EMOTIONS PROFILE INDEX

TTH 4:00-5:30PM
Presented by:
Armenion, Mariel B.
Robert Plutchik, Ph.D. and Henry
Cañales, Charlyn Mae
Kellerman, Ph.D. Ebol, Charlotte
Jagdon, Niña Mae M.
Buenafe,
 HISTORICAL FACTS OF THE EPI
• Based on the Theory of Emotions
• It is a personality test designed to yield information about certain basic
personality traits and personality conflicts in an individual's life.
• A circular profile is used to display the relative strengths of the basic
personality traits. This profile allows the examiner to compare these
traits, to see the relative importance for the individual, and to identify
major conflicts between traits.
• It was Postulated by R. Plutchik and H. Kellerman
• Published on 1968, complimented by Plutchik on 1980
• It was widely used for personality inventory
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

• The EPI id based directly upon the general theory of emotion

developed by Plutchik (1955,1958,1960,1965,1970) . The theory
postulates eight basic emotion dimensions, and the EPI assessess the
relative importance of these eight basic emotions in a person's life.
• The theory postulates that personality traits are generated by the
mixture of basic emotions. This proposition implies that a wide
variety of personality traits may be analyzed by reference to a few
basic categories.
• There are at least three different kinds of languages
which may be used to talk about emotions.
STANDARDIZATION
In the instrument all possible pair-comparisons of twelve adjectives have to be
estimated with a two-alternative-forced choice method. In each pair of items
subject must always choose the one, which describes him or her better. Each item
belongs to two dimensions of emotions and chosen item in particular pair
contributes a point to a summary score on both of dimensions. The final result
reflects the absolute and relative score on each of eight dimensions and also the
estimate of bias (faking-good or faking-bad)
113 subjects participated in the study 31 male (27.4%) and 82 female (72.6%)
Their average age was 24.62% (SD=5.60, range 16-41) Data were recorded within
professional selection procedure for rather demanding job. Hence the educational
level of subjects was higher than average (85.8% of subjects graduated from High
School or reached higher educational level of different profiles)
VALIDITY

• It has good discriminative validity

• However, when used in selection, its validity was drastically
reduced
RELIABILITY
• Initially administered to 60 women and test-retest reliability is
determined (+.90)
• 50 test records to test the split half reliability
• This test has been shown to have good internal reliability
• Parallel reliability seems to be susceptible to the use of different
words (expressions) in the new version of EPI having the same
meaning as words in the old version
FEATURES OF THE TEST

One of the unique features of the EPI is that:

• Subject can score it himself in less than 5 minutes.
• There are no stencil required.
• Self Administration time, makes it convenient as well as
economical to use.
• Has been used in variety of contexts.
• Given to subjects of any age beginning with early adolescensce.
• The final results of this test are presented in terms of emotional
circle.
PURPOSE OF WHAT IT MEASURES/USES

It is designed to yield information about certain basic

personality traits and personality conflicts in an individual's
life. It reveals problem areas and provides the examiner with
insights into the nature of difficulties.

This instrument can be used in clinical assessment,

counseling, vocational guidance, research and classroom
demonstration.
CONTINUATION OF PURPOSE OF WHAT IT MEASURES/USES

• Clinical Assessment- it has been used as part of a battery

designed to assess the affective status of mental hospital
patients as well as onthers. It is valuable supplemental to the
usual clinical tools such as the Rorschach, in that it assess
certain emotional dimensions which others do not.
• Counseling- It can be useful in counseling high school or
college students. It reveals in coscienceway for the counselee
how his emotional functioning compares with a large
normative group.
• Vocational Guidance- It has been used as part of a battery of vocational
tests. It is useful supplement to this battery because it provides description
of certain personality traits which are related to job performance and job
success.

• Research- It is one if the few instruments available which measures a

variety of emotional states. It is based directlly upon a general theory of
emotions. Its major research application are the areas of emotion,
personality, psychotheraphy, ideal self and clinical outcome.

• Classroom Demonstration- Almost all subjects fins the EPI interesting to

take. Its bried lenght enables it to be completed early in a class period so
that students can score and interpret their own profiles with the teacher's
assisstance, and they can do this easily within a typical class period.
TARGET CLIENT OR POPULATION
• It is given to subjects of any age beginning with early
adolescensce.

• Can be administered to: Individual and Groups

• Has no time limit; answerable within 10-15 minutes

 ADMINISTRATION
• Can be ministered to individuals or to groups.
• The inventory is given to the subjects who are told to provue the
information requested on the top of the front page; namely, name, date,
age, sex, marital status, education completed and occupation.
• Subjects should then be told to read the directions on the front page and
the definitions of the trait terms.
• The instruction simply request the individual to circle the word in each
pair which describes him best.
• When this is done, subject should be asked if they have any questions and
these should be answered. They may then begin.
• No time limit
• The test is usually completed
in about 10-15 minutes.
• In some cases where
individuals have difficulty
reading the test, or making
their choices, the examiner
should read each pair of
items to the subject and
encourage him to make the
choices.
SCORING
To obtain the raw score for the first emotion dimension, merely count
the number of circles in column 1 which have been CHECKED. This,
then, is the raw score of the first emotion (Trustful) and is entered in the
indicated box at the end of the test. This process is repeated for the 8
columns.

If the subject has inadvertently-skipped one ot two pairs, you may toss a
coin and randomly choose one item from the pair.

