Revisions

Running head: DOES EMOTIONAL IQ EFFECT RELATIONSHIP SUCCESS
Mating Intelligence & Emotional IQ & Its Impact on Successful Relationships
Najja L. Hogg
December 2015
Prairie View A&M University

DOES EMOTIONAL IQ EFFECT RELATIONSHIP SUCCESS 2
Abstract
You say you are looking for the perfect guy or girl right? How do we go about finding
this perfect match? Everyday adolescents strive to find the perfect partner to build a relationship
with but adolescents are not fully capable of knowing what they want in that perfect partner. This
study investigates how Mating Intelligence and Emotional IQ have a positive affect on
relationship satisfaction. Mating Intelligence and Emotional IQ are two variables that help
adolescents discover how we specifically choose our mate. In a relationship individuals who
have exhibit knowledge about choosing a partner based on mating intelligence and use certain
positive traits of emotional IQ will have a positive relationship with partner satisfaction. In this
study mating intelligence will be measured by using a relationship satisfaction scale. A
regression analysis will be used in the study to measure how the variables correlate with the
dependent variable.

Introduction
Successful relationships can be hard to maintain at times. Relationships are bonds and
connections that tie two people closer together romantically. There are social factors that
contribute to a successful relationship. Many people have various expectations before entering a
relationship. These expectations could create challenges in the relationship; such as socializing,
physical appearance, self-esteem, open communication, and cultural values. The purpose of this
study is to see if the way in which we choose our mate and emotional IQ will have a significant
effect on individuals overall satisfaction in relationships. Also this study will conceptualize how
individuals choose their partner and what keeps individuals satisfied with their partner.
Relationships that are based on the factors of mating intelligence such as having knowledge of
choosing a partner and emotional IQ in using certain positive traits are going to have a successful
impact on relationship satisfaction.
Mating Intelligence
According to Peterson (2013, p.68), “Mating Intelligence is having some knowledge of
cognitive mechanisms necessary for courting”. As stated in the quotation above this mating
behavior can have effect on relationships and lead to reproduction. Mating intelligence guides us
in the steps towards selecting our mate-choice and how we perceive the person that we selected.
When assessing Mating Intelligence many individuals have different perceptions of this variable.
It can also be considered as one’s perception of how they choose their significant partner that
they want to create a relationship with. In romantic relationships most individuals base their
preference of their perfect partner around social and physical factors which are personality,
height, intelligence, and them having some form of moral values.

Emotional IQ
Socializing is the key factor in understanding Emotional IQ. In maintaining social factors
we can associate Emotional IQ with “Having some form of knowledge to understand and process
emotions that guide thinking and behavior”. Also Emotional IQ is considered to be “A
combination of positive traits such as happiness, self-esteem, and optimism according to. Mayers
(2008, pg.503). By using the operational definition, it gives you a direct description of what the
study will contain. In maintaining social factors Emotional IQ, which is having some form of
knowledge to understand emotions and to be able to sympathize and manage them. Understand
that mating intelligence and Emotional IQ are two separate terms. Adolescents today use many
emotions influence us to make the conscious decisions that we make every day. When they use
their emotions in relationships it ties them into making decisions that will affect the outcome of
having a successful relationship. Factors of a successful relationship can include commitment,
effective communication between two partners, managing conflict in situations and cultural
values. All of these components help build a profile towards the chances of maintaining a
successful relationship. This study will only focus on commitment and self-perception as factors
of a successful relationship.
A Successful relationship. A successful relationship can be defined in various ways. It
could mean achieving happiness between two people or accomplishing personal goals that you
have set out with another. It could also mean filling a social void of finding the right partner to
support and build a future with, while in the relationship. According to previous literature,
successful relationships can be defined as “Examination of what has worked to allow to couples
two stay together in fulfilling relationships, Cook (2005).

