Interviewing Skills for Adolescent Development

Examine historical views of adolescence

ObjectivesIf you complete Topic 2, you should be able to1. examine historical views of adolescence by comparing the adolescence of people of various ages ORcompare experiences of adolescents from different ethnic or socioeconomic backgrounds.2. develop interviewing skills.3. write an interview report.Instructions1. Outline the topics you plan to cover in your interview. Questions should address the following aspects ofadolescent development:cognitive developmentsocial cognitionpolitical reasoningreligious reasoningmoral reasoningparent-child relationshippeer relationsadolescent problemsQuestions could cover topics such as school, dating, friendship, work, relationships with parents andsiblings, fashion, recreation, and perceived similarities to and differences from today's adolescents.1. Prepare a set of interview questions. Organize them topically, and arrange them in approximately theorder in which they will be asked.2. Rephrase any leading questions (e.g., "How has your family shaped your vocational choice?"). Avoidasking questions that can be answered with yes or no. The order in which the questions are asked is alsoimportant. Asking more open-ended questions before following up with more focused questions.3. Move from one topic to another smoothly by using transitional statements (e.g., "Now that you havetold me what school was like in those days, let's talk about your experiences outside of school.")4. Select three willing persons of various ages (an adolescent, a 30- to 40-year-old, and a 60- to 70-year-old) to interview. Please avoid interviewing people from the same family.5. One of the basic ethical principles in conducting psychological research requires that free and informedconsent be given by the participants. To adhere to this principle, be sure that your intervieweesunderstand the purpose of this exercise and the task involved. Emphasize that the interviewee maychoose not to answer any of the questions and may stop the interview at any time. Ask the intervieweesif they feel comfortable having the interviews recorded, whether they wish to have the recordings erasedafter they have been transcribed, and whether they wish to review the transcript.6. Another basic ethical principle in conducting psychological research involves anonymity of theparticipants and confidentiality of the information they provide. To adhere to this principle, you mustnot include the interviewees' names on the tape or in the report. In addition, you must avoid revealingthe identity of the interviewees inadvertently. For example, if you interview the only school principal inyour town, ask yourself whether it is necessary to include your interviewee's occupation, since theparticipant's occupation, in this context, would be an identifying factor. If it is unnecessary, then omitthe information. If the information is necessary, consider describing your interviewee as someone whoworks in education instead of someone who is a school principal