ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to set interviewing within a social psychological context. It describes in particular two main social psychological theories pertaining to attribution and social influence. The chapter intends to clarify the appropriateness of attribution theory and social influence theory to a greater understanding of 'interviewing' and concludes by outlining a number of errors which may occur in the process. Referring to the interview situation, the operation of the fundamental attribution error may lead to dispositional attributions being made when actions occur in accordance with the situational requirements. However, there are certain types of interview situations where, for example, personal change is an important outcome, in which a knowledge of the processes of influence might be of considerable benefit to both parties. The inclusion of the social influence model would seem justified on the grounds of it being 'the emerging theory of this part of the century'.
