SPIRITUAL INTELLIGENCE INTRODUCTION Zohar and Marshall (2003) define spiritual intelligence as "the intelligence with which we can
place our actions and our lives in a wider, richer, meaning-giving context; the intelligence with which we can assess that one course of action or one life-path is more meaningful than another." Spiritual intelligence is concerned with the inner life of mind and spirit and its relationship to being in the world. Spiritual intelligence implies a capacity for a deep understanding of existential questions and insight into multiple levels of consciousness. Spiritual intelligence also implies awareness of spirit as the ground of being or as the creative life force of evolution. Spiritual intelligence emerges as consciousness evolves into an ever-deepening awareness of matter, life, body, mind, soul, and spirit. Spiritual intelligence, then, is more than individual mental ability. It appears to connect the personal to the transpersonal and the self to spirit. Spiritual intelligence goes beyond conventional psychological development. In addition to self-awareness, it implies awareness of our relationship to the transcendent, to each other, to the earth and all beings. Spiritual intelligence opens the heart, illuminates the mind, and inspires the soul, connecting the individual human psyche to the underlying ground of being. Spiritual intelligence can be developed with practice and can help a person distinguish reality from illusion. It may be expressed in and culture as love, wisdom, and service (Vaughan, 2002). The inquiry into spiritual intelligence suggests that it is one of several types of intelligence and that it can be developed relatively independently. Spiritual intelligence calls for multiple ways of knowing and for the integration of the inner life of mind and spirit with the outer life of work in the world. It can be cultivated through questing, inquiry, and practice. Spiritual experiences may also contribute to its development, depending on the context and means of integration. Spiritual maturity is expressed through wisdom and compassionate action in the world. Spiritual intelligence is necessary for discernment in making spiritual choices that contribute to psychological well-being and overall healthy human development. It allows insights and understanding to move from those depths to the surface of our being where we act, think, and feel. OBJECTIVE To construct a multidimensional scale which measures the spiritual intelligence. METHOD SAMPLE: A total of 450 samples were taken for the study. The sampling technique used was convenience sampling technique. All the samples were well educated, came from an urban environment and were studying at various colleges under Delhi University. Age group of samples was between 17 to 23 years. Convenience Sampling is a type of non-probability sampling technique where subjects were selected because of their convenient accessibility and proximity to the researcher. PROCEDURE: Item Generation: The present test was developed to measure the Spiritual Intelligence of the samples. An original pool of 42 items (3 items measuring each of the 14 dimensions) was developed based on the afore-mentioned theoretical conception of spiritual intelligence. A multiple-choice, Likert-type scale was utilized for the Spiritual Intelligence Scale. Compassion can be considered as a part of Spiritual intelligence. Compassion is having the quality of "feeling-with" and deep empathy. Further, studies also proved the relationship between Compassion and Spiritual Intelligence (Saslow, 2013). The following items are used to measure Compassion dimension: Q1. I cannot understand others perspective when they do something terribly wrong. Q2. People should be punished for crimes like insulting God and religion. Q3. We should not talk with a dangerous criminal who had gone to jail. Optimism can be considered as a part of Spiritual intelligence. Optimism is always seeing the positive side of any situation. Not afraid to deal with problematic situations as no fear is present. Further, studies also proved the relationship between Optimism and Spiritual Intelligence (Mazanec, 2010). The following items are used to measure Optimism dimension: Q1. I am not very confident to face a very challenging situation for which I am not prepared. Q2. I will be harmed if surrounded by a gang of armed robbers. Q3. I am a human being and cannot solve all of my problems in life. Serving Humanity can be considered as a part of Spiritual intelligence. Serving Humanity is feeling called upon to serve, to give something back. Altruistic behaviour is displayed. Further, studies also proved the relationship between Serving Humanity and Spiritual Intelligence (Zohar, 2000). The following items are used to measure Serving Humanity dimension: Q1. My enemy should not be helped under any given circumstances. Q2. If given a choice I will prefer to serve my community in which I was born than any other. Q3. We should never serve people who insult our beloved country, and disregard our culture.