If more than two pairs have been skipped, the inventory is probably
invalid.
• In the manual sample it is based upon 500 men and 500
women including college students at four different
universities, housewives taking adult courses, nurses in
training, motor vehivle inspectors and public school teachers.

• In addtion, EPI data are available on a number of addtitional

groups. These includes:

• psychiatric residents, hospital attedants, drug addicts,

hospitalized adolescents, high school students, schizophrenic
patients and geriatic patients.
 PROCESS OF INTERPRETATION OF
• RESULTS
The emotion circle indicates at a glance the relative strenghts of each
basic emotion as well as certain interactions between them.
• The percentile corresponding to a given raw score is a measure of
that score's relative position in the distribution of scores in the norm
group of 500 subjects.
• Percentile scores over 60th percentile may be considered “high,”
while those below the 40th percentile may be considered “low”.
• Individual profiles may be interpreted in two general ways: FIRST,
in terms of what high and low scores means o each single
dimensions: SECOND, in terms of the implications of certain
combinations of scores.
• Gregarious Dimension (Reproduction)
High Score: This person tends to be sociable, friendy, affectionate and
somewhat extroverted. He enjoys being with people and likes to have
warm, friendly contacts.
Low Score: This person tends to be unsocialbe, unfriendly, unaffectionate
and introverted. He tends to be isolated and withdrawn.

Trustful Dimension (Incorporation)

High Score: This person tends to be accepting, trustful, obedient and
gullible. Htends to take things at their face value. He would probably be
descrubed as a dependent person, or one who is suggestible.
Low Score: This person tends to be unaccpting, distrustful, disobedient and
not very gullible. He does not take things at face value.
• Dyscontrol Dimension (Orientation)
High Score: Impulsive. Likes to try new things and have new experiences,
likes surprises, might also be described as adventurous or curious.
Low Score: Unadventurous. Is reluctant to try new things or have new
experiences, is not impulsive and tends to withdraw from social contacts.

Timid Dimension (Protection)

High Score: Cautious, careful and anxious. Worries about getting into
trouble, worries about what people think of him and say about him.
Low Score: Less cautious and fearful than the average person. Tends to
take risks and can easily get into trouble. Do things that are dangerous and
not in his own best interest. Extremely low scores mny indicate impaired
reality testing.
• Depressed Dimension (Reintegration)
High Score: Depressed, sad and gloomy. Dissatisfied with aspects of his
life. Feels deprived and is probably pessimistic. Extremely high scores
may be associated with suicidal tendencies.
Low Scores: Satisfied with his style of life. Extremely low scores may
reflect the operation of strong denial.

• Distrustful (Rejection)
High Score: Stubborn, resentful and sarcastic. Is overly critical and tends
to rejecting of people and of ideas. Most likely perceived by others as a
hostile person. “passive-aggressive,” or guarded.
Low Score: Uncritical and not rejecting.
• Control Dimension (Exploration)
High Score: Wants to know his environment and want to learn to deal with
it. Has a tendency to organize life and put things in their proper pigeon
holes. Has a ness for order and likes being well organized. Exhibits a good
deal of self-control. ould be perceived by others as compulsive, meticulous
or well organized.
Low Score: Tends to live his life on a day-to-day basis. He does not plan
for the future. Tends to be disorganized in his thinking and in his activities.
Has very little need for orderliness . Tends to have little self-control.

Aggresive Dimension (Destruction)

High Score: Tends to be quarrelsome and aggressive, tends to say
whatever is on his mind. Has a lot of anger and expresses it overtly. Tends
• Low Score: Unagressive and not quarrelsome. Has very little anger and
is reluctant to express it overly. Somewhat “passive”.
COMMON COMBINATIONS OF SCORES :
• High Gregarious + High Timid
This combination implies a strong conscience and a tendency to feel
guilty rather easily. This implies a responsible, cautious person who has a
strong needs for social approval.

• High Gregarious + Low Timid

This combination implies a person who likes to be with people but has
a lack of conscience. He is not to responsible. There is also a possibility of
psychopathic tendencies.
• High Gregarious + High Dyscontrol
Likes people and likes adventures. Likes to meet new people and enjoys
having many friends and contacts. His socializing has an impuli=sive
quality and may be insensitive.

• Low Gregarious + High Dyscontrol

Seeks adventures and novelty through things rather than through
people; that is, by doing dangerous things and taking risks. (Example: A
person enjoying car racing, mountain climbing, etc.) This pattern suggests
the possiblility of an impaired identification mechanism.
• High Gregarious + Low Trustful
Likes to be with people but he is smewhat distrustul. He is a good
socializer but does not take people at face values. Tends to be suspicious
of people's motives.

• High Trustful + Low Timid

Tends to exercise poor judgment and does risky things.

• Hight Timid + High Control

A definite anciety pattern with strong likelihood of phobic and
obsessive-compulsive behavior.
CONFLICT
If two opposite emotion are above their respective means, it indicates
strong conflict in that particular bipolar dimension. If one dimension is
above average, it indicates little conflict in bipolar dimension, provided
that the high score are on the following dimensions: gregarious, trustful,
timid and controlled.

BIAS
High bias scores indicate a tendency to pick the more socially desirable
of the two items in a pair. However, this may also be a correct description
of the person. Low bias scores indicate a tendency of the subject ro
describe himself in socially undesirable ways.