ABSTRACT

The relative and combined effectiveness of verbal versus nonverbal techniques in eliciting rapport during interviews is unknown. The effectiveness of one verbal and one nonverbal behavioral technique presumed to be associated with rapport-building were compared to determine if either or both could influence participants to disclose more personal information. In an experiment, an interviewer performed one of four conditions with participants: verbal commonalities, mirrored body postures, a combination of both, or neither (control). Results indicated that participants were more willing to discuss personal, or “closed” topics when verbal commonalities were used alone, versus in conjunction with nonverbal mirroring. The simple effect of mirroring trended in the predicted direction but was not significantly different from the control group. Practical and research-based implications for rapport-building in interviews are discussed.

摘要

口头与非语言技巧在访谈期间引发融洽关系的相对和综合有效性尚不清楚。比较了一种假定与建立融洽关系的语言和一种非语言行为技术的有效性，以确定其中一个或两个是否会影响参与者披露更多个人信息。在一项实验中，采访者对参与者进行了四种情况中的一种：语言共性、镜像的身体姿势、两者的组合，或两者都不是（对照）。结果表明，当单独使用口头共性时，参与者更愿意讨论个人或“封闭”主题，而不是与非语言镜像结合使用。镜像的简单效果趋向于预测的方向，但与对照组没有显着差异。