Relationship of core self-evaluations traits—self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy, locus of control, and emotional stability—with job satisfaction and job performance: A metaanalysis

This article presents meta-analytic results of the relationship of 4 traits—self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy, locus of control, and emotional stability (low neuroticism)—with job satisfaction and job performance. With respect to job satisfaction, the estimated true score correlations were.26 for self-esteem,.45 for generalized self-efficacy,.32 for internal locus of control, and.24 for emotional stability. With respect to job performance, the correlations were.26 for self-esteem,.23 for generalized self-efficacy,.22 for internal locus of control, and.19 for emotional stability. In total, the results based on 274 correlations suggest that these traits are among the best dispositional predictors of job satisfaction and job performance. T. A. Judge, E. A. Locke, and C. C. Durham's (1997) theory of core self-evaluations is used as a framework for discussing similarities between the 4 traits and their relationships to satisfaction and performance. Recently, Judge, Locke, and Durham (1997) proposed a higher order construct they termed core self-evaluations or, more simply, positive self-concept. According to Judge et al. (1997), this con-struct is a broad dispositional trait that is indicated by four more specific traits—self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy, locus o