Constructed by Drs John (Jack) Mayer, Peter Salovey and David Caruso (2002) from the definition "Emotional intelligence involves the ability to perceive accurately, appraise, and express emotion; the ability to access and/or generate feelings when they facilitate thought; the ability to understand emotion and emotional knowledge; and the ability to regulate emotions to promote emotional and intellectual growth" (Mayer & Salovey 1997).

The MSCEIT is an ability test of emotional intelligence designed for adult ages 17 years and older. Normative data are from a sample of 5,000 individuals. The MSCEIT consists of 141 items that yield a total emotional intelligence score, two Area scores, and four Branch scores. The eight task-level scores are reported for research and qualitative use only.

The MSCEIT asks test takers to:

1. Identify the emotions expressed by a face or in designs.
2. Generate a mood and solve problems with that mood.
3. Define the causes of different emotions; understand the progression of emotions.
4. Determine how to best include emotion in our thinking in situations involving ourselves or other people.