Attributional style, socialization and cognitive ability as predictors of sales success: A predictive validity study

The role of attributional style, socialization and cognitive ability factors in insurance sales performance was investigated in a 1-yr predictive validity study conducted within a large U.K. company. Psychometric tests were selected to measure specific and general aspects of the job: 1. (1) attributional style (motivational resilience), 2. (2) socialization (inter-personal skills), and 3. (3) numerical and abstract reasoning abilities (specific cognitive skills). Performance was defined in terms of number of appointments/prospects obtained (effort) and number of policies sold (sales). Two sets of psychological predictors were analysed: 1. (1) individual psychological measures and 2. (2) pairs of interactive psychological measures. The results showed that: (1) positive attributional style was positively correlated with effort and sales; socialization was positively correlated with effort but negatively correlated with sales. The interaction variables revealed complex interactions between attributional style and cognitive abilities which led to a fourfold increase in predictive variance. The results are discussed in terms of the validity of attributional style in predicting performance and the utility of applying interaction models to personnel selection and job analysis.