is most common, and afforded the most discussion, is the use of a percentage scale accompanied by verbal
anchors. Here, individuals indicate their confidence in the accuracy of a cognitive act as a percentage, say from
0% being absolutely uncertain, to 100% being completely certain. This method has demonstrated excellent reli-
ability and validity in the research to date. While this methodology has not been compared with the self-report
measures, we believe that it should be the preferred method for measuring confidence when individuals are
asked to carry out cognitive activities.
The scales and methodological approaches described in this chapter have been selected for being reliable and
valid measures of the trait of confidence. While we believe that certain scales should be preferred, each may be
most useful given certain circumstances. It is important that researchers consider the utility of each option for
their purposes.
SELF-REPORT COGNITIVE CONFIDENCE SCALES
Personality Evaluation Inventory (PEI)
(Shrauger & Schohn, 1995 ).
Variable
Shauger and Schohn (1995) defined confidence as a self-perceived sense of competence and/or skill to deal
with various situations effectively.
Description
The PEI was designed to assess confidence, or sense of competence/skill, across a range of domains important
to college students. The scale consists of 54 self-report items that are grouped into eight subscales. Six subscales
are content specific, assessing self-perceived confidence to perform in the following domains: Academic,
Appearance, Athletics, Romantic, Social, and Speaking. These domains were selected after being most frequently
reported by 483 students as important determinants of self-confidence. Additionally, a general subscale assesses
one’s confidence to perform competently in general, and a mood subscale is included to assess and account for
mood states that might affect confidence at the time of testing. Scores across the content specific subscales can be
summed to give an alternate measure of general confidence. Each subscale is assessed with seven items except
Athletic confidence, which has five items. Each item is rated on a 4-point Likert-type scale ( A5Strongly Agree ;
B5Mainly Agree ;C5Mainly Disagree ; and D5Strongly Disagree ). Scores are summed across items, with higher
scores indicating greater perceived confidence.
Sample
Shauger and Schohn (1995) reported means separately for 106 female and 105 male introductory psychology
students, respectively, as shown below.
PEI SUBSCALE MEANS AND STANDARD DEVIATIONS
Female Male
Mean SD Mean SD
General 18.50 3.17 19.38 3.24
Speaking 18.34 4.49 18.27 4.16
Romantic 18.69 4.43 17.26 4.69
Athletics 12.89 3.75 15.74 3.29
Social 20.42 3.58 19.52 3.63
Appearance 18.54 3.73 19.67 3.82
Academic 18.42 3.88 19.52 3.31
Mood 17.75 4.26 18.48 3.64
Combined 107.28 13.05 109.97 13.75161 SELF-REPORT COGNITIVE CONFIDENCE SCALES
II. EMOTIONAL DISPOSITIONS