Merton Kendall1946

THE FOCUSED INTERVIEW"
ROBERT K. MIERTONAND PATRICIA L. KENDALL
ABSTRACT
The focused interview is designed to determine the responses of persons exposed to a situation previously
analyzed by the investigator. Its chief functions are to discover: (i) the significant aspects of the total situa-
tion to which response has occurred; (2) discrepancies between anticipated and actual effects; (3) responses
of deviant subgroups in the population; and (4) the processes involved in experimentally induced effects.
Procedures for satisfying the criteria of specificity, range, and depth in the interview are described.
For several years, the Bureau of Applied So- a) To test the validity of hypotheses derived
cial Research has conducted individual and fromcontentanalysisand socialpsychological
group interviews in studies of the social and theory, and
psychological effects of mass communications- b) To ascertainunanticipatedresponsesto the
situation,thus givingrise to freshhypotheses.
radio, print, and film. A type of research inter-
view grew out of this experience, which is per- From this synopsis it will be seen that a dis-
haps characteristic enough to merit a distinctive tinctive prerequisite of the focused interview is
label-the "focused interview." a prior analysis of a situation in which subjects
In several respects the focused interview dif- have been involved.
fers from other types of research interviews To begin with, foreknowledge of the situa-
which might appear superficially similar. These tion obviously reduces the task confronting the
characteristics may be set forth in broad outline investigator, since the interview need not be de-
as follows: voted to discovering the objective nature of the
i. Personsinterviewedare known to have been in- situation. Equipped in advance with a content
volved in a particularconcretesituation: they analysis, the interviewer can readily distinguish
have seen a film;hearda radioprogram;read a the objective facts of the case from the subjec-
pamphlet,article,or book; or have participated tive definitions of the situation. He thus be-
in a psychologicalexperimentor in an uncon-
trolled,but observed,social situation. comes alert to the entire field of "selective re-
2. The hypothetically significant elements, pat-
sponse." When the interviewer, through his
terns, and total structureof this situationhave familiarity with the objective situation, is able
been previously analyzed by the investigator. to recognize symbolic or functional silences,
Through this contentanalysis he has arrived "distortions," avoidances, or blockings, he is
at a set of hypothesesconcerningthe meaningand the more prepared to explore their implications.
effectsof determinateaspectsof the situation. Content analysis is a major cue for the detec-
3. On the basis of this analysis, the investigator tion and later exploration of private logics, per-
hasfashionedan interviewguide,setting forththe sonal symbolisms, and spheres of tension. Con-
majorareasof inquiryand the hypotheseswhich
locate the pertinenceof data to be obtainedin tent analysis thus gauges the importance of
the interview. what has not been said, as well as of what has
4. The interviewitself is focused on the subjective been said, in successive stages of the interview.
experiencesof persons exposed to the pre- Finally, content analysis facilitates the flow
analyzedsituation. The array of their reported of concrete and detailed reporting of responses.
responsesto this situation enables the investi- Summary generalizations, on the other hand, in-
gator evitably mean that the informant, not the in-
I
This article will be identified by the Bureau of vestigator, in effect provides the interpretation.
Applied Social Research, Columbia, University, as It is not enough for the interviewer to learn that
Publication No. A-55. We are indebted to Dr. an informant regarded a situation as "un-
Samuel A. Stouffer and Dr. Carl I. Hovland for pleasant" or "anxiety-provoking" or "stimulat-
permission to draw upon materials for the Re- ing"-summary judgments which are properly
search Branch, Information and Education Divi-
suspect and, moreover, consistent with a variety
sion, Army Service Forces. To Miss Marjorie Fiske
and Miss Eva Hofberg, colleagues in the bureau, of interpretations. He must discover precisely
we are grateful for assistance in the preparation of what "unpleasant" denotes in this context;
material. what further feelings were called into play;
541
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542 THE AMERICANJOURNALOF SOCIOLOGY
what personal associations came to mind; and i. Specifyingthe effectivestimulus

the like. Failing such details, the data do not 2. Interpretingdiscrepanciesbetween anticipated
lend themselves to adequate analysis. Further- and actual effects
more, when subjects are led to describe their 3. Interpreting discrepanciesbetween prevailing
effects and effects among subgroups-"deviant
reactions in minute detail, there is less prospect
cases"
that they will, intentionally or unwittingly, con- 4. Interpretingprocessesinvolvedin experimentally
ceal the actual character of their responses; ap- inducedeffects
parent inconsistencies will be revealed; and,
i. Experimental studies of effect face the
finally, a clear picture of the total response
emerges. problem of what might be called the specifica-
The interviewer who has previously analyzed tion of the stimulus, i.e., determining which x or
the situation on which the interview focuses is pattern of x's in the total stimulus situation led
in a peculiarly advantageous position to elicit to the observed effects. But, largely because of
such detail. In the usual depth interview, one the practical difficulties which this entails, this
can urge informants to reminisce on their ex- requirement is often not satisfied in psychologi-
periences. In the focused interview, however, cal or sociological experiments. Instead, a rela-
the interviewer can, when expedient, play a tively undifferentiated complex of factors-
more active role: he can introduce more ex- such as "emotional appeals," "competitive in-
plicit verbal cues to the stimulus pattern or even centives," and "political propaganda -is re-
re-presentit, as we shall see. In either case this garded as "the" experimental variable. This
usually activates a concrete report of responses would be comparable to the statement that "liv-
ing in the tropics is a cause of higher rates of
by informants.
malaria"; it is true but unspecific. However
USES OF THE FOCUSED INTERVIEW
crude they may be at the outset, procedures
must be devised to detect the causally signifi-
The focused interview was initially devel- cant aspects of the total stimulus situation.
oped to meet certain problems growing out of Thus Gosnell conducted an ingenious experi-
communications research and propaganda anal- ment on the "stimulation of voting," in which
ysis. The outlines of such problems appear in de- experimental groups of residents in twelve dis-
tailed case studies by Dr. Herta Herzog, dealing tricts in Chicago were sent "individual non-
with the gratification found by listeners in such partisan appeals" to register and vote.3 Roughly
radio programs as daytime serials and quiz equivalent control groups did not receive this
competitions.2 With the sharpening of objec- literature. It was found that the experimental
tives, research interest centered on the analysis groups responded by a significantly higher pro-
of responses to particular pamphlets, radio proportion of registration and voting. But what
grams, and motion pictures. During the war does this result demonstrate? To what did the
Dr. Herzog and the senior author of the present experimental group respond? Was it the non-
paper were assigned by several war agencies to partisan character of the circulars, the explicit
study the psychological effects of specific mo- nature of the instructions which they contained,
rale-building devices. In the course of this work the particular symbols and appeals utilized in
the focused interview was progressively de- the notices, or what? In short, to use Gosnell's
veloped to a relatively standardized form. own phrasing, what were "the particular stimuli
The primary, though not the exclusive, pur- being tested"?
pose of the focused interview was to provide According to the ideal experimental design,
some basis for interpreting statistically signifi- such questions would, of course, be answered by
cant effects of mass communications. But, in a series of successive experiments, which test the
general, experimental studies of effects might effects of each pattern of putative causes. In
well profit by the use of focused interviews in practice not only does the use of this procedure
research. The character of such applications can in social experimentation involve prohibitive
be briefly illustrated by examining the role of problems of cost, labor, and administration; it
the focused interview at four distinct points: also assumes that the experimenter has been
successful in detecting the Dertinent asDects of
2
"What Do We Really Know about Day Time
Serial Listeners?" in Paul F. Lazarsfeld and Frank 3 Harold F. Gosnell, Getting Out the Vote: An
N. Stanton (eds.), Radio Research, 1942-43 (New Experiment in the Stimulation of Voting (Chicago:
York: Duell, Sloan & Pearce, 1944). University of Chicago Press, 1927).

