Non-directive interviewing

At its simplest, this means interviewing that avoids leading questions, those that indicate a particular answer as 'preferred' by the interviewer.

This term also refers to the style of interviewing commonly adopted by 'conative' qualitative market researchers, loosely based on the principles developed for therapeutic purposes by the humanistic psychologist Carl Rogers. In this style, the interviewer takes a non-judgemental stance and uses active listening to bring out respondents' attitudes and feelings. In this sense, the researcher strives to allow respondents themselves to set the terms and parameters of the discussion.

Related Terms

• Conative model
• Humanistic psychology
• Leading question