Reliability Generalization Analysis of the Core Self-Evaluations Scale

As a multifaceted construct reflecting one's self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy, locus of control, and emotional stability, core self-evaluations (CSE) has become popular to measure in applied psychology research, especially given its conceptual importance and empirical usefulness for understanding the dispositional effects on employee attitudes and behaviors. Yet, less attention has been paid to the internal properties of its measurement, relative to its criterion-related validity evidence. Thus, we believe that it is useful and timely to report on meta-analytic evidence regarding the psychometric reliability and associated study characteristics of Core Self-Evaluations Scale (CSES; Judge et al., 2003) to inform their nature, use, and future development. Results demonstrated support for acceptable levels of coefficient alpha across measures ([mu][subscript alpha] = 0.84, [tau] = 0.05). We discuss several implications for measuring CSE in a multidimensional and generalizable manner.