THE FOCUSED INTERVIEW 543
the total stimulus pattern. The focused inter- interpret such "contradictory" results. But the
view provides a useful near-substitute for such difficulty here is that of selecting among the
a series of experiments; for, despite great sacri- wide range of post factum interpretations of the
fices in scientific exactitude, it enables the ex- deviant findings. The focused interview pro-
perimenter to arrive at plausible hypotheses vides a tool for this purpose. For example:
concerning the significant items to which sub- Rosenthal'sstudy of the effect of "pro-radical"
jects responded. Through interviews focused on motion-picturepropagandaon the socioeconomic
this problem, Gosnell, for example, could prob- attitudesof collegestudentsprovidesan instanceof
ably have clarified just what elements in his discrepancy between anticipated and actual effects.6
several types of "nonpartisan"materials proved He foundthat a largerproportionof subjectsagreed
effective for different segments of his experi- with the statement"radicalsareenemiesof society"
mental group.4 Such a procedure provides an afterthey had seen the film. As is usually the case
when seemingly paradoxicalresults are obtained,
approximate solution for problems heretofore this called forth an "explanation":"This negative
consigned to the realm of the unknown or the effect of the propagandawas probablydue to the
speculative.5 many scenes of radical orators, marchers, and
2. There is also the necessity for interpreting demonstrators."
the effects which are found to occur. Quite fre-
Clearly ad hoc in nature, this "interpreta-
quently, for example, the experimenterwill note
tion" is little more than speculation; but it is
a discrepancybetween the observed effects and
the type of speculation which the focused inter-
those anticipated on the basis of other findings
view is particularly suited to examine, correct,
or previously formulated theories. Or, again, he
and develop. Such interviews would have indi-
may find that one subgroup in his experimental
cated how the audience actually responded to
population exhibits effects which differin degree
the "orators, marchers, and demonstrators";
or direction from those observed among other
the author's conjecture would have been recast
parts of the population. Unless the research is
into theoretical terms and either confirmed or
to remain a compendium of unintegrated em-
refuted. (As we shall see, the focused interview
pirical findings, some effort must be made to
has, in fact, been used to locate the source of
such "boomerang effects" in film, radio, pam-
4 Significantly enough, Gosnell did interview phlet, and cartoon propaganda.7)
citizens in several election districts who received
notices. However, he apparently did not focus the In a somewhatsimilarexperiment,Petersonand
interviews in such fashion as to enable him to de- Thurstonefound an unexpectedlysmall change in
termine the significant phases of the total stimulus attitudesamonghigh-schoolstudentswho had seen
pattern; see his summary remark that "interviews a pacifist film.8 The investigators held it ". . ..
.... brought out the fact that [the notices] had probablethat the picture, 'Journey'sEnd,' is too
been read with interest and that they had aroused sophisticated in its propagandafor high school
considerable curiosity." And note his speculation children."
that "part of the effect [of the mail canvass] may 6 Solomon P. Rosenthal, "Change of Socio-
have been due to the novelty of the appeal" (op. cit.,
pp. 29, 7I). Properly oriented focused interviews
economic Attitudes under Radical Motion Picture
would have enabled him to detect the points of Propaganda," Archives of Psychology, No. I66,
"interest," the ineffectual aspects of the notices, and I934.
differences in response of different types of citizens. 7 Paul F. Lazarsfeld and Robert K. Merton,
"Studies in Radio and Film Propaganda," Transac-
5 The same problem arises in a more complicated
tions of the New YorkAcademy of Sciences, Series II,
and difficult form when the experimental situation VI (I943), 58-79; Robert K. Merton and Patricia
is not a limited event but an elaborate complex of Kendall, "The Boomerang Effect-Problems of the
experiences. Thus Chapin studied the gains in social Health and Welfare Publicist," Channels (National
participation which can be attributed "to the effects Publicity Council), Vol. XXI (I944); and Paul F.
of living in the [public] housing project." As he Lazarsfeld and Patricia Kendall, "The Listener
recognized, "improved housing" is an unanalyzed Talks Back," in Radio in Health Education (pre-
"experimental" situation: managerial policies, in- pared under the auspices of the New York Academy
creased leisure, architectural provision for group of Medicine) (New York: Columbia University
meetings, and a host of other items are varying Press, I945).
elements of the program of "improved housing"
(see F. S. Chapin, "An Experiment on the Social 8 Ruth C. Peterson and L. L. Thurstone, Motion
Effects of Good Housing," American Sociological Pictures and the Social Attitudes of Children (New
Review, V [ig4o], 868-79). York:MacmillanCo., I933).

Once again, the plausibility of a postfactum interrupted tasks, was confronted with the result
terpretation, would have been enhanced, and that in some cases interrupted tasks were often
entirely different hypotheses would have been forgotten, a finding at odds with her modal find-
developed had they conducted a focused inter- ings and her initial theory." Interviews with
view.9 How did the children conceive the film? subjects exhibiting this "discrepant" behavior
To what did they primarily respond?Answers to revealed that the uncompleted tasks which had
these and similar questions would yield the kind been forgotten were experienced as failures and,
of data needed to interpret the unanticipated therefore, were subjectively "completed." She
result. was thus able to incorporate this seeming con-
3. We may turn again to Gosnell's study to tradiction into her general theory. The value of
illustrate the tendency toward ad hoc interpre- such interpretative interviews is evidenced fur-
tations of discrepanciesbetweenprevailingefects ther in the fact that Zeigarnik's extended theo-
and effects among subgroups ("deviant cases") ry, derived from the interviews, inspired a series
and the place of focused interviews in avoiding of additional experiments by Rosenzweig, who,
them. in part, focused on the very hypotheses which
Gosnellfoundthat, in general,a largerproportion emerged from her interview data.
of citizensregisteredor voted in responseto a notice Rosenzweig found experimentallythat many
"of a hortatorycharacter,containinga cartoonand subjects recalleda larger percentageof their suc-
and severalslogans"than in responseto a "factual" cessesin tasks assignedthem than of theirfailures.'2
notice,whichmerelycalledattentionto votingregu- Interviews disclosed that this "objective experi-
lations. But he found a series of "exceptions," mentalresult"was boundup with the emotionalized
which invited a medly of ad hoc hypotheses.In a symbolismwhich tasks assumedfor differentsub-
predominantlyGermanelectiondistrict,the factual jects. For example, one subject reported that a
noticehad a greatereffectthan the "cartoonnotice" needed scholarshipdepended"upon her receiving
-a findingwhichat onceled Gosnellto the supposi- a superiorgradein the psychologycoursefromwhich
tion that "the word 'slacker'on the cartoonnotice she hadbeenrecruitedfor this experiment.Through-
probablyrevivedwar memoriesand thereforefailed out the test her mind dwelt upon the lecturerin
to arouseinterestin voting." In Czechand Italian this course: 'All I thought of during the experi-
districts the factual notices also proved more ment was that it was an intelligencetest and that
effective; but in these instances Gosnelladvances he [the lecturer]would see the results. I saw his
quite another interpretation: "the information name always before me."'
cards were more effectivethan the cartoonnotices
probablybecausethey were printedin Czech [and Without such supplementary data, the hypothe-
Italian, respectively]whereas the cartoon notices sis of repression which was introduced to in-
were printed in English."And yet in a Polish dis- terpret the results would have been wholly con-
trict the factual notice, althoughprintedin Polish,
wasslightlylesseffectivethanthe cartoonnotice.'0 jectural.
This brief review is perhaps sufficient to sug-
In short, lacking supplementary interviews fo- gest the functions of the focused interview as an
cused on the problem of deviant group re- adjunct to experimental inquiry, as well as in
sponses, the investigator found himself drawn studies of responses to concrete situations in
into a series of extremely flexible interpretations everyday life.
instead of resting his analysis on pertinent in-
terview data. This characteristic of the Gosnell OBJECTIVES AND PROCEDURES
experiment, properly assessed by Catlin as an A successful interview is not the automatic
exceptionally well-planned study, is, a fortiori, product of conforming to a fixed routine of
found in a host of social and psychological ex- mechanically applicable techniques. Nor is in-
periments. terviewing an elusive, private, and incommuni-
4. Even brief introspective interviews as a cable art. There are recurrent situations and
supplement to experimentation have proved problems in the focused interview which can be
useful for discerning the processesinvolvedin ex-
perimentallyinduced effects. Thus Zeigarnik, in "IB. Zeigarnik, "Das Behalten erledigter und
her well-known experiment on memory and in- unerledigter Handlungen," Psychologische For-
9 On the problems of post factum interpretations schung, IX (I927), I-85.
see R. K. Merton, "Sociological Theory," American I2 Saul Rosenzweig, "The Experimental Study of
Journal of Sociology, L (1945), esp. 467-69. Repression," in H. A. Murray, Exploration in Per-

lo op. cit., pp. 6o, 64, 65, 67 sonality (Oxford University Press, I938), pp. 472-90.

