Types of interview and psychological interview

The word interview comes from the Latin “intervidere” which means “to see between” or “to see each other.” Alluding to its meaning, the interview can be defined as: a meeting that can take place between two or more people, where a series of questions are made and answered.

The person who asks the questions is called the interviewer and the person who answers them is the interviewee. When we think of an interview we usually tend to imagine a job interview, in an environment where the employer tries to evaluate a candidate for a job; But this is not the only type of interview that exists.

Sometimes the interviews of the questionnaires or tests tend to be confused , but the interviews are different from the questionnaires, since the former involve social interaction , unlike the latter, which can be carried out in isolation.

Interview types

Among the various types of interviews that exist today we can highlight:

Evaluation  interviews : these are interviews that are carried out annually in order to evaluate the progress of the interviewee. These are usually carried out by superiors and subordinates. The main objective of this interview is to observe the evolution of the interviewee and to know their strengths and weaknesses.

Structured Interviews: Structured interviews tend to follow formal procedures; the interviewer follows a schedule with predetermined questions. The questions in the structured interviews must be formulated in an order that is already established, and the interviewer cannot deviate from the interview or inquire beyond the answers received. This type of interview is based on structured and closed questions.

Persuasive Interviews: These are interviews designed to persuade people. This persuasion can range from trying to sell someone a product to trying to instill an idea. For example, when a sales rep talks to a target buyer, they will use persuasion to try to convince the buyer that the product or idea they are selling meets a need.

Disciplinary interviews:  they occur in the institutions, when an employee or student has been accused of violating the rules and procedures of said institution.

Interviews under stress : these interviews are designed to place the interviewee under a stressful situation , in order to observe and evaluate their reaction to the situation and their ability to deal with stress.

Unstructured  interviews : these are non-standardized interviews, they do not follow formal rules or procedures. They are more like a guided conservation than a strict structured interview. This type of interview will likely flow freely and can be quickly switched from subordinate to another depending on the interests of the interviewee and the interviewer.

Usually in psychoanalytic psychological interviews, unstructured interviews tend to be used, where the patient can elaborate and, together with the analyst, reconstruct a story.

What do you look for in the first psychological interview?

The first psychological interview begins with a greeting , with a short presentation by the psychologist that includes the name and clarification of the setting , such as, for example, theoretical framework from which to work, number of sessions if it is about a psychodiagnostic process or a specific intervention, fees, schedules, among other things. Achieving through this technique to   establish a certain trust between the patient and the psychologist.

Then the psychologist continues with a question or trigger phrase which is not pre-established in advance despite having a pre-established intention since it tries to give rise to the general, that is, it allows the patient to expand .

They are examples of triggering phrases: ” I hear you …”, “What brings you here?”, “Why do you ask?” , etc. The way in which the psychologist begins the interview will determine how the subject begins to build his story.

What most encourages the patient to expand is the open interview modality with semi-directed intervals . Open in the sense of giving possibilities to choose, which does not mean that the psychologist cannot say anything. In addition, when you want to know something that he said or in a blocked situation, the professional directs the interview, moving to a semi-directed mode.

The semi-directed modality does not always occur in this way, since when the professional encounters psychopathological conditions, a closed interview will be required , in order to meet the objectives of the first psychological interview .