Dissolve Identity can be considered as a part of Spiritual intelligence. Dissolve Identity is going beyond the trivial issues created by culture and identities given by culture. Further, studies also proved the relationship between Dissolve Identity and Spiritual Intelligence (Diedrich, 2007). The following items are used to measure Dissolve Identity dimension: Q1. I am proud to be a citizen of my country. Q2. I should always follow the beautiful culture I have inherited and should not discard it. Q3. I have an ideal or role model of whom I want to be like. Own Rules and Convictions can be considered as a part of Spiritual intelligence. Own Rules and Convictions is acting from selfmade principles and deep beliefs, and living accordingly. Further, studies also proved the relationship between Own Rules and Convictions and Spiritual Intelligence (Diedrich, 2007). The following items are used to measure Own Rules and Convictions dimension: Q1. I uphold the values and ethics this society has given to me. Q2. I believe and follow many things that many great leaders of my country said in the past. Q3. We should listen and do as our elders and teachers tell us because they are our well-wishers and have more experience than us. Awareness of Self can be considered as a part of Spiritual intelligence. Awareness of Self is knowing what one believes in and values, and what deeply motivates them. Further, studies also proved the relationship between Awareness of Self and Spiritual Intelligence (Zohar, 2000). The following items are used to measure Awareness of Self dimension: Q1. I have learnt from many people all through my life. Q2. I can only know myself when I first deeply understand my other fellow human beings. Q3. My parents know their behaviour very well because they followed our culture and were obedient to their parents. Holistic View can be considered as a part of Spiritual intelligence. Holistic View is seeing larger patterns, relationships, and connections, having a sense of belonging. Further, studies also proved the relationship between Holistic View and Spiritual Intelligence (Zohar, 2000). The following items are used to measure Holistic View dimension: Q1. People who belong to my country are essentially different as compared to people of any other country. Q2. I should protect my countrymen during war crisis. Q3. I am grateful to my God for protecting me and giving me happiness. Visionary can be considered as a part of Spiritual intelligence. Visionary is being futuristic, knowing the consequences before taking any action, sees bigger picture of a problem like an observer. Further, studies also proved the relationship between Visionary and Spiritual Intelligence (Zohar, 2000). The following items are used to measure Visionary dimension: Q1. I am not absolutely certain about how my future will be shaped. Q2. I dont understand the actual reasons for the numerous diverse problems in the world. Q3. I dont know the consequences of my actions for most given situations. Non Attachment can be considered as a part of Spiritual intelligence. Non Attachment is being unattached to outcomes, forms, or experiences. Well-being comes from within, by way of one's spiritual identity. Further, studies also proved the relationship between Non Attachment and Spiritual Intelligence (Diedrich, 2007). The following items are used to measure Non Attachment dimension: Q1. It matters if I dont have many friends. Q2. I usually miss my family a lot when I am separated from them. Q3. I wish my family and friends really understand me as a person. Taking Responsibility for Controlling Own Life can be considered as a part of Spiritual intelligence. Taking Responsibility for Controlling Own Life is one takes 100 % responsibility for one's life, one's situation, and for oneself. One recognizes that one is the creator of one's life and that their thinking, their beliefs, and their assumptions create their world. Further, studies also proved the relationship between Taking Responsibility for Controlling Own Life and Spiritual Intelligence (Diedrich, 2007). The following items are used to measure Taking Responsibility for Controlling Own Life dimension: Q1. I am not responsible for whatever bad circumstances I am in and how others treat me. Q2. My culture incorporates a good thinking and belief system. Q3. My family knows how to control my life and does take responsibility for it. Critical Thinking and Curiosity can be considered as a part of Spiritual intelligence. Critical Thinking and Curiosity is the capacity to critically contemplate the nature of existence, reality, the universe, space, time, and other metaphysical issues. Want to know about the unknown, and inquisitive for knowledge. Solution oriented and can interconnect anything. Further, studies also proved the relationship between Critical Thinking and Curiosity and Spiritual Intelligence (King, 2008). The following items are used to measure Critical Thinking and Curiosity dimension: Q1. I believe what is written in religious books.