met successfully by communicable and teach- derived from clinical analysis of interview ma-
able procedures. We have found that the pro- terials rather than through experimental test,
ficiency of all interviewers, evenithe less skilful, they must be considered entirely provisional.
can be considerably heightened by training Because, in the training of interviewers, it has
them to recognize type situations and to draw been found instructive to indicate typical errors
upon an array of flexible, though standardized, as well as effective procedures, that same policy
procedures for dealing with these situations. has been adopted in this paper.
In his search for "significant data," more-
over, the interviewer must develop a capacity THE CRITERION OF NONDIRECTION
for continuously evaluating the interview as it is
in process. By drawing upon a large number of The value of a nondirective approach to in-
interview transcripts, in which the interviewer's terviewing has become increasingly recognized,
comments as well as the subjects' responses have notably in the recent work of Carl Rogers and
been recorded, we have found it possible to es- of Roethlisberger and Dickson.14 It gives the
tablish a set of provisional criteria by which subject an opportunity to express himself about
productive and unproductive interview materi- matters of central significance to him rather
als can be distinguished. Briefly stated, they are: than those presumed to be important by the in-
terviewer.'s That is, in contrast to the polling
i. Nondirection: In the interview, guidance and approach, it uncovers what is on the subject's
directionby the interviewershouldbe at a mini- mind rather than his opinion of what is on the
mum. interviewer's mind. Furthermore, it permits
2. Specificity:Subjects' definitionof the situation
subject's responses to be placed in their proper
shouldfind full and specificexpression.
3. Range:The interviewshouldmaximizethe range context rather than forced into a framework
of evocative stimuli and responsesreportedby which the interviewer considers appropriate.
the subject. And, finally, the informant is ordinarily far
4. Depth and personal context: The interview should
bring out the affectiveand value-ladenimplica-
tions of the subjects' responses, to determine lead to closer scrutiny of prevailing procedures. We
whetherthe experiencehad centralor peripheral refer to works such as Carl R. Rogers, Counseling
significance.It shouldelicit the relevantpersonal and Psychotherapy (New York: Houghton Miffin
context, the idiosyncraticassociations,beliefs, Co., I942); John Dollard, Criteria for the Life His-
and ideas. tory (New Haven: Yale University Press, I935);
Gordon W. Allport, The Use of Personal Documents
These criteria are interrelated; they are in Psychological Science (New York: Social Science
merely different dimensions of the same con- ResearchCouncil, I942); Louis Gottschalk,Clyde
crete body of interview materials. Every re- Kluckhohn, and Robert Angell, The Use of Personal
Documents in History, Anthropology, and Sociology
sponse can be classified according to each of (New York: Social Science Research Council, I945);
these dimensions: it may be spontaneous or and Florence Kluckhohn, "The Participant-Ob-
forced; diffuse and general or highly specific; server Technique in Small Communities," American
profoundly self-revealing or superficial; etc. But Journal of Sociology, XLVI (I940), 331-43.
it is useful to examine these criteria separately,
'4Rogers, op. cit., pp. II5-28; F. J. Roethlis-
so that they may provide the interviewer with berger and W. J. Dickson, Management and the
guide-lines for appraising the flow of the inter- Worker (Cambridge: Harvard University Press,
view and adapting his techniques accordingly. I938), chap. xiii.
For each of these objectives, there is an array
'I5Thus meeting the objection raised by Stuart
of specific, effective procedures, although there A. Rice: "A defect of the interview for the purposes
are few which do not lend themselves to more of fact-finding in scientific research, then, is that
than one purpose. We can do no more here than the questioner takes the lead. That is, the subject
indicate the major function served by each plays a more or less passive role. Information or
technique and merely allude to its subsidiary points of view of the highest value may not be dis-
uses.I3 And since these procedures have been closed because the direction given the interview by
the questioner leads away from them. In short,
'3 This paper is based upon an extensive manual data obtained from an interview are as likely to
of procedures for the focused interview. It is our embody the preconceived ideas of the interviewer
hope that it represents an addition, however slight, as the attitudes of the subject interviewed"(S .A.
to the growing number of critical self-examinations Rice [ed.], Methods in Social Science [Chicago:
of method by sociologists and psychologists which University of Chicago Press, I93I], p. 56I).

546 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY
more articulate and expressive than in the di- perience results in a maximum yield of perti-
rected interview.i6 nent data through nondirective procedures.
Direction in interviewing is clearly incom- Procedures.-The interrelations of our cri-
patible with eliciting unanticipated responses. teria at once become evident when we observe
Private definitions of the stimulus situation are that nondirection simultaneously serves to
rarely forthcoming when directive techniques elicit depth, range, and specificity of responses.
are used. By their very nature, direct questions For this reason the tactics of nondirection re-
presuppose a certain amount of structuring by quire special consideration.
the interviewer. Direct questions, even though The unstructured question.-Unstructured
they are not "leading" in character, force sub- questions are intentionally couched in such
jects to focus their attention on items and issues terms that they invite subjects to refer to vir-
to which they might not have respondedon their tually any aspect of the stimulus situation or to
own initiative. (This is a basic limitation of report any of a range of responses. By answering
those questionnaires or schedules which provide a query of this type, the subject provides a
no opportunity for subjects to express a lack of crude guide to the comparative significance of
concern with items on which they are ques- various aspects of the situation.
tioned.) For instance, informants who had seen In the focused interview, then, an unstruc-
a documentary film dealing with the war in tured question is one which does not fix atten-
Italy were asked: "Did you feel proud or an- tion on any specific aspect of the stimulus situa-
noyed when you saw how the Americans were tion or of the response; it is, so to speak, a blank
helping in the reconstruction of Naples?" A di- page to be filled in by the subject. But questions
rected question of this type at once prejudices have varying degrees of structure. Several levels
the possibility of determining just how the sub- of structure may be distinguished as a guide to
jects structured the film. The film might have the interviewer.
been experienced impersonally as merely "in-
teresting information." The question implies i. Unstructured
question(stimulusand response
free)
that Americans were actually taking part in the Whatimpressedyou most in this film?
reconstruction, although some informants found or
the film vague on this point. Even had the sub- What stood out especiallyin this radio pro-
jects recognized that Americans were engaged in gram?
reconstruction, they may have learned only (This type of query leads the subject, rather
from the question that others were also engaged than the interviewer, to indicate the foci of
in the same work. Their replies reflected some attention.He hasan entirelyfreechoice.Not only
of these implications and suggestions, which had is he given an opportunityto referto any aspect
of the stimulus pattern, but the phrases "im-
colored their own interpretation of the film and pressed you" and "stood out" are sufficiently
ruled out the possibility of indicating misappre- generalto invite reportsof quite variedtypes of
hensions. A single direct question inadvertently responses.)
supplies many biasing connotations. 2. Semistructured question
Nondirective techniques sometimes prove in- Type A: Responsestructured,stimulusfree
effective in halting irrelevant and unproductive Whatdid you learnfromthis pamphletwhich
digressions, so that the interviewer seemingly you hadn't known before?
has no alternative but to introduce a direct Type B: Stimulusstructured, responsefree
question. But in a focused interview the limits How did you feel about the part describing
of relevance are largely self-defined for the sub- Jo's discharge from the army as a psycho-
ject by the concrete situation. Not only are di- neurotic?
gressions less likely to occur, but, when they do (There is obviously increased guidance by
occur, they are more easily dealt with by non- the interviewerin both types of query, but the
directive references to the concrete situation. informantstill retains considerablefreedom of
reply. In Type A, althoughrestrictedto reports
In other words, the focal character of the ex- of newly acquiredinformation,he is free to refer
x6 Rogers (op. Cit., p. I 22), reportingan unpub- to any item in the pamphlet.In Type B, con-
lished study by E. H. Porter, states that in ten di- versely,he is confinedto one sectionof the docu-
rective interviews, the interviewer talked nearly three ment but is free to indicate the nature of his
times as much as the subject. In nine non-directive response.)
interviews, on the other hand, the interviewer talked 3. Structuredquestion(stimulusand responsestruc-
only half as much as the subject. tured)

