TY - JOUR

T1 - Trying similarity, doing difference: The role of interviewer self-disclosure in interview talk with young people.

AU - Abell, Jackie

AU - Condor, Susan G.

AU - Gibson, S.

AU - Locke, A.

N1 - Abell was lead author. She formulated the idea and argument, conducted the analysis, and produced the write-up. RAE_import_type : Journal article RAE_uoa_type : Psychology

PY - 2006/5

Y1 - 2006/5

N2 - Advocates of semi-structured interview techniques have often argued that rapport may be built, and power inequalities between interviewer and respondent counteracted, by strategic self-disclosure on the part of the interviewer. Strategies that use self-disclosure to construct similarity between interviewer and respondent rely on the presumption that the respondent will in fact interpret the interviewer's behaviour in this way. In this article we examine the role of interviewer self-disclosure using data drawn from three projects involving interviews with young people. We consider how an interviewer's attempts to ‘do similarity’ may be interpreted variously as displays of similarity or, ironically, as indicators of difference by the participant, and map the implications that this may have for subsequent interview dialogue. A particular object of concern relates to the ways in which self-disclosing acts may function in the negotiation of category entitlement within interview interactions.

AB - Advocates of semi-structured interview techniques have often argued that rapport may be built, and power inequalities between interviewer and respondent counteracted, by strategic self-disclosure on the part of the interviewer. Strategies that use self-disclosure to construct similarity between interviewer and respondent rely on the presumption that the respondent will in fact interpret the interviewer's behaviour in this way. In this article we examine the role of interviewer self-disclosure using data drawn from three projects involving interviews with young people. We consider how an interviewer's attempts to ‘do similarity’ may be interpreted variously as displays of similarity or, ironically, as indicators of difference by the participant, and map the implications that this may have for subsequent interview dialogue. A particular object of concern relates to the ways in which self-disclosing acts may function in the negotiation of category entitlement within interview interactions.

KW - category entitlement • identity • interaction • interviews • narrative • self-disclosure

U2 - 10.1177/1468794106062711

DO - 10.1177/1468794106062711

M3 - Journal article

VL - 6

SP - 221

EP - 244

JO - Qualitative Research

JF - Qualitative Research

SN - 1741-3109

IS - 2

ER -