Key Concepts: Chapter 2

The interviewing process

Comprehension of the following key concepts is important to your progress toward content mastery. The definitions provided here, along with additional examples, can be found in the text, Interviewing Principles and Practices, by Stewart and Cash. Consider these terms and how their definitions match your current conceptions of these ideas.

Consider reviewing the Cash-Stewart Interviewing model here

Relationship dimensions:

Inclusion, Control, and Affection.

Inclusion:
The degree to which each party wishes to take part in the process. Also, refers to how much each party desires to include others in the interview.
Control:
Refers to how much power the interviewer or interviewee has to determine the nature of the outcome. Power may be situation, or based on position, authority, customs...
Affection:
Refers to the degree of warmth or friendship between the parties. Trust, comfort... Affection is often influenced by opposing needs, desires or perceptions. Ideally leads to a "we-ness".

Approaches to the interview:

Directive or non directive.

Directive:
establishes purpose and often controls the pacing. Typically include information giving, information gathering, employment selection, and persuasive interviews. Often closed questions.
Non directive:
interviewee has input into the purpose, subject matter, and pacing of the interview. Often more open ended questions.

Parties:

Interviewee(ee) and interviewer (er).

Perceptions:

Cognitive interpretations of self and other.

Communication Interactions:

relating to a range of levels (level 1, level 2 or level 3) differing in degree of self disclosure, amount of risk encountered, perceived meanings, and both amount and type of content exchanged.

Level 1:
relatively safe, nonthreatening areas of inquiry such as hometown, profession, sports, courses you are taking, and products your company produces. Typically these inquiries produce answers that are safe, socially acceptable, comfortable, and ambiguous answers.
Level 2:
deal with more personal and controversial areas of inquiry such as education, professional experiences, use of free time, and preferred products. These inquiries delve into more behaviors, thoughts, attidues, beliefs, and feelings. Responses tend to be half-safe, half-revealing.
Level 3:
include highly intimate and controversial areas of inquiry such as family life, income, indebtedness, health and relationships. Responses to these inquiries fully disclose a person's feelings, beliefs, attitudes, and perceptions.

Feedback:

Verbal and nonverbal answers, arguments, counterarguements, agreements and disagreements.

Listening types:

Four listening types are described in your text, listening for comprehension, listening for empathy, listening for evaluations, and listening for resolution.

Interview Situation:

includes, type of interview, approach, time of day, events preceding and following, location of interview (physical environment), territoriality, perceptions of the situation, initiating the interview and noise.

Materials are borrowed from Interviewing Principles and Practices, by Stewart and Cash.

Developed by David Bodary, Comments and Suggestions
Last modified: December 26, 2000