Judgingfrom the film, do you think that the effect, asked whether the subject is willing to
Germanfightingequipmentwas better, as good abide by these implications.
as, or poorerthan the equipmentused by Ameri-
cans? INTERVIEWER: You say we should make a de-
or mocracy out of Germany. In a democracy, the
As you listenedto Chamberlain'sspeech,did people have the right to choose their own leaders.....
you feel it was propagandisticor informative? (Note the didactic formulation in terms of text-
book definitions. The attitudinal and affective im-
(Throughquestionsof this type the interview-
plications of the subject's statement-the material
er assumesalmost completecontrolof the inter-
looked for in a focused interview-have been ig-
view. Not only does he singleout items for com-
nored. Instead, the interview becomes an exercise
ment, but he also suggests an orderof response
in semantics.)
whichhe assumeswas experienced.This leads to
INTERVIEWER: Supposing we were to set up a
an oral questionnairerather than a free inter-
democracy and then they wanted to choose Hitler
view.) for president?
(Here the interviewer has made invidious use of
Although the fully unstructured question is the logical implications of the respondent's com-
especially appropriate in the opening stages of ments. Translated, this statement reads: "Surely,
the focused interview, where its productivity is you can't mean this; this is a wholly indefensible
at a peak, it is profitably used throughout the position.")
interview. In some instances it may be neces- SUBJECTNo. i: Wait a minute: What Hitler done,
sary for the interviewer to assume more control he took childrenand we should take and mobilize
at later stages of the interview, if the other cri- this groupandteachthemdemocracy,have a consti-
teria-specificity, range, and depth-are to be tution like the United States and make democrats
out of them.
satisfied. But even in such cases, as we shall see,
(Note the defensiveand controversialnatureof
moderate rather than full direction is fruitful; the phrase:"Waita minute."The informant'sself-
questions should be partially rather than fully esteem leads him to a defensivereiterationof his
structured. original view. And, grimly pursued to his last line
Imposing the interviewer'sframe of reference. of retreat by the interviewer, he wards off further
-At some points in almost every protracted in- attack by an explosive monosyllable.)
terview, the interviewer is tempted to take the INTERVIEWER: And they wouldn't want to
role of educator or propagandist rather than choosea leaderlike Hitler?
SUBJECT No. i: No!
that of sympathetic listener. He may either in-
terject his personal sentiments or voice his Whether the subject nominally agrees or dis-
views in answer to questions put to him by sub- agrees with the interviewer's sentiments, their
jects. Should he yield to either temptation, the expression often inhibits further elaboration of
interview is then no longer an informal listen- comments. What is intended to draw out the
ing-post or "clinic" or "laboratory" in which informant serves only to cut off a channel of ex-
subjects spontaneously talk about a set of expression. Witness the following example:
periences, but it becomes, instead, a debating SUBJECTNo. 2: In Americaa man has the privi-
society or an authoritarian arena in which the lege of livingin a democracywhere,even thoughhe
interviewer defines the situation. may be of the middleor lower class, he may still
By expressing his own sentiments the inter- reachfor and attain positionsof high office,whereas
viewer generally invites spurious comments or in England,the upperclassor moniedpeopleselfish-
defensive remarks, or else inhibits certain dis- ly hold onto the positionsof leadership,never giv-
cussions altogether. Any such behavior by the ing the middle or lower class an opportunityto
gain such positions.For instance,a coalminercould
interviewer usually introduces a "leader effect," never hope to attain a position of high office.
modifying the informant's own expression of INTERVIEWER: WhataboutDavid Lloyd George:
feelings. Or should the interviewer implicitly wasn't he a coal miner?
challenge a comment, the informant will often SUBJECT No. 2: Yes, I guess that's true.
react by defensively reiterating his original (What the inverviewer hoped to accomplish by
statement. The spontaneous flow of the inter- his challenge is not at all clear. Whatever his in-
view halts while the subject seeks to maintain tentions, however, the only apparent result is the
his ego-level intact by reaffirming his violated abrupt silencing of a subject, who, just a moment
before, had been highly articulate.)
sentiments. In the following example the inter-
viewer has supplied the logical implications of The interviewer's introduction of his own
an expressed point of view and then has, in opinions and sentiments into the discussion,

then, seriously prejudices that free flow of ex- This providedan opportunityfor the subject to
pression which nondirection seeks to achieve. indicate the film sequenceswhich led to his con-
On occasion, it will be the subject who seeks fusion.)
out the interviewer's attitudes or feelings by di- The interview guide.-The interview guide,
recting toward him such questions as "How do containing typical questions, areas for inquiry,
you feel about .... ?" or "Do you think that and hypotheses based on the content analysis,
.... ?" This attempted reversal of roles is is indispensable to the focused interview. It
particularly likely to occur at just those points tends to make for comparability of data ob-
in the interview when continued self-exploration tained in different interviews by insuring that
by the subject would be most revealing. These they will cover much the same range of items
questions frequently reflect emotional blockage. and will be pertinent to the same hypotheses.
The subject may be reluctant to explore his own The guide does, however, lend itself to misuse.
feelings because they are painful or embarras- Even when the interviewer recognizes that it is
sing or because they are so amorphous that he only suggestive, he may come to use it as a fixed
cannot easily put them into words. By directing questionnaire, as a kind of interviewing strait
questions to the interviewer, then, he diverts jacket.
attention from himself. He hopes, at times, that
The interviewer may intrude questions from
the answer will provide the "correct" formula-
his guide before it is clear that the informant
tion for his own vague feelings. In other words,
has, in fact, been concerned with the matter to
psychological groping finds its grammatical ex-
which the question refers. Forcing a topic in this
pression in the form of a question. way typically leads to an abrupt break in the
Should the interviewer respond to the mani-
continuity and free flow of the interview. The
fest content of these questions, however, he at
informant is brought up short by a question
once structures the stimulus material and, in which does not apply to his immediate experi-
this way, introduces the problems reviewed in ence and for which, therefore, he has no ready
the preceding section. It is incumbent upon the answer. His self-explorationscease, and he often
interviewer to avoid responding to the nominal
responds by a series of questions designed to
meaning of many such questions posed by sub- have the interviewer "define his terms" or
jects. Although there is no way of curbing the otherwise provide clues to the expected answer.
expression of sentiments except through self-
Or the interviewer may cleave too closely to
discipline, fairly specific procedures have been
the wording of questions set up in the interview
developed for dealing fruitfully with such ques-
guide, rather than pursuing the implications of
tions.
an informant's remarks. Though it is convenient
In general, the interviewer should countera
for the interviewer not to have to improvise all
question with a question, thus convertingthe im-
questions in the course of the interview, pre-
plied contentof theinformant'squestioninto a cue
determined questions may easily become a li-
for further discussion. In doing so, he indicates
ability; for, if the interviewer recognizes in the
that he understands the problem and is sympa-
respondent's comment an allusion to an area of
thetically awaiting further elaboration by the
inquiry previously defined in the guide, he is
informant. This sort of stimulation is often all
likely to introduce one of the type questions
that the informant needs to continue his self-
contained in the guide. This is all well and good
exploration. The following instance illustrates
this technique for leading a subject to develop if the question happens to be appropriate in the
given case. But unproductive interviews are
his own views:
those cluttered with the corpses of fixed, irrele-
SUBJECT No. 5: Did the Germansthink that the vant queries; for often the interviewer, equipped
girl was workingwith them? with fixed questions dealing with the given
INTERVIEWER: You meanit wasn'tclearwhether topic, does not listen closely or analytically to
she wasworkingwith the Germansor not? the subject's comments and thus fails to respond
SUBJECT No. 5: That's right. You remember to the cues and implications of these comments,
when...... substituting, instead, one of the routine ques-
(Rather than answer the informant'squestion tions from the guide. If the interviewer is pri-
which would reducethe possibilityof ferretingout
the way in whichhe structuredthis phaseof a film, marily oriented toward the guide, he may thus
the interviewerrespondsto the impliedmeaningof readily overlook the unanticipated implications
the question: "You mean it wasn't clear .... ?" of the subject's remarks.

THE FOCUSEDINTERVIEW 549
By listening to the implied content of what for selecting among the several possible inter-
is said, the interviewer can the more readily im- pretations.
provise fruitful questions. He will recognize, for In stressing specificity, we do not at all imply
example, the familiar tendency of subjects to that subjects respond to each and every element
raise questions which cloak their own private of the total situation as a separate and isolated
feelings. For instance, informants, who were at item. The situation may be experienced "as a
the time undergoing military training, initially whole" or as a complex of configurations. Indi-
hesitated to express the anxiety provoked by vidual patterns may be perceived as figures
having seen a film of American prisoners on against a background. But we cannot rest with
Bataan: such facile formulations; we have yet to detect
SUBJECTNo. 9: How about a man being inter- the "significant wholes" to which response has
ested in a picture, but lnot liking it? It might rub occurred, and it is toward the detection of these
him the wrong way, even though he finds himself that the criterion of specificity directs the inter-
interested in it. viewer's attention. It is only in this way that
INTERVIEWER:Do you have a particular film in we are led to findings which can be generalized
mind? and which provide a basis for predicting selec-
(By listening to the implied content, the inter- tive responses.'7 Inquiry has shown that, as a
viewer detects the possibly projective nature of the significant whole, brief scenes in a motion pic-
informant's question. He can then test this pro-
visional hunch by utilizing a counterquestion to ture, for example, have evoked
different re-
convert the discussion into a personal report. In- sponses, quite apart from the fact that seeing-
stead of continuing to talk in the abstract terms of a-film-in-conjunction-with-two-thousand-others
"a man," the informant comes to betray his own was also a "configurative experience." But with-
feelings.) out inquiring into specific meanings of signifi-
SUBJECT No. 9: That part where they showed cant details, we surrender all possibility of de-
some of the wounded soldiers there on Bataan. I termining the effective stimuli patterns. Thus
don't care to see that kind of stuff, although it was our emphasis on "specificity" does not express
interesting in a way ... . [And then, temporarily allegiance to an "atomistic," as contrasted with
reverting to a projective formulation] The public
might have a reaction to that if they were exposed to a "configurational," approach; it serves only to
it. Although some of them realize that under battle orient the interviewer toward searching out the
conditions men must lose their lives or be wounded. significant configurations. The fact of selective
Some people would say, "Look at that," and it response is well attested; we must determine
would lower their morale. what is differentially selected and generalize
SUBJECT No. 5: The main thing was, I think, these data.
that most of the fellows got a realization that it
might be them.....
I7 An overcondensed case illustrates this point.
Following a series of tests of documentary films,

