Explanatory Style as a Predictor of Productivity and Quitting Among Life Insurance Sales Agents

The reformulated learned helplessness model claims that the tendency to explain bad events by internal, stable, and global causes potentiates quitting when bad events are encountered. We tested this prediction in the work setting with individuals who frequently experience bad events. Explanatory style, as measured by the Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ), correlated with and predicted the performance of life insurance sales agents. In a cross-sectional study of 94 experienced agents, individuals scoring in the top half of the ASQ sold 37% more insurance in their first 2 years of service than those scoring in the bottom half. In a prospective 1-year study of 103 newly hired agents, individuals who scored in the top half of the ASQ when hired remained in their job at twice the rate and sold more insurance than those scoring in the bottom half of the ASQ. These two studies support the claim that a pessimistic explanatory style leads to poor productivity and quitting when bad events are experienced, and extend the usefulness of the ASQ to the workplace.