Equivalence between direct and indirect measures of psychological capital

Abstract

Psychological Capital (PsyCap) represents an individual's positive and resourceful state, defined by high levels of self‐efficacy, optimism, hope, and resiliency. Since its inception, extensive research has focused on exploring the factors influencing and outcomes associated with PsyCap within organizational contexts. Consequently, there has been a growing demand for reliable assessment tools to measure PsyCap accurately. The present multi‐study investigation aimed to examine whether the two main measures of Psychological Capital, namely the Psychological Capital Questionnaire and the Implicit‐Psychological Capital Questionnaire, show convergence in measuring the same underlying construct. In Study 1, using data from 327 employees from whom we obtained both self‐ and coworker reports on both explicit and implicit Psychological Capital, we evaluated the degree of convergence between measures using a Multitrait‐Multimethod approach. In Study 2, we used six‐wave longitudinal data from 354 employees, gathered every week for 6 consecutive weeks, to test a series of STARTS models, to decompose the proportions of variance of all the components (i.e., trait, state and error) of both Psychological Capital measures, and to compare their magnitude and similarity. In this second study, we also compared their longitudinal predictive power with respect to important organizational outcomes (i.e., work engagement and emotional exhaustion). All in all, results provided empirical evidence for the high degree of convergence of explicit and implicit measures of Psychological Capital. Implications and potential applications of our findings are discussed.