Internal validation of a Biodata Extraversion Scale for salespeople

Extraversion is a personality trait commonly required in sales jobs, and a demonstrated element of efficient performance in such jobs. Considering extraversion’s subtrait structure relevant for sales positions (sociability – enjoyment of social activities; affiliation – enjoying and valuing close interpersonal bonds, being warm and affectionate; and ascendance – social dominance, enjoyment of leadership roles and assertiveness), a confirmatory factor analysis was used to test this structure of the extraversion construct, measured using biographical information (biodata). Biodata were chosen because they are an inexpensive and effective technique for predicting future job success. Our findings confirm the discriminant validity of sociability, affiliation and ascendance, and validate the indicators developed for each of these dimensions of extraversion.