Ones, D. S., & Dilchert, S.
In K. F. Geisinger, B. A. Bracken, J. F. Carlson, J.-I. C. Hansen, N. R. Kuncel, S. P. Reise, & M. C. Rodriguez (Eds.),
APA handbook of testing and assessment in psychology (pp. 643-659).
Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
(2013)

The work psychology literature has collectively referred to undesirable employee behaviors as counterproductive work behavior (CWB). In the quest to better understand this construct, this chapter offers a measurement-based, quantitative, psychological perspective. The purpose is to provide an overview of CWB and its measurement in work psychology. To this end, first the construct space for CWB is defined, locating it in models of job performance. Second, competing definitions from the literature and the strengths and weaknesses of each are summarized. Third, both broad measures and specific indicators of the construct and its lower order factor structure are described. Fourth, the reliability of scale scores in this domain is reviewed. Fifth, the measurement of CWB using observer reports is discussed. Sixth, findings on individual-differences correlates of CWB measures from the meta-analytic literature are summarized. The authors also offer some recommendations for better conceptualization and measurement of the CWB construct domain.