Types of questions (open, closed, alternative) and their role in communication.

Questions, their types and meaning

Definition 1
Questions are a special type of logical concepts that are veiled requirements used to clarify circumstances, clarify information, and resolve a problem situation.

In business communication, dispute or polemic, questions play a very important role; with their help, you can clarify a lot, but you can also greatly confuse them. A question asked appropriately highlights the opponent’s weaknesses, and the ability to ask it correctly is an art. Everyone knows that half the answer is asking the right question.

The questions asked in different areas of activity are different; for example, the questions a psychologist asks a client will differ from the questions asked to close people.

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Naturally, the psychologist’s questions will be aimed at solving certain problems:

• to maintain contact with the client;
• to obtain the necessary information;
• to clarify or test the hypotheses put forward;
• for the transfer of information.

The ability to ask questions is an important professional skill of a psychologist and a condition for effective counseling.

The types of questions are different and their simple classification distinguishes clarifying and complementary questions, complex and simple questions, correct and incorrect, neutral, benevolent, provocative.

Figure 1. Types of questions. Author24 - online exchange of student work

Clarification questions require a simple “yes” or “no” answer and are aimed at determining the truth or falsity of information. Often this type of question is called closed.

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Open questions begin with the interrogative words “what”, “who”, “where”, “when”, “how”, “why”. Questioning helps to get a detailed answer and new information regarding any event or phenomenon.

Valid questions are based on true propositions, while incorrect questions are based on false propositions.

Neutral questions do not have an impact on the interlocutor and do not contain emotional overtones.

It is clear that benevolent questions indicate goodwill toward the interlocutor, while provocative ones contain incitement to wrong actions and have a negative connotation.

Multidirectional questions better support communicative interaction, and if they are also posed correctly, they make it possible to obtain more information about the interlocutor and manage the course of business communication.

Questions activate the interlocutor and provide an opportunity to assert themselves.

Asking questions helps:

• significantly clarify the interests of the interlocutor;
• focus on the necessary details of the conversation;
• find out your partner’s objections;
• take the initiative in conversation;
• communicate your point of view;
• destroy confidence in something;
• build partnerships;
• take a leadership position during the conversation.

Thus, questions are a way to make a person think and, if you use them skillfully, know and distinguish between them, then a lot can be accomplished.

Personality tests

Any method or tool for assessing personality. Typically, direct tests (eg, the Minnesota Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire) are different from indirect or projection tests (eg, the Rorschach test).

The Minnesota Multidimensional Personality Inventory is one of the most widely used self-assessment personality questionnaires. The first version, published in 1942, consisted of a core set of 550 items, each of which was a descriptive statement of characteristic feelings or behaviors by which the subject expressed agreement or disagreement. It was originally developed as a clinical diagnostic tool and contained eight scales. It was designed to assess the most common (at the time) clinical syndromes. Although the MMPI has not proven to be the objective clinical assessment tool that its developers intended, it has become extremely useful in the study of social/personal problems. In fact, there are now over 200 separate scales measuring traits and characteristics such as anxiety, ego strength, masculinity/femininity, and interior/exterior that were developed from the original MMPI item battery. Due to the fact that many of the items were outdated, and due to possible biases in the selection of items and measurement scales, changes were made to the questionnaire in the late 1980s and the scoring system was revised to reflect the results obtained from a large, representative sample of Americans. The revised version contains 567 items, each of which is a statement about oneself that must be answered with “true,” “false,” or “can't say.” It currently contains 15 sequential scales that cover a range of psychological problems, such as: Anxiety, depression, anger, social discomfort, family problems, etc., and there are versions for both adults and adolescents.

The Rorschach (ink slot) test is so named because it was developed by Swiss scientist Dr. Hermann Rorschach. The test consists of ten symmetrically crushed ink spots on paper - both colored and black. Looking at each such blot, the person being tested must answer the question of what he sees in it or what it reminds of. Just as one looks at the clouds floating in the sky on a clear summer day, one can see in them something similar to a ship, a galloping horseman and a thousand other objects. But each person sees something different.

The test is very simple and accessible to everyone. But to recognize something in these places, one person may need 10 minutes, another several hours. There is no time limit and you cannot prepare an answer in advance, so your answers are never wrong or wrong. They are always objective. Having collected them and noting how much time was spent, the psychologist analyzes all the material received and draws a conclusion about the personality of the subject.

