THE GRAPHOANALYTIC APPROACH TO SELECTING LIFE INSURANCE SALESMEN.

USING HANDWRITING SAMPLES FROM 63 LIFE INSURANCE SALESMEN, AN ATTEMPT WAS MADE TO SELECT BOTH SUCCESSFUL AND UNSUCCESSFUL SALESMEN THROUGH USE OF GRAPHOANALYSIS. THE CRITERION WAS BASED UPON 1ST-POLICY-YR COMMISSIONS ADJUSTED FOR YEARSOF EXPERIENCE FOR EACH SALESMAN. IT WAS NOT POSSIBLE TO SELECT SUCCESSFUL SALESMEN BY ANALYZING THE WRITING FOR 13 PERSONALITY TRAITS SELECTED INTUITIVELY BY THE ANALYSTS, NOR WAS IT POSSIBLE TO DO THIS USING DOMINANT TRAITS "DISCOVERED" IN THE HANDWRITING OF SUCCESSFUL SALESMEN. HOWEVER, IT APPEARS THAT IT MAY BE POSSIBLE TO SELECT FAILURES ON THE BASIS OF "LACKING" CERTAIN TRAITS AS DETERMINED BY THEIR HANDWRITING. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THIS ASPECT BE INVESTIGATED IN FUTURE VALIDITY STUDIES. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)