THE CRITERION OF SPECIFICITY
the hypothesis was advanced that audiences
In the study of real life rather than, say, in retain items of information presented in the form
nonsense-syllable experiments in rote memory, of "startling facts" of the type exploited by the
there is all the greater need for discovering the Ripley "Believe-It-or-Not" column. Such items
meaning attributed by subjects to elements, as- have attention value; they stand out as a figure
against the ground. They have diffusion value,
pects, or patterns of the complex situation to readily becoming part of the currency of small talk
which they have been exposed. Thus army train- ("Did you know that.... ?"). And they have
ees, ia one such study, reported that "the scene confidence value: they are "cold facts," as idiom so
of marching Nazi soldiers" in a documentary aptly puts it. On the basis of such tentative formu-
film led them to feel anxious about their ability lations, which await more theoretical phrasing, it
to withstand the German army. This report was predicted that a "startling fact"-namely, that
does not satisfy the canon of specificity. Anxiety the first American casualty in this war occurred as
may have been provoked by the impression of early as I94o-would be one of the most notable
matchless power symbolized by massed armies; informational effects of a documentary film. This
proved to be the case, with a differential of 36 per
by the "brutal expressions" on their faces to
cent between the experimental and the control
which the commentary referred; by the elabo- groups. Without focused interviews, the differential
rate equipment of the enemy; by the extensive effects of different phases of such a complex situa-
training seemingly implied by their maneuvers. tion as a forty-minute film would be difficult to an-
Without further specification, there is no basis ticipate.

Procedures.-We have found that specificity condition in which subjects virtually re-experi-
of reporting can be obtained through procedures ence the situation to aid their report of signifi-
in which the interviewer exercises a minimum of cant responses and to have these linked with
guidance. pertinent aspects of it. Re-presentation also
It seems difficult, if not impossible, to recap- serves to insure that both interviewer and sub-
ture highly specific responses. Interviews on ex- ject are referringto the same aspects of the origi-
periences of the immediate or remote past, of nal situation.
course, involve the problem of losses and distor- The most immediate means of re-presenting
tions of memory. Extensive experimentation documentary material is to exhibit "stills" from
and clinical study have shown the importance a motion picture, to play back sections of a
of such lapses and modifications in recalled ma- transcribed radio program, or to have parts of a
terial.'8The focused interview is, of course, sub- pamphlet re-read. Although such devices do not
ject to this same liability but not, perhaps, to fully reproduce the original situation, they
the same extent as diffuse interviews; for there markedly aid the subject in recapturing his
are certain procedures in the focused interview original responsein specific detail. Such re-pres-
which facilitate the accurate report of the initial entations do have the defect of interrupting the
experience, which aid accounts of the "registra- smooth, continuous flow of the interview, at
tion" of the experience rather than a distorted, least for a moment. If they are used frequently,
condensed, elaborated, or defective report based therefore, the interview is likely to deteriorate
on unaided recall. into a staccato series of distinct inquiries. The
Retrospective introspection.-These proce- best procedure, then, is to combine occasional
dures are all designed to lead subjects to adopt graphic re-presentations with more frequent
a particular mental set-which may be called verbal cues. But, except for the closing stages
"retrospective introspection." (Of course, just of the interview, such cues should be introduced
as the unstructured question is essential at all only after subjects have spontaneously referred
stages and for all objectives of the focused inter- to the materials in point.
view, so retrospective introspection is more Each re-presentation, whether graphic or
than a device for facilitating specificity of re- verbal, calls for reports of specific reaction.
ports. It is a mood which must be maintained Otherwise, subjects are likely to take the re-
throughout the interview if a wide range of presentation as an occasion for merely exhibit-
depth responses is to be obtained.) ing their memory. Questions soliciting these re-
Mere retrospection, without introspection, ports take somewhat the following form:
usually produces accounts of what was remem-
bered and does not relate these to significant Now that you think back, what were your reac-
responses. Introspection without retrospection, tions to that partof the film?
on the other hand, usually leads the informant
to report his reactions after they have been re- Whatever the exact wording of such questions,
considered in the interval between the event and they have several features in common. The in-
the interview, rather than his experience at the terviewer alludes to a retrospective frame of
time he was exposed to the stimulus situation. reference: "Now that you think back.......
To minimize this problem, procedures have He refers to introspection: "What were your re-
been developed to expedite retrospective intro- actions (or feelings, or ideas, etc.) .... ?" And,
spection by re-presentingthe stimulus situation finally, he uses the past tense: "What wereyour
so far as possible.'9They seek to approximate a reactions .... ?" This will lead the subject to
concentrate on his original experience. Empha-
i8 See the survey by David Rapaport, Emotions
sis on such details as the components of this
and Memory (Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins Co., type of question may seem to be a flight into the
I942). trivial. Yet experience shows that omission of
any of them lessens the productiveness of
i' A mechanical device, the Lazarsfeld-Stanton
replies.
Program Analyzer, has been developed to serve
much the same purpose with certain kinds of test
Explicit referencesto stimulus situation.-To
materials (for a detailed description of the Analyzer elicit specificity, the interviewer combines the
and its operation see Tore Hallonquist and Edward technique of re-presentation with that of the
A. Suchman, "Listening to the Listener," in Lazars- unstructured question. A typical situation re-
feld and Stanton [eds.], op. cit.). quiring further specification occurs when the

subject's report of his responses has been Whataboutthose scenes gave you that impres-
wholly unlinked to the stimulus-situation. Re- sion?
peatedly, we see the necessity for establishing
It develops that "goose-step parades" and the
such linkages, if observed "effects" are to be
Sieg Heil! chorus are taken as symbols of regi-
adequately interpreted. Thus tests in I943
mentation:
showed that documentary films concerning the
Nazis increased the proportion of subjects in ex- Whenit showedthem goose-steppingout there;
perimental groups who believed that Germany it numbed their mind. It's such a strain on their
had a stronger army than the United States. mind and body to do that. Just like a bunch of
Inasmuch as there was no explicit indication of slaves, dogs-do what they'retold.
this theme in the films, the "effect" could have
been interpreted only conjecturally, had it not It will be noted that these questions refer ex-
been for focused interviews. Subjects who explicitly to the document or situation which is at
pressed this opinion were prompted to indicate the focus of the interview. We have found that,
its source by questions of the following type: unless the interviewer refers to "scenes in this
film," "parts of this radio program," or "sec-
Was there anything in the film that gave you
that impression? tions of this pamphlet," the subjects are likely
to shift toward an expression of generalized atti-
It soon became evident that scenes which tudes or opinion. Indispensable as such auxil-
presumably stressed the "regimentation" of the iary data may be, they do not take the place of
Nazis-e.g., their military training from an reports in which responses are linked to the test
early age-were unexpectedly taken as proof of situation. Yet it is only with difficulty that the
their exceptionally thorough training, as the inexperienced interviewer is weaned from his
following excerpts from interviews indicate: embarrassment over the seeming monotony of
It showedthere that their men have moretrain- repeated references to the stimulus situation.
ing. They start their men-when they are ready to Preferring variety of phrase to productiveness
go to school, they start their militarytraining.By of interview, he becomes elliptical and resorts to
the time they get to ourage, they are in therefight- implicit allusions. The ease with which this
ing, and they know as much as the man who has leads subjects to shift to generalized opinions is
been in our serviceeight or nine years. brought out in the following excerpt:
By the looks of them where they took the boys SUBJECTNo. 8: The Germanpeoplewerearmed,
when they were eight and started training them but they coveredit up. We didn't know about it.
then; they had them marchingwith drums and INTERVIEWER:Why didn't we know?[Note the
everythingand they trainedthem for militaryserv- absenceof any referenceto the filmand the subject's
ice when they were very young. They are well immediate flight into a conjectureentirely unre-
trainedwhen they are grownmen. lated to the film.]
SUBJECT No. 2: I imaginetheir countrywas so
Thus the search for specificity yielded a clue well policed.....
to the significant scenes from which these impli-
cations were drawn. The interpretation of the Specificity not only enables the investigator
experimental effect rests on the weight of cumu- to ferret out meanings of different phases of the
lative evidence drawn from interviews and not stimulus situation; it also enables him to dis-
on mere conjecture. cover differential responses to the "same"
This case serves to bring out the need for phases of that situation. Differences in prior
progressive specification. If the subject's report predispositions lead subjects to "perceive"
includes only a generalallusion to one or another quite different aspects of the same content.
part of the film, it is necessary to determine the Thus, Anglophobes responded to film scenes of
particular aspectsof these scenes to which he re- the Dunkirk evacuation by seizing solely upon
sponded. Otherwise, we lose access to the often the self-interest of the British:
unanticipatedsymbolismsand private meanings
The evacuationof Dunkirkshowedme that the
ascribed to the stimulus situation. A subject British coulddo it, if they have to. They showed
who referred to the "regimentation of the they could do it and were braveenoughto do it in
Nazis" exemplifiedin "mass scenes" is prompt- the case whereit was Britain they werefightingfor.
ed to indicate the particular items which led to They didn't start fighting until they got awful
this symbolism: close to home.