Commitment. In romantic relationships commitment, is maintaining the dependence of
individuals who are in a relationship. “The need for intimate partners has a particularly high
interest in applying a wide range of relationship behaviors”, Rusbult (1994). In previous research
this factor has not been considered, but it will be investigated in this research. Many
relationships it can seem as if they’re happy with each other and have the perfect relationship but
in reality it’s all just a cover-up. When you’re emotionally happy you set goals for yourself and
have a better view about yourself. In today’s society you will not find as many college students
in relationships that are 2 or more years long because they’re not use to being dedicated to one
person for the rest of their lives.
Self-Perception. How we perceive someone’s personality can be a huge factor on if we
want to pursue and make certain sacrifices to keep a successful relationship. This is when most
relationships have to make certain compromises between the partners to see if both partners are
willing to work out their differences and give up certain habits to keep their partner happy. When
a person sees that they can fully be committed to them it relieves stress, conflict and suspicions.
Successful relationships according to previous research are defined as elements that help
couples know what had worked for them to allow individuals to stay together. This study focuses
on the affects of mating intelligence and emotional IQ, as well as how they both have a positive
effect on romantic relationships. This study will not provide any results, but it will provide
proposals on how mating intelligence and emotional IQ will be measured, assessed and how they
correlate with successful relationships.
Mating intelligence and emotional IQ were expected to have a highly predicted effect on
the outcome of successful relationships. Also they were positively correlated with successful

relationships in previous literature. Unlike like commitment and self-perception which will not
have a significant effect on successful relationships, commitment had little correlation with
romantic relationships.
Literature Review
Successful Relationships
In a previous research article by Furler (2014), they introduced self-perception, partner
perception, as well as self-other agreement and perceived similarities that were assessed by Big
Five personality traits. It was hypothesized that self- and partner perceived personalities are
associated with relationship satisfaction. In the article they centered on a sample of roughly two
hundred plus couples which is always good because large samples decrease chances of having
sampling errors. The age range of the participants consisted of women that were 48 years old and
men who were 50 years old. Most of the participants were in relationships for over 23 years or
more.
In this study they use a German version of the Relationship Assessment Scale. The
reported results were that men were highly satisfied in relationships than women. With having a
large sample it reduced the chances of them having sampling errors. In their study they did have
limitations in which was expected because in the previous study they used self-ratings of
personality to assess perceived personality. In this study partner ratings would not be used
because it is not the best choice. In all they found that partner- perceived personality correlated
with relationship satisfaction the most.
The main strengths of their study were that they had a large sample of couples that used
that were in relationships. If they use college students in their study, then there would be more
limitations. This article was helpful to this research because they show how significant variables

can have an impact on relationship satisfaction and are correlating with the independent variables
in the study.
In an additional study by Erol and Orth (2014), they also compared the effects of self-
esteem and relationship satisfaction. They hypothesized that self-esteem has a positive effect on
being satisfied in a relationship. This study differs from other studies because they had a larger
sample than the study above and they used over eight hundred married or cohabiting couples.
They selected different ethnicities in which white males and females ranked the highest. In the
length of the relationship they chose between 1 to 65 years.
They chose to use the 10-item Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the Gilford-Bengtson
Marital Satisfaction Scale. In their reported findings they found that there was a similar trend
that was found that other researchers found similar replications Markides, Roberts-
Jolly,Ray,Hoppe, and Rudkin, (1999). In the study there were some strengths and weaknesses.
One of their strengths was that they had a very large sample. The age range and relationship
length was good for the experiment because it gives a generalized sample. A weakness of the
population was not a good representation. The percentages of the participants of each ethnicity
you had 94% of representation from one whites and lower representation from the rest of the
ethnicities as 8% black and 7% Hispanics in which is a limitation for the experiment because it's
not a proportional representation of the population.
Mating Intelligence
Mate value is specific mechanisms that can contribute to individuals choosing their
perfect mate. It could also be described as special traits in an individual that makes them
attractive such as height, eye color, athleticism, or facial features. In the previous research by
Dilion (2015, p.4), mating intelligence is defined as “Acquiring high value in a mating partner or