Q2. I usually do not make use of most of the opportunities and resources I get to learn and understand something new. Q3. My parents know what is best for me. Consciousness Expansion and Peak Experiences can be considered as a part of Spiritual intelligence. Consciousness Expansion and Peak Experiences is the ability to enter and exit higher states of consciousness (e.g. pure consciousness, cosmic consciousness, unity, and oneness) and other states of trance at one's own discretion (as in deep contemplation, meditation, etc). Further, studies also proved the relationship between Consciousness Expansion and Peak Experiences and Spiritual Intelligence (Emmons, 2000). The following items are used to measure Consciousness Expansion and Peak Experiences dimension: Q1. I usually dont experience oneness and universal connectedness with the entire universe. Q2. I usually experience myself as a separate individual distinct and unique from other humans and animals. Q3. I quite often go in a blissful calm state of extreme happiness and satisfaction. Personal Meaning and Purpose can be considered as a part of Spiritual intelligence. Personal Meaning and Purpose is the ability to derive personal meaning and purpose from all physical and mental experiences, including the capacity to create and master a life purpose. Further, studies also proved the relationship between Personal Meaning and Purpose and Spiritual Intelligence (King, 2008). The following items are used to measure Personal Meaning and Purpose dimension: Q1. Society has shown me as to what is the meaning of my life. Q2. The values given by my elders have instilled a sense of purpose for living in me. Q3. The path that I have to choose in life is the one which had been previously taken by the great political, religious, social leaders, scientists, etc., of my country. Resilience can be considered as a part of Spiritual intelligence. Resilience is learning and growing from mistakes, setbacks, and suffering. Further, studies also proved the relationship between Resilience and Spiritual Intelligence (Momeni, 2012). The following items are used to measure Resilience dimension: Q1. It is difficult to take control of situations and life itself when I am faced with severe difficulties. Q2. There is nothing much of importance that I can learn from what happened in my past. Q3. Severe problems faced by me during my entire lifetime are presently affecting me to an extent. Item Analysis: - Modification Of Items The selected items were scrutinized and then modified as per suggestions of 6 experts. - Discriminatory Index Discriminatory Index is the ability of an item to discriminate a person with high quality and low quality. The Discriminatory Index reports the difference between the proportions of high and low scorers answering a dichotomous item correctly. High values are reputed as good items, low values as bad items. Flanagan (1936) Method for discriminatory index was used to analyze the discriminatory power of the items. Since all the items could be directly scored in ascending order, and the first 121 (27%) were considered as high group and last 121 (27%) as low group. Point biserial coefficient were calculated for all items and item no Q7, Q8, Q9, Q25, Q26, and Q27 were eliminated as the coefficient of these items was lesser than 0.2. During this step, 36 items were retained in the scale which had sufficient discriminatory power to discriminate people with high and Low spiritual intelligence. Table 1. Discrimination Index of the items of Spiritual Intelligence Scale Serial No Q01 Q02 Q03 Q04 Q05 Q06 Q07 Q08 Q09 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Items I cannot understand others perspective when they do something terribly wrong People should be punished for crimes like insulting God and religion We should not talk with a dangerous criminal who had gone to jail I am not very confident to face a very challenging situation for which I am not prepared I will be harmed if surrounded by a gang of armed robbers I am a human being and cannot solve all of my problems in life I am proud to be a citizen of my country I should always follow the beautiful culture I have inherited and should not discard it I have an ideal or role model of whom I want to be like I uphold the values and ethics this society has given to me I believe and follow many things that many great leaders of my country said in the past We should listen and do as our elders and teachers tell us because they are our well-wishers and have more experience than us I have learnt from many people all through my life I can only know myself when I first deeply understand my other fellow human beings Rpbis 0.34 0.22 0.39 0.44 0.33 0.40 0.21 0.25 0.24 0.22 0.26 0.36 0.21 0.31
Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 Q19 Q20 Q21 Q22 Q23 Q24 Q25 Q26 Q27 Q28 Q29 Q30 Q31 Q32 Q33 Q34 Q35 Q36
