This article describes (a) the origins of, (b) rationale underlying, and (c) preliminary validity evidence for, a new ability measure of emotional understanding (EU), a major component of emotional intelligence. A novel conceptual approach-the empathic agent paradigm (EAP)-provided the theoretical foundation. The EAP results in a veridical, logically defensible scoring key, a major development for the assessment of EI, which otherwise has relied on less defensible approaches. Validity evidence for test score interpretations of the Empathic Agent Paradigm Test (EAPT) was subsequently obtained in two studies. In Study 1, participants (N = 321) completed the EAPT (α = .72 at testlet level), along with measures of classical intelligence, the Big Five personality traits, and a situational judgment measure of EU. This study provides factorial, convergent, and discriminant validity evidence for EAPT test score interpretations. In Study 2 (N = 158), an important assumption about the response processes in the EAPT was verified experimentally, in the process providing further validity evidence for test score interpretations. In sum, findings suggest that the EAPT is a promising new maximum performance measure for the assessment of EU. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

中文翻译：

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一种评估情感理解的新方法。

本文介绍了一种新的情感理解能力（EU）量度（情感智力的主要组成部分）的（a）起源，（b）基本原理和（c）初步有效性证据。一种新颖的概念方法-移情代理范例（EAP）提供了理论基础。EAP产生了一个在逻辑上可辩护的，真实的评分钥匙，这是对EI进行评估的一项重大进展，否则，EI将依赖于辩护性较低的方法。随后在两项研究中获得了移情代理范例测试（EAPT）的测试成绩解释的有效性证据。在研究1中，参与者（N = 321）完成了EAPT（睾丸水平为α= .72），以及经典智力测验，大五人格特质和欧盟的情境判断测验。这项研究提供了阶乘，EAPT测试成绩解释的收敛性和判别有效性证据。在研究2（N = 158）中，通过实验验证了有关EAPT中反应过程的重要假设，该过程为测试成绩的解释提供了进一步的有效性证据。总之，研究结果表明，EAPT是用于评估欧盟的有希望的新的最大绩效指标。（PsycInfo数据库记录（c）2020 APA，保留所有权利）。