the choosing of quality in a partner”. In the study they used social media to acquire their sample
which was very large. Their sample consisted of over one thousand individuals who participated
and roughly declined to 600 participants who actually completed the full survey. The
demographics of the participants were that they were in long-term relationships, in the age range
of eighteen and older, and were enrolled in college. To measure mating intelligence they used the
Mating Intelligence Scale by Geher and Kaufman, (2013). Their hypothesis was proven to be
highly correlated and significant. This is important to my study because it shows the significance
of mating intelligence has towards successful relationships. The strengths of the study was that
the surveys were completed separately so it could increase validity and make their responses
more valid without the influence of their partner. Their scales were found to having good
reliability. The sample size was also a good strength of the study because it had certain factors
that eliminated individuals who did not fit the criteria.
Mating Intelligence Comparison
According to Peterson (2013, p.67), “Mating intelligence can be described as the act that
sexual drive that leads us to choose out specific partner”. In his research he found that mating
intelligence has a significant value in how we mate. In the research he wanted to see if there was
a correlation between menstrual cycles and mating intelligence. It was hypothesized that
menstrual cycles have an effect on choosing the perfect mate. In their study they used
heterosexual women for their participants who were from a college campus. The statistical
analysis used for the study was a correlation analysis. In which the effect sizes were very low
and had no significance to the study. This is relevant to the study, because it correlates with how
mating intelligence is useful to the behaviors that lead individuals to the satisfaction of
relationships. The results showed that there wasvery little correlation between the two variables.

To receive better results they should’ve used a different method of analysis. The limitations of
the study were the length of the cycle and the construct of mating intelligence.
In comparison to the above article about the variable mating intelligence, the previous
research by Hromatko (2015, p.242.), also stated that, “mate value also has an effect on how
individuals choose their partner". In the previous literature they used a cross context in seeing
how mating intelligence is used for two different cultures from the Mid-East which were
Croatian couples and Iranian couples. To assess their study they used an actor- partner
interdependence model to test mate value. In which they discovered that even though mate value
differs in cultures they still refer to the same structure. In predicting relationship satisfaction they
found that the mating value is an important mechanism in both cultures. In the article above they
used a correlation analysis to measure mating intelligence in which it provided them with low
effect sizes. By using the model they chose not only did it show high correlations between both
cultures but it showed higher for women in Iranian couples.
Emotional IQ
When are emotions are manageable, we tend to process that information and perceive it
in a mindset that we can accomplish many goals in life and be able to mange things such as
relationship satisfaction. Maluoff’s interpretation on how the two variables correlate are,
“Emotional competencies makes it easier to establish pleasant and mutually satisfying
relationships because of their ability to understand and manage their own emotions and their
ability to perceive, understand, and help regulate their relationship partner’s emotions”,(Maluoff,
Shutte & Thorsteinsson 2014,p.54). There was a statistical analysis that was done and they used
a cross-sectional analysis. The article did have limitations it lacked data from the methods
section due to the amount of previous research that was found. In the methods section there was

one article that was found but it really lacked the essential components of participants and
measurements.
In additional studies by Schroder-Abe and Schutz (2011), they have also found in
comparison that mating intelligence to be positively related to romantic relationships. In contrast
to the article above which did not include the measures that were conducted in their research; the
previous literature did include two studies in which measured emotional intelligence and
relationship quality were measured. There was an online survey used so that really increased
their chances of having better results. In assessing the different measures they made relationship
quality into three levels which included closeness as an aspect of commitment, satisfaction, and a
cognitive component. The Wong Law Emotional Intelligence Scale was used to asses self –
emotions.
To measure relationship satisfaction they used the German Relationship Assessment
Scale. Lastly, to measure commitment, they took a five question scale. In the above article they
chose a cross-analysis for statistical analysis in this article they chose to use a structural equation
model. In which they found emotional intelligence to be a positive aspect of relationship quality.
In the second study they used questionnaires in a comfortable laboratory setting and home
questionnaires. In their results they found the same significances but the results were higher on
effects since the study was an extended version of the first study .There were no limitations for
this article and it is significant to this study because it shows not only emotional intelligence
being significant to relationship satisfaction, but also commitment which is a factor that was
mentioned above as a component of the findings.