But those with favorable or neutral attitudes all, utilize these procedures when informants
toward the British noted that some French sol- prove inarticulate.
diers were also rescued: The central tactical problem in extending
It shows courage;you mustn't give up. These range consists in effecting transitions from one
fellowswerepracticallydoomed,and up comesEng- area of discussion to another. In the early stages
land and salvagesthem, saves the greatestnumber of the interview, such transitions follow easily
of them. The English did a marvelousjob.... from the intermittent use of general unstruc-
fightingtheirway to the coast, evacuatedthe whole tured questions. But, as the interview develops,
armyandtheFrench. this type of question no longer elicits fresh ma-
Specific evidence of such selective perception terials. Subjects then require assistance in re-
enables the investigator to interpret the occur- porting on further foci of attention. From this
rence or absence of effects rather than accepting point, the interviewer introduces new topics
these as brute data or resorting to conjecture, either through transitions suggested by sub-
unbuttressed by evidence. jects' remarks or, in the final stages, by the ini-
In general, specifying questions should be ex- tiation of topics from the interview guide which
plicit enough to aid the subject in relating his have not yet been explored. The first of these
responses to determinate aspects of the stimulus procedures utilizes transitional questions; the
situation and yet general enough to avoid hav- second, mutational questions.
ing the interviewer structure it. This twofold re- Subject transitions.-It is not enough to say
quirement is best met by unstructured ques- that shifts to a new area of discussion should be
tions, which contain explicit references to the initiated by the subject. The interviewer who is
stimulus material. possessed of what Murray has called "double
hearing" will soon infer from the context of such
THE CRITERION OF RANGE shifts that they have different functions for the
informant and call for different tactics by the
The criterion of range refers to the coverage interviewer.
of pertinent data in the interview. Since any Of the several reasons for shifts engineered
given aspect of the stimulus situation may elicit by the informant, at least three should be con-
different responses and since each response may sidered.
derive from different aspects of the stimulus
i. The topic underdiscussionmay be peripheral
situation, it is necessary for the interviewer to
uncover the range both of response and of evoca- to the subject'sown interests and feelings, so that
he turns to one which holds greatersignificancefor
tive stimuli. Without implying any strict meas- him. In talking about the first topic, he manifests
ure of range, we consider it adequate if the in- no affect but merely lack of interest. He has little
terview yields data which to say fromthe outset and exhibitsboredom,which
a) Confirmor refute the occurrenceof responses givesway to heightenedinterestas he moveson to a
anticipatedfrom the content analysis; new topic.
b) Indicatethat ampleopportunitieshave beenpro- 2. The informant may have talked at length
vided for the reportof unanticipatedreactions; about a given subject,and, having exhaustedwhat
and he has to say, he moves the interviewinto a new
c) Suggest interpretations of findingsderivedfrom area. His behavior then becomes very much the
experimentsor mass statistics. same as in the precedinginstance.
3. He may seek to escapefrom a given area of
Procedures.-The tactics considered up to discussionpreciselybecauseit is imbuedwith high
this point have been found useful at every stage affective significancefor him, and he is not yet
of the interview. But the procedures primarily preparedto verbalizehis feelings. This is betrayed
designed to extend range do depend, in some by varying signs of resistance-prolongedpauses,
tremor of voice, unfinished sen-
measure, on the changing horizons of the inter- self-corrections,
tences, embarrassedsilences, half-articulateutter-
view: on the coverage already obtained, on the ances..
extent to which subjects continue to comment
spontaneously, and on the amount of time avail- On the basis of such behavioral contexts, the
able. The interviewer must, therefore, be vigi- interviewer provisionally diagnoses the meaning
lant in detecting transitions from one stage of of the informant's transition and proceeds ac-
the interview to another, if he is to decide upon cordingly. If he places the transition in the third
procedures appropriate for widening range at category, he makes a mental note to revert to
one point rather than at another. He will, above this critical zone at a later stage of the interview.

If, however, the transition is either of the first topic previously abandoned, either because the
two types, he may safely abandon the topic un- subject had avoided it or, in a group interview,
less it arises again spontaneously. because someone had moved on to a new theme.
Interviewertransitions.-Generally preferable Whenever possible, the reversional question
though it is to have the transitions effected by is cued, i.e., related to the topic under discus-
the subject, there will be occasions, nonetheless, sion. It can, for instance, take this form:
when the interviewer will have to bring about a That suggests somethingyou mentionedprevi-
change in topic. When one topic is exhausted, ously about the scene in which..... What were
when the informant does not spontaneously in- your feelingsat that point in the picture?
troduce another, and when unstructured ques-
tions no longer prove effective, the interviewer When it does not seem possible to relate the
must introduce transitional questions if he is to reversional query to the present context, a
tap the reservoir of response further. He may "cold" reversion may be productive:
introduce a cued transition, or, as the interview INTERVIEWER: A little while ago, you were
progresses and he accumulates a series of items talking about the scenes of bombed-out school
which require further discussion, he may effect houses,and you seemedto have moreideas on that.
a reversional transition.
How did you feel whenyou saw that?
SUBJECT No. 2: I noticeda little girl lying under
In a cued transition, the interviewer so a culvert-it made me readyto go fight then. Be-
adapts a remark or an allusion by an informant cause I have a daughterof my own, and I knew
as to ease him into consideration of a new topic. how I would feel if anything like that happened
This procedure has the advantage of maintain- to her.....
ing the flow of the interview. This latter type of reversional query is used in-
Cued transitions may require the interviewer frequently, however, and only in instances
to exercise considerableingenuity. In the follow- where it seems likely that the informant has
ing case, avowedly cited as an extreme, even "warmed up" to the interviewing situation
bizarre, example, the informant was far afield sufficiently to be articulate about the topic he
from the radio program under discussion, but had avoided earlier.
the interviewer ingeniously picked up a cue and Mutational questions.-Toward the close of
refocused the interview on the program: the interview, there may still remain important
SUBJECT
No. i: The finest ingenuity in Germany points to be covered. Failing an opportunity for
that you ever saw. They are smart. But I think a cued transition, the interviewer may have to
this: I don't thinkwhenthis WorldWaris over that introduce a mutational question, which contains
we won't have anotherwar. We will. We have had an explicit reference to previously unmentioned
them since Cain killed Abel. As long as there are area:
two humanbeingson this earth, there'sgoingto be
a war. How did you feel about that part of the talk
INTERVIEWER: TalkingaboutCain, he could be
which dealt with the use of drugs in an X-ray
called something of a small-time gangster, couldn't examination?
he? Do you happen to remember anything about Ideally, there should be no occasion for mu-
gangsters being brought out at any point in this tational questions. The more skilfully the inter-
program?
viewer uses unstructured questions, the more
SUBJECT No. I: Dillinger. That was where.....
(Here, although the interviewer's association was
alert he is to cues, the more carefully he notes
more than a little far fetched, it served its purpose in items to which he should revert, the less need
bringing the informant back to a consideration of for mutational questions. And their use should
the radio program. Had the interviewer simply be kept at a minimum; for, as soon as the inter-
changedthe subject,he would have indicatedthat viewer introduces a query of this kind, he se-
he thoughtthe informant'sremarksirrelevant,with lects a focus of attention which may have little
a consequent strain on rapport. As it was, the cued saliency for the informant.
transition led the informant to develop at length But mutational questions should be avoided
his structuring of a specific section of the program.
When the time for the interview cannot be extended
for an additional reason. The interviewing nov-
indefinitely, the cued transition enables the curbing ice (who uses them more frequently) often de-
of patent digressions, without prejudice to rapport.) velops a feeling of desperation as he approaches
the close of the interview with a long list of
Reversionaltransitions are those effected by topics still to be discussed. In his anxiety to ob-
the interviewer to obtain further discussion of a tain some response-any response-he breaks

