Is it Something I Said? An Examination of Apprehension and Adaptation Communication Traits on Field Interviewer Performance.
David Alward
RTI International
Stephen King
RTI International
This study explores whether field interviewers' adaptation and apprehension communication traits - which explain how, why, and when individuals communicate in a given situation - can predict how a field interviewer performs and analyzes how traits relate to performance on large national studies that use in-home, computer-assisted personal interviewing techniques. Additionally, we examine whether a specific trait's presence or absence can predict performance. Results show significant correlations between cognitive flexibility, communication apprehension, and interpersonal communication competence with overall field interviewer performance, and a predictive relationship between communication apprehension and overall field interviewer performance, meaning this trait can be used, in part, to predict success.