Commitment
In this study the variable commitment being looked at as an extended factor in
relationship satisfaction. In previous literature by, Cook (2005, p.73) “One of the common
elements that lead to a successful relationship is commitment”. In this study they gave us a non-
directional hypothesis which was “polyandrous couples that maintain their commitment is open-
ended” (p.73). In this study commitment was the key variable being assessed. In their study there
was little information on commitment due to the lack of previous research in the article. To
collect data for their study they used a phone interview on polyandrous couples who were in
relationships for less than five years. In this study there was not methods section, but there was a
prediction for future research. They stated that “A longitudinal study in committed relationships
could study the difference between the couples or groups who remain together after five to ten
years and those that split up”, (Cook, (2005, p.73). Due to the lack of information this literature
was not as informational as the other, but it was very much relevant to the study because it
displayed methods on how the variable commitment could be addressed in the study.
Successful relationships according to previous research are defined as elements that help
couples know what had worked for them to allow individuals to stay together. This study focuses
on the variables mating intelligence and emotional IQ, as well as how they both have a positive
effect on romantic relationships. This study will not provide any results, but it will provide
proposals on how mating intelligence and emotional IQ will be measured, assessed and how they
correlate with successful relationships.
Mating intelligence and emotional IQ were expected to have a highly predicted effect on
the outcome of successful relationships. Also they were positively correlated with successful
relationships in previous literature. Unlike like self-esteem and self-perception which had a

positive correlation and effect on successful relationships, commitment had little correlation with
romantic relationships.

Methods
Participants
In the study of mating intelligence and emotional IQ the sample will be selected from
undergraduate college students of different ethnicities who attend Historically Black Colleges in
Texas. The sample included men and women who were enrolled full time in college campuses
who attended general psychology and biology classes. The individuals who were randomly
selected were or still are in relationships that range from one to seven years. The participants will
be a collection of freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. The age range that was selected
for the sample was between eighteen and twenty- eight years old. Simple random sampling will
be used to generate the participants used in the study. This is a better way to select a sample
because it is not manipulated because it is randomly selected. The participants were informed
that they would have to complete a survey in a computer lab and an interactive activity in a
classroom in person.
Measures
To measure the variable mating intelligence and emotional IQ participants were given a
Relationship Satisfaction survey. In order to maintain confidentiality surveys were administered
by a researcher. Each participant was instructed to complete the survey in a time span of an hour
at their own pace. The participants were given a pre-test of a 21item question survey in which
consisted of 6 items on mating intelligence behaviors, 6 items on emotional IQ and 9 items
concerning relationships and self-perception. They were assigned to fill out the survey and
answer all questions with honesty. The format of the survey was multiple-choice and scored on a
5-point Likert scale in which items were assessed from a degree of strongly-disagree to agree.
With 5 ranging the highest degree of strongly dislike and 1will be scored as strongly agreed. At

