In this sample, males scored significantly higher than females on the Athletics, Appearance, Academic, and
General subscales. Females scored significantly higher on the Romantic subscale. In terms of means and standard
deviations, Cheng and Furnham (2002) reported similar results with 90 adolescents. However, the only statistically
significant gender difference they found was that males were more confident than females in their athletic ability.
Reliability
Internal Consistency
Cronbach alpha coefficients for all subscales ranged from .71 to .90 (Shauger & Schohn, 1995).
Test/C0Retest
One-month test /C0retest reliabilities ranged from .73 to .90, with the exception of the mood subscale ( r5.49;
Shauger & Schohn, 1995). This was expected, given that the items of the mood subscale refer to specific contents
and mood itself is supposed to be state-like. The one-month test /C0retest reliability for the combined content spe-
cific score was also high ( r5.87; Shauger & Schohn, 1995). Test /C0retest reliabilities did not differ significantly
after correcting for mood.
Validity
Convergent/Concurrent
Shauger and Schohn (1995) demonstrated convergent validity via a consistent pattern of intercorrelations
between the combined content specific score, and the subscales, with Self-esteem, Mood, and Personality mea-
sures. Specifically, combined PEI scores shared significant and positive correlations with measures of self-esteem
(rs5.59 and .58), Life Orientation ( r5.53), Extraversion and Conscientiousness ( r5.55 and .20), and experienc-
ing happy moods ( r5.23). Openness has correlated significantly with only Speaking and Social confidence
(rs5.30 and .33). In general, the PEI subscales demonstrated a similar pattern with these variables with the
exception of the Athletics subscale, which shared weaker relationships overall.
Cheng and Furnham (2002) similarly reported PEI subscale and total scores correlating significantly and posi-
tively with positive affect ( r5.58) and happiness ( r5.52). Cramer, Neal, DeCoster, and Brodsky (2010) , also
found that the general subscale correlated significantly and positively with measures of general, social, and wit-
ness self-efficacy ( rs5.76, .52, and .34 to .32 respectively), self-esteem ( r5.70), and Extraversion ( r5.40).
Canter (2008) found that the academic subscale was positively and significantly correlated with self-esteem scale
(.48). He also reported significant positive correlations with student perceptions of their maximum attainable
Grade Point Average (GPA; r5.44), student and parent satisfaction with final GPA ( rs5.42 and .43), final stu-
dent GPA ( r5.22), and whether the student was eligible to apply for honors ( r5.26). Furthermore, academic
confidence was one of only four significant predictors of students’ adaptive perfectionism after accounting for all
these variables, gender and race.
Shauger and Schohn (1995) also reported various external indicators of convergent validity. For example, con-
tent subscales generally correlated positively and significantly with peer PEI ratings ( rs5.23 to .66) and peer
behavioral ratings of domain competence, comfort, and involvement ( rs5.09 to .66). The academic subscale
shared positive and significant correlations with three course examinations, final grades, and self-reported SAT
scores ( rs5.37 to .45). Individuals higher in academic than social confidence were more likely to select an intel-
lectual problem-solving task than to meet with and talk to someone new, and vice versa. Furthermore, highly
confident individuals were more certain than low confident individuals (combined scores within the top and bot-
tom third of the distribution) that positive events would happen to themselves in the future. However, these
groups did not differ significantly in terms of their certainty that such events would occur to others.
Moderate and mostly significant intercorrelations between the PEI subscales have been observed (ranging
between .03 and .42) and described by the authors as support for an ‘additive model of self-confidence, rather
than a hierarchical structure’ ( Shrauger & Schohn, 1995 , pp. 262).
Divergent/Discriminant
Combined PEI scores significantly and negatively correlated with Depression in three studies ( r5/C0.35,/C0.35
and/C0.52) (respectively, Cheng & Furnham, 2002 ;Cramer et al., 2010 ;Shrauger & Schohn, 1995 ). Similarly,
PEI scores correlated negatively with Anxiety ( r5/C0.50), Hopelessness ( r5/C0.49), and experiencing sad
moods ( r5/C0.43) ( Shrauger & Schohn, 1995 ), with measures of loneliness ( r5/C0.53 and /C0.48) and negative affect162 7. MEASURES OF THE TRAIT OF CONFIDENCE
II. EMOTIONAL DISPOSITIONS