out with a rash of questions in the desperate at times the most useful type of interview ma-
hope that at least one will strike a responsive terial: the unanticipated response.
chord.20 His efforts are not unlike those of the
INTERVIEWER: Well, now what about the first
young child who, having planted a seed, digs it part of the film?You remember,they had photo-
up at hourly intervals to see how much it has graphsof the Germanleadersand quotationsfrom
grown-and they are just as productive. Con- their speeches.....
sider the following examples taken from our SUBJEcT No. IO: I rememberGoering,he looked
dustbin of conspicuous errors: like a big pig. That is what that broughtout to me,
How did you like the combinationof these vari- the fact that if he could controlthe land, he could
ous types of musicin one program?Was the selec- controlthe people.
tion of numbersa wise one? Did it interest you? SUBJECTNo. 7: He is quite an egotist in the pic-
Wouldit makeyou listen to it if you werehome? ture.
Do you rememberthe map showing just how INTERVIEWER:Did you get any impressionabout
Germansoperatedin Franceand the explanationby the Germanpeople from that?
an intelligenceofficer?Do any of the rest of you re- (Here the interviewerintroducesa section of
memberthat part of the film? Did you find your- the filmfor discussion.Beforehe has finishedhis re-
selves pretty well boredby that kind of discussion, marks,an informantvolunteershis impression.No.
or do you feel you learnedsomethingfromit? If you 7 then beginshis interpretationof the section.Both
had your choice,wouldyou want that to be in the remarkssuggest that the informantshave "some-
filmor cut out? thing on their minds."Being moreattentive to his
interviewguide than to the implicationsof the,in-
Engulfed in this deluge of questions and dis- formants' remarks,the interviewerby-passes the
couraged by the apparent request to answer all, hints which might have addedfurtherto the range
the informant ordinarily succeeds in answering of the interview.He then asks the question,from
none. The flurry of queries destroys the atmos- his guide,whichhe had probablyintendedto ask in
phere necessary for a successful interview, as the first place.)
the interviewer is cast in the role of an inquisi- Excessive dependence on the interview guide
tor, charged with anxiety and not interested in
increases the danger of confusing range with
the informant, except as a source of needed
superficiality.The interviewer who feels obligat-
data.
ed to conform closely to the guide may suddenly
In general, then, mutational questions
discover, to his dismay, that he has covered only
should be used only as a last resort, and, when
a small portion of the suggested areas of in-
there is no alternative, they should be phrased
quiry. This invites a rapid shift from topic to
as generally and unspecifically as possible.
topic, with a question devoted to each. In some
Overdependence on theinterviewgutide.-As we
cases the interviewer seems scarcely to listen to
have seen, misuses of the interview guide may
the responses, for his questions are in no way re-
endanger the nondirective character of the in-
lated to previous comments. Comments elicited
terview; they may also impose serious limita-
by this rapid fire of questions are often as super-
tions on the range of material obtained.
ficial and unrevealing as those obtained through
The interviewer may confine himself to the
a fixed questionnaire. The quick "once-over"
areas of inquiry set forth in the guide and choke
technique wastes time: it diverts respondents
off comments which do not directly bear upon
from their foci of attention, without any com-
these areas. This may be termed the fallacy of
pensating increase in the interviewer's informa-
arresting comment.Subjects' remarks which do
tion concerning given areas of inquiry. In view
not fall within these pre-established areas of in-
of the shortcomings of rapid shifts in discussion,
terest may be prematurely and spuriously in-
we suggest the working rule: Do not introducea
terpreted as "irrelevant," thus arresting what is
given topic unless a sustained efort is made to ex-
20
The inexperienced interviewer, beset by social plore it in some detail.
anxiety, often reacts in the same way to the silences
which occasionally follow unstructured questions. THE CRITERION OF DEPTH
He is insensitive to the "pregnant silence." Instead
of remaining silent himself for a minute or modifying Depth, as a criterion, involves the elabora-
his original question, he may bombard the subject tion of affective responses beyond limited re-
with questions. This only makes the informant more ports of "positive" or "negative," "pleasant"
inarticulate and discourages whatever comments or "unpleasant," reactions. The interviewer
might have been forthconiing. seeks to obtain a maximum of self-revelatory

commentsconcerning how the stimulus material with the British portrayed in a documentary
was experienced. film:
The depth of reports in an interview varies
INTERVIEWER: In what way does this picture
not everything reported is on the same psycho- makeyou feel closer[to the British]?
logical level.21The depth of comments may be SUBJECTNo. 6: I don'tcomefromsucha well-to-
thought of as varying along a continuum. At do family as Mrs. Miniver's.Hers was a well-to-do
the lower end of the scale are mere descriptive family, and that picture didn't show anything of
accounts of reactions which allow little more the poorfamilies. But this one broughtit closerto
than a tabulation of "positive" or "negative" my class of people, and you realizewe are all in it
responses. At the upper end are those reports and everybodygets hurt and not just the higher
which set forth varied psychological dimensions class of people.
of the experience. In these are expressed sym-
bolisms, anxieties, fears, sentiments, as well as The criterion of depth also sensitizes the in-
cognitive ideas. A main task of the interviewer, terviewer to variations in the saliency of re-
then, is to diagnose the level of depthon which his sponses. Some responses will be central and in-
subjectsare operatingat any given momentand to vested with affect, urgency, or intense feelings;
shift that leveltowardwhicheverend of the "depth- others will be peripheral, of limited significance
continwuum" hefinds appropriateto the given case. to the subject. The interviewer must elicit suffi-
The criterion of maximizing depth-to the ciently detailed data to discriminate the casual
limited extent possible in a single focused inter- expression of an opinion, which is mentioned
view-guides the interviewer toward searching only because the interview situation seems to
out the personal contextand the saliency of recall for it, from the strongly motivated response
sponses. which reaches into central concerns of the in-
formant. It appears that the atmosphere of an
It is a central task of the focused interview to
determine how the prior experiences and pre- expressive interview allows greater opportunity
for degrees of saliency to be detected than the
dispositions of respondents relate to their struc-
self-ratings of intensity of belief which have
turing of the stimulus situation.22
lately been incorporated into questionnaires
Personal and social contexts provide the links
and attitude scales. But, unless the interviewer
between the stimulus material and the re- is deliberately seeking out depth responses, he
sponses. It is through the discovery of such con-
may not obtain the data needed to distinguish
texts that variations in the meaning ascribed to the central from the peripheral response.
symbols and other content are understood; that
Procedures.-In following up the comments
the ways in which the stimulus material is im-
ported into the experience world of subjects are of subjects, the interviewer may call for two
determined;and that the self-betrayals and self- types of elaboration. He may ask the subjects
revelations which clarify the covert significance to describe what they observed in the stimulus
of a response are elicited. Thus, in the following situation, thus inviting fairly detached, though
excerpt, it becomes clear that social class pro- significantly selective, accounts of the content.
Or he can ask them to report how they felt
vided the context for heightened identification
about the content. Both types of elaboration are
useful; but, since the latter more often leads to
21
See Roethlisberger and Dickson, op. cit., pp. depth responses, it is preferable in a fairly brief
276-78. interview. Consequently, we sketch only those
22
Two kinds of personal context typically find tactics which lead to the second type of elab-
expression in the focused interview. The one is the oration.
idiosyncratic context, highly personalized experiences Focus on feelings.-It has been found that
which are likely to occur rarely even within a rela- subjects move rather directly toward a report
tively homogeneous group (e.g., the American sub- of depth responses when the follow-up questions
ject who remarks: "..... it reminds me of the way contain key words which refer explicitly to a
I felt when my brother came back from the war feeling context.Focusing on a fairly recent, con-
after he had been reported dead. We were living in
Russia and . . . ."). The other is the role context,
crete experience, subjects usually become pro-
experiences which are common for persons occupy- gressively interested in exploring its previously
ing a given status. Which of these types of context unverbalized dimensions, and, for the most
is of greatest concern to the interviewer depends, of part, no elaborate detour is needed to have
course, on the purposes of his study. them express their sentiments. But the context