the beginning and end of the survey they were told that they will be retested in the time span of 5
weeks prior to completing this survey.
Mating intelligence. To measure mating intelligence participants will complete the
Geher and Kaufman Mating IQ Scale (Kaufman, 2007). This was used to measure the significant
mating behaviors that contribute to mating intelligence. The scale consisted of twenty-four items
to assess the nature of mating intelligence for men and women. Each item was scored on a 2-
point dichotomous scale in which there were only true and false questions. Sample items for men
consisted of “If a women is not interested in me, I figure she does not know what she’s missing”
and for women sample items consisted of “I believe that most men are actually more interested
in long-term relationships that their given credit for”.
Emotional intelligence. To measure the variable of emotional IQ, the Shutte Self-Report
Emotional Intelligence Test (Shutte, 2014), will be used to measure the predicting and managing
parts of emotional intelligence. This scale was reported to have good reliability of (.90). Which
means this scale is valid for measuring emotional intelligence. It is 33 item assessment-scale that
is going to asses emotional intelligence and its sub-scales. Theses sub-scales that are measured
are managing emotions, utilizing emotions, and emotional perception for this study. Each item
was scored on a 5 point Likert scale in which 1 was strongly agree to 5 which is strongly
disagree.
Successful relationships. To measure successful relationships the Relationship
Assessment Scale was utilized (Hendricks, 1998). This scale will measure how individuals rate
the success or satisfaction of their relationships. The scale consisted of seven items and was
scored on a 5 point Likert scale in which items were assessed from a degree of strongly-disagree
to agree. With 5 ranging the highest degree of strongly dislike. This scale was suitable for

couples in relationships as well as married couples. Examples of some items may include “How
well does your partner meet your needs” and “To what extent has your relationship met your
original expectations”. Also some items in this scale were reversed scored. The reliability of this
scale was (.86). This means it has good reliability and high correlation.
Commitment in romantic relationships . The Caryl Rusbult Commitment Scale will be
utilized to measure commitment in romantic relationships (Rusbult, 1998). This scale consists of
15 items with sub-scales which are commitment intent, long-term orientation, and attachment.
This scale is intended to measure commitment and its association with successful relationships.
Some example questions may include “I spend a lot of time thinking about the future of our
relationship” and “I want our relationship to last forever”. The scale was scored on a 3- point
scale in which 0 scored as do not agree at all, 1 which scored as agree somewhat, and 3 which is
agree completely.
Self-perception in romantic relationships. The primary measure for self-perception will
be The Self-Perception Profile for College Students (Messer & Harter, 1986). This scale is a
questionnaire consisting of 13 sub-scales in which include romantic relationships, creativity,
social acceptance, close friendships, parent relationships, etc. Also, this scale was a combination
of the child and adult version of the Self-Perception Scale by (Harter, 1999) to get the desired
answer the format of the scale is a 4-point scale in which 1 represents the least competent and 4
represents the most competent. An example question in this scale would include “Some students
feel that people they like romantically will be attracted to them, but other students worry about
whether people they like romantically will be attracted to them”. The reliability of the sub-scales
that were measured range from .76 being the lowest to .92 being the highest (Messer & Harter,

1986. The reliability of romantic relationships is (.88) which is fairly high so it does correlate
with the dependent variable in the study.
Procedure
When the couples were separated a researcher read them an informed consent. The
informed consent was to insure the participants that no harm will be done to them and at anytime
if they felt uncomfortable with the study they had the option to discontinue at anytime and their
data would be voided. Also the participants were informed that the interactive activity and the
survey are both voluntary. Confidentiality of the participants will be protected via email. Each
participant will receive an email with the results and a given date with a 5-week-time span for a
retest. When the study is concluded each participant will receive a copy of the data they have
participated in.
Approval from the Institutional Review Board was implicated during this study as well as
completion of CITI training. The purpose of the study was that all participants will complete an
online survey were the results will be recorded online and an interactive activity where they will
answer questions collectively as a couple. The study may cause emotional risks during the
interactive activity. If there are any risks including physical or emotional, then the participant can
withdraw from the study. The purpose of the study is to increase the benefits of the participants
and maximize the risks. The benefits of the study are participants who complete the survey and
interactive activity then they will each receive is a gift card. To protect the participants’
confidentiality the results are going to be sent electronically to the email that was given by the
participant. The participants were reminded that their participation in the study was voluntary. A
debriefing statement was issued after the participants were informed about the IRB approval.

