Review of The psychology of the interview

Abstract

Reviews the book, The psychology of the interview by R. C. Oldfield (1941). Here is a book from England based on data obtained by watching numerous skilled interviewers at work, by interviewing the interviewers about their methods, and by conducting interview experiments using certain special procedures. It discusses the best types of procedures, the attitudes to be adopted by the interviewer, and the manner in which he may formulate his judgments afterwards. A considerable part of the discussion appears to consist of general observations which frequently have been made concerning the art and process of interviewing. Oldfield does not include a bibliography or any reference to the work of other students of the interview and one wonders whether he consciously or unconsciously ignored the fine research of several men in this country in the psychology of the interview. This book will be interesting to vocational counselors but they may be somewhat disappointed in terms of vitality and validity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)