for such reporting must be established and Comparativesituations.-In certain cases the
maintained. Thus the interviewer should phrase interviewer can use the partially directive tech-
a question in such terms as "How did you feel nique of suggesting meaningful comparisons be-
when.... ?" rather than imply a mere tween the test situation and parallel experiences
mnemonic context by asking "What do you which the subjects are known, or can be pre-
rememberabout .... ?" sumed, to have had. Such comparisons of con-
Illustrations are plentiful to show how such crete experiences aid the verbalization of affect.
seemingly slight differences in phrasing lead The suggested comparison is designed not so
respondents from an impersonal description of much to have subjects draw objective parallels
content to reports of their emotional responses (or contrasts) between the two experiences as
to this content. to serve as a release for introspective and affec-
tive responses.
INTERVIEWER: Do you happento rememberthe
scenes showingWarsawbeing bombedand shelled? Witness the following excerpt from an inter-
What stood out about that part of the film? view with inductees, who had implied that they
SUBJECTNo. i: The way peopledidn't have any were viewing a documentary film of Nazi mili-
shelter; the way they were running around and tary training within the context of their own
getting bombed..... current experience:
(The interviewer's "What stood out?" has INTERVIEWER: Do you supposethat we Ameri-
elicited only an abbreviatedaccount of the film cans trainourmenin the sameway [i.e., comparison
content.He mighthave proceededto followthis line with Nazi trainingas shownin film]?
of thought-elaborations of the objective events, SUBJECT No. 6: They train them more thorough-
further details of the squadronsof bombers,and ly.
so on. But this wouldhave been comparativelyun- SUBJECT No. 2: The way we are rushed through
productive,since the intervieweris primarilycon- our trainingoverhere,it doesn'tseempossible.
cerned with what these scenes meant to the in- SUBJECT No. I: That's what enters my mind
formant. Therefore,he shifts attention to the re- about the trainingwe are getting here. Of course,a
sponselevel and at once elicits an elaboratereport lot of talk exists amongthe fellowsthat as soon as
of feeling, which we reproducein part.) trainingis over, we're going into the fight. I don't
INTERVIEWER: How did you feel when you saw knowany moreabout it than they do. The training
that? we'regoing to get right here is just our basic train-
SUBJECTNo. i: I still can't get workedup over ing and if we get shippedacross, I can't see that
it yet [1942], becausein this countryyou just can't we'd know anythingabout it except marchingand
realizewhat war is like over there. I'm talkingfor doingalittle leftflankand rightflankandafew other
myself. I know I couldn'tfight at the presenttime thingslike that.....
with the viciousnessof one of those people.I could (The suggested comparison provided an apt
shoot a man beforehe'd shoot me, knowinghe was opportunityfor the subjectsto go on to expresstheir
going to shoot me. But I couldn'thave the vicious- anxieties about going overseas unprepared for
ness I know those peoplehave..... combat.The interviewerwas then able to ascertain
Restatementof implied or expressedfeelings.- the specificscenesin the filmwhichhad furtherpro-
Once the feelings context has been established, voked these anxieties.)
further elaboration will be prompted by the oc- It should be emphasized, however, that this
casional restating of the feelings implied or ex- procedure is effective only when the experience
pressed in comments. This technique, extensive- drawn on for comparison is known to be cen-
ly developed by Carl Rogers in his work on trally significant to the subject and if the com-
psychotherapeutic counseling, serves a twofold parison flows from the interview. Otherwise,
function. By so rephrasing emotionalized atti- comparisons, far from facilitating depth re-
tudes, the interviewer implicitly invites pro- sponses, actually disrupt the continuity of the
gressive elaboration by the informant. And, sec- interview and impose an alien frame of refer-
ond, such reformulations enhance rapport, since ence upon the informant. In such instances the
the interviewer thus makes it clear that he fully interviewer becomes a target for hostility: he is
"understands" and "follows" the informant, as asked to define his terms, state the purpose be-
he proceeds to express his feelings.23 hind his question, and the like.
23 Carl Rogers, Counseling and Psychotherapy,
CONCLUSION
and "The Non-directive Method for Social Re-
search," American Journal of Sociology, L (I945), Social scientists have come to abandon the
279-83. spurious choice between qualitative and quan-

titative data; they are concerned rather with thon servedto increasethe frequencyof the Smith-
that combination of both which makes use of the as-patriotimage which entered into the processof
most valuable features of each.24The problem persuasion.In this instance the focused interview
becomes one of determining at which points he was used to develophypotheses,the mass schedule
to checkthem at strategicpoints.
should adopt the one, and at which the other,
approach. In other cases the procedure has been re-
The passing references made to the chief versed. The focused interview has served to in-
functions of the focused interview can perhaps terpret previously ascertained experimentalfind-
be best summarized by indicating how such ings. In one experimental study of a documen-
qualitative materials have been integrated with tary film, an effect was found which ran counter
quantitative data. When the interview precedes to all expectations.
the experimental or statistical study, it is used The basic theme of the film, iterated and re-
as a sourceof hypotheses,later submitted to sys- iterated throughout,held that Britain fought and
tematic test. A study of the social psychology won the crucial "Battle of Britain" alone, thus
of mass persuasion exemplified in a war-bond securinga preciousyear in which the United States
drive on the radio provides a case in point.25 could prepare.Nevertheless,the film producedthe
In the preliminaryphases of this study, focused boomerangeffectof significantlyincreasingthe pro-
interviewswere conductedwith ioo personswho portionofthosewhofeltthatBritainwouldhavebeen
had hearda "marathon"war-bonddriveby a radio conqueredhad it not been for our Lend-Leasesup-
"celebrity," Kate Smith, whose broadcasts at plies at the time (despite the commentator'sre-
fifteen-minuteintervals during a period of seven- minderthat our aid was then little "morethan a
teen hours resulted in $39,ooo,ooo bond pledges.
trickle"). Focusedinterviewswere conductedwith
Analysisof the interviewsindicatedthat the public sampleaudiencesto determine,amongotherthings,
image of Smith as a "patriotnonpareil"played an the sourcesand process of this boomerangeffect.
importantrole in the process of persuasionand, The interviews found that audiences responded
further,that this image was, in turn, the result of selectively; they magnifieda single ten-secondclip
of a few crates stamped "from the U.S.A." being
"propagandaof the deed," i.e., of publicizedacts
rather than verbalclaims. The marathon bond unloadedon a Londondock. This scene was taken
drive itself was an instance of such propaganda, to symbolizeAmericanaid and, to all intents and
as the interviewsrevealed. To test this interpre- purposes,an Americanvictory. Just as ethnocen-
tation, a polling interview with a representative trismleads subjectsto perceiveAmericanstampsas
samplewas conductedto determinethe comparative largerthan foreignstamps of equal size, so part of
the audience seized upon and magnifiedthe only
currency of the Smith-as-patriotimage among scene in the entire filmwhich referredto an Ameri-
thosewhohadandhadnot heardthe marathonbond
drive.By keepingconstantlisteners'relationshipsto can achievement.
Smith-"fans," "occasional listeners," and non- Such interview evidence not only provides
listeners-the hypothesiswas confirmed.Amongall grounds for interpreting an otherwise unintelli-
threegroupsit wasfoundthat exposureto the mara-
gible experimental result but also helps design
24 See Paul F. Lazarsfeld, "The Controversy over a further experimental check on the interpreta-
Detailed Interviews-an Offer for Negotiation," tion by appropriate revisions of the film.
Public Opinion Quarterly, VIII (I944), 38-80; and These brief illustrations must suffice to indi-
Paul Wallin, "The Prediction of Individual Be- cate the auxiliary role of the focused interview
havior from Case Studies," in Paul Horst (ed.), as an instrument of research. It is hoped that,
The Prediction of Personal Adjustment (New York:
with increasing use, its procedures will be sub-
Social Science Research Council, I94I).
stantially improved and its applications greatly
25 Robert K. Merton, Alberta Curtis, and Mar-
extended.
jorie Fiske, Mass Persuasion (New York: Harper &
Bros., in press). COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY


Merton Kendall1946

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THE FOCUSED INTERVIEW"

ROBERT K. MIERTONAND PATRICIA L. KENDALL

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what personal associations came to mind; and i. Specifyingthe effectivestimulus

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Journal of Sociology, L (1945), esp. 467-69. Repression," in H. A. Murray, Exploration in Per-

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Following a series of tests of documentary films,

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