The participants completed their survey separately on a computer lab setting and were
given an hour to complete the entire survey. The survey was used to assess the participants
mating intelligence, emotional IQ, commitment and self- perception which is being used to
measure successful relationships. After the participants completed the survey separately they
were called back in the computer lab and were instructed to go the classroom where they will do
an interactive activity together as a couple. Each couple was given a set of questions in which
they had to answer as a couple. The questions consisted of relationship scenarios and each couple
had to answer collectively to see if each other’s responses would be different or the same.
The purpose of the interactive activity was to see how the individuals respond to certain
relationship questions as a joined couple. The data from the interactive activity will be recorded
by the researcher who will administer the online survey in the classroom. The online survey was
collected online, and immediately after the survey the participants were told that there would be
a follow-up survey 5 weeks prior to them taking the first survey, before the survey was
administered and shortly after the survey was completed
To collect the data an online survey was distributed to each couple who were selected.
The participants were selected from a general biology class on a college campus. The
participants walked in a classroom setting were researcher administered instructions and each
couple were assigned to a computer to complete their survey. First, the participants were allowed
to sit together but shortly were told that they would be separated to get individual responses
without the influence of the other partner.

Statistical Analysis
Multiple Linear-Regression Analysis
A multiple linear-regression analysis will be conducted to measure the independent
variables to predict a positive outcome for successful relationships. The multiple linear-
regression is just an extension of a linear regression. In this type of regression the variables that
are being used are mating intelligence, emotional IQ, commitment, and self-perception to see if
they will have an outcome on the dependent variable which is successful relationships. When
using a multiple linear regression you’re able to see how the independent variables contribute to
the total variance. In choosing this analysis your independent variables must be continuous and
they must have a linear relationship with the dependent variable and each independent variable.
To test hypothesis one a correlation analysis will be conducted to measure how Mating
Intelligence is related to Emotional IQ. To measure hypothesis to a multi-linear regression will
be used to measure all variables collectively.
Discussion
The way in which you choose, perceive, commit, and precise your partner emotional will
aid in having a successful relationship. In the study the hypothesis may be supported in the study.
It was hypothesized that mating intelligence, emotional IQ, and commitment and self-perception
in which are factors of relationships will have a positive effect on successful relationships. Due
to lack of results the reliability of different scales confirms that there was a correlation between
the independent variables and the dependent variable in the study. The results of the scale were
consistent in showing how they positively affect the dependent variable which was successful
relationships. In the study Mating Intelligence and Emotional IQ may have a positive

relationship with successful relationships. Self-perception and Commitment showed little
correlation towards successful relationships.
The information in this study will help future researchers see that there are different
factors that make up successful relationships. In the study not many researchers incorporate
Mating Intelligence as a factor in successful relationships. Mating intelligence is interpreted by a
certain courting behavior that helps individuals choose your specific partner. Emotional IQ will
help future researchers see the emotional perception that contributes in having a successful
relationship. Also, commitment and self-perception will inform researchers that these two factors
are a significant part of successful relationships due to the high reliability scores. With each scale
having fairly good reliability scores, it is predicted that the findings of this study will be positive.
In previous research their results correlated and supported my hypothesis as being positively
significant to the study.
The limitations of this study may be finding couples who are in relationships for more
than one year. It is possible to find couples in relationships, but since the sample is coming from
a college campus there is only a limited amount of individuals in relationships. In closing the
basis of a successful relationship is about choosing the right partner not only physically but
emotionally and making sure that they’re committed in the relationship. How you perceive your
partner is a huge factor in if you really want to peruse a relationship with an individual. When
you use all of these factors together you will embark on a journey to a successful relationship.

References
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Rusbult, C. E., Drigotas, S. M., & Verette, J. (1994). The invest-ment
model: An interdependence analysis of commitment processes and relationship
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