAS), and the Computerized Test of Primary Emotions Perception for emotional perception and understanding, branches of emotional intelligence. Participants were 93 Brazilian people, including undergraduates and psychiatric outpatients. Significant correlations were found, ranging from .20 to .37. The results indicate that the ability to perceive emotional expressions in people’s faces is related to empathy and interest in human interaction, attention to details, integrative thinking, and complex cognitive processing. Distortion in emotional perception, that is perceiving emotions that were not present, correlated with thought and perception disturbances.