My parents know their behaviour very well because they followed our culture and were obedient to their parents People who belong to my country are essentially different as compared to people of any other country I should protect my countrymen during war crisis I am grateful to my God for protecting me and giving me happiness I am not absolutely certain about how my future will be shaped I dont understand the actual reasons for the numerous diverse problems in the world I dont know the consequences of my actions for most given situations I am not responsible for whatever bad circumstances I am in and how others treat me My culture incorporates a good thinking and belief system My family knows how to control my life and does take responsibility for it I believe what is written in religious books I usually do not make use of most of the opportunities and resources I get to learn and understand something new My parents know what is best for me I usually dont experience oneness and universal connectedness with the entire universe I usually experience myself as a separate individual distinct and unique from other humans and animals I quite often go in a blissful calm state of extreme happiness and satisfaction Society has shown me as to what is the meaning of my life The values given by my elders have instilled a sense of purpose for living in me The path that I have to choose in life is the one which had been previously taken by the great political, religious, social leaders, scientists, etc., of my country It is difficult to take control of situations and life itself when I am faced with severe difficulties There is nothing much of importance that I can learn from what happened in my past Severe problems faced by me during my entire lifetime are presently affecting me to an extent
0.28 0.29 0.25 0.21 0.25 0.30 0.25 0.23 0.20 0.35 0.20 0.49 0.36 0.21 0.32 0.29 0.24 0.20 0.24 0.31 0.32 0.28
Psychometric Properties: Indicates Reliability and Validity of a scale. Validity refers to the accuracy of a test or scale. A scale has validity if it properly represents the theoretical construct it is meant to measure. Reliability refers to the consistency and stability in the results of a test or scale. A scale has reliability if repeated measurements under the same circumstances tend to produce the same results. - Reliability Cronbachs Alpha - The method used here to calculate reliability was to use a measure of internal consistency that is, how closely related a set of items are as a group. The most popular of these reliability estimates was Cronbach's alpha. Cronbach's alpha () is an estimate of reliability, specifically the internal consistency, of a test or scale. Cronbach's alpha seeks to measure how closely test items are related to one another and thus measuring the same construct. Table 2. Cronbachs Alpha Coefficient of the dimensions of Spiritual Intelligence Scale Serial No 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 Dimension Compassion Optimism Dissolve Identity Own Rules and Convictions Awareness of Self Holistic View Critical Thinking and Curiosity Personal Meaning and Purpose Total Cronbachs Alpha .665 .439 .606 .783 .683 .616 .622 .521 .865
The Dimensions (Visionary) 0.010, (Taking Responsibility for Controlling Own Life) 0.159, (Consciousness Expansion and Peak Experiences) 0.158, and (Resilience 0.038), were found to have unsatisfactory alpha coefficients (less than 0.4) and hence eliminated. The alpha coefficients for other dimensions were (Compassion) 0.665, (Optimism) 0.439, (Dissolve Identity) 0.606, (Own Rules and Convictions) 0.783, (Awareness of Self) 0.683, (Holistic View) 0.616, (Critical Thinking and Curiosity) 0.622, and (Personal Meaning and Purpose) 0.521. During this step, 24 items were retained in the scale which had satisfactory Cronbach alpha coefficient.
Split Half Reliability Guttman split-half reliability coefficient was an alternative split-half model, an adaptation of the Spearman-Brown coefficient, but one which does not require equal variances between the two split forms. Under this method, test/scale was divided into two halves, so that the first half forms the first part of the entire test/scale and the second half forms the remaining part of the test/scale. Both halves were of equal lengths and they were designed in such a way that each is an alternate form of the other. Estimation of reliability was based on correlating the results of the two halves of the same test/scale. Table 3. Guttman Split-Half Reliability for Spiritual Intelligence Scale Scale Name Spiritual Intelligence Scale Guttman Split-Half Reliability .824
Split half reliability was .824. Scale has satisfactory split half reliability CONCLUSION Initially 6 items Q7, Q8, Q90 (Serving Humanity Dimension) and Q25, Q26, and Q27 (Non Attachment Dimension) were eliminated from within the scale which did not have sufficient discriminatory power by using Flanagan Method for Discriminatory Index. During this step, 36 items out of the initial 42 items were retained in the scale. Then, another 4 dimensions Visionary (Q22, Q23, Q24), Taking Responsibility for Controlling Own Life (Q28, Q29, Q30), Consciousness Expansion and Peak Experiences (Q34, Q35, Q36), and Resilience (Q40, Q41, Q42) were eliminated from the scale which did not have satisfactory Cronbach Alpha Coefficient. During this step, 24 items out of the remaining 36 items were retained in the scale. Finally, a scale of 24 items was developed to measure Spiritual Intelligence after calculating the Guttman Split-Half Reliability. The selected dimensions of the scales were - Compassion, Optimism, Dissolve Identity, Own Rules and Convictions, Awareness of Self, Holistic View, Critical Thinking and Curiosity, and Personal Meaning and Purpose. All dimensions were found to have alpha reliability coefficient and Guttman split half reliability coefficient. REFERENCES 1. Zohar, D. & Marshall, I. (2001). SQ: Connecting With Our Spiritual Intelligence, 1st Edition, Bloomsbury Publications: USA. 2. Wigglesworth, C. (2012). SQ21: The Twenty-one Skills of Spiritual Intelligence, 1st Edition, Select Books Publishers: USA. 3. Emmons, R.A. (1999). The Psychology of Ultimate Concerns: Motivation and Spirituality in Personality, 1st Edition, the Guilford Press: New York. 4. Vaughan, F. (2002). What is Spiritual Intelligence? Journal of Humanistic Psychology, Volume 42, No. 2, 16-33, Sage Publications. 5. King, D.B. (2008). Rethinking Claims of Spiritual Intelligence: A Definition, Model and Measure, Trent University Publication: Peterborough.
