Development of a Measure of Generalized Expectancy of Task Success

Abstract

This report describes the development of the Estimate of Self-Competence (ESC) scale. The instrument was designed to measure generalized expectancy of task success, a trait which is presumed to reflect persons' beliefs regarding their likelihood of success in task situations and which accordingly has important implications for the study of expectancy theories of task motivation. A questionnaire containing the initial pool of 99 items was administered to 131 university students. Through correlational and factor analytic procedures, 12 items were selected for the instrument. Data from another sample of university students provide evidence for its reliability (internal consistency reliability estimate of .78; test-retest estimate of .86), convergent validity (significant correlations with other measures presumed to tap the same construct), and discriminant validity (lower correlations with measures of ability).

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