The Rorschach test is used to study personality. It is considered the best test available today, although it is usually used in combination with other techniques

Open questions in psychology

For a psychologist, open-ended questions provide information about the essence of the client’s difficulties and, as a rule, begin with the words “what,” “who,” “how,” “why,” “could,” “and if not.” It is difficult to answer them in monosyllables - “yes”, “no”, so the client needs to give a complete and detailed answer to them. For example, the client has the opportunity to formulate his answer without restrictions to the question - “Can you tell me what we can talk about?”

The psychologist, by asking open-ended questions, finds out the general picture of the current situation and the main facts of the situation, as well as the client’s attitude to these facts and his judgments. During the collection of information, the psychologist finds out how much the client understands his problem, what feelings he experiences and the characteristics of his thinking. These same questions can be used in the third stage to find out the client's goals and what he thinks about these goals.

Note 1

During such a conversation, it is important for the psychologist to show a sense of proportion, especially with regard to the question “why” - this question is very alarming and the client may have a desire to defend himself.

Open-ended questions activate the defense mechanism of rationalization and, above all, because the client has probably thought about this problem and prepared a system of explanations for himself.

Active and long-term questioning of the client can be perceived by him as aggression on the part of the psychologist, and Gestalt therapists interpret asking questions in the same way.

When asking open-ended questions to a client, it is important to remember some rules, for example:

• The questions “who?” are guided only by facts, and not by feelings. So what?";
• the question “how?” is focused on the inner world of a person, his behavior;
• The question “why?” should be avoided in counseling, as it provokes defensive reactions in the client;
• You cannot ask several questions at the same time, because the answers to them may be completely different and unrelated;
• questions should not precede the client’s answers.

If the answer to a question is vague, it’s worth clarifying, for example, how are you doing at work? When the answer is “not bad”, it is clarified – “what does not bad mean to you?” An important detail in the clarifying question is that a person puts completely different content into the same concepts.

Open questions have their advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is the possibility of voluntarily transmitting information to the interlocutor and the ability to freely talk about your feelings, freely comment on this or that event.

They focus on thinking, analyzing their actions, give the opportunity to speak without restrictions and force the interlocutor to listen carefully to the speaker.

The disadvantage is the possibility of embarrassment for a client who does not have experience answering open-ended questions, the possibility of provoking a very long answer, a confusing and chaotic answer that is difficult to understand, the need to ask leading questions, which can offend the client and complicate the flow of the conversation.

General information

The survey method is used in psychology in two forms: Questionnaires and conversations (interviews).

The source of information in the survey is written or oral assessments of people. The survey method is often criticized: Doubts are expressed about the reliability of the information obtained from direct responses from subjects. To obtain more reliable information, special questionnaires are created to obtain information corresponding to a specific hypothesis, and this information should be as reliable as possible. In psychology, special rules have been developed for composing questions, asking them in the correct order, grouping them into separate blocks, etc.

If a survey is conducted in written form using a questionnaire, then it is called a questionnaire method, the advantage of which is that a group of people can participate in the survey at the same time. The data obtained through the questionnaire can be statistically analyzed. In legal practice, questionnaires are used quite often, but it should be remembered that obtaining reliable and reliable facts requires the professional knowledge of the creators of the questionnaires. An incorrectly designed questionnaire not only does not provide reliable information, but also jeopardizes the method itself. Considering the survey method as a whole, we can state that it is a means of initial orientation and preliminary clarification. The data obtained through questionnaires provides clues for further investigation into an individual or group of individuals.

Obtaining information through direct communication between the researcher and the respondent is characteristic of the conversational method (interview). A conversation is a more “psychological” form of interrogation, since it is an interaction between people that is subject to certain socio-psychological laws. The most important condition for a successful interview is the establishment of contact between the researcher and the interviewee in order to create a confidential atmosphere of dialogue. The researcher must meet with the interviewee because he must be open.

A survey can be considered one of the most common methods of obtaining information about subjects - respondents. A survey involves asking people specific questions, the answers to which allow the researcher to obtain the necessary information depending on the objectives of the study. The characteristics of the survey are determined by its mass nature, which is determined by the specific tasks that it solves. Massiveness is due to the fact that the psychologist usually needs to obtain information about a group of individuals, and not to study one individual.

A person is an individual, a separately existing organism or an individual as a representative of the human race; one member of a society, nation, class or social group. An individual is an individual from birth; the individual is not “one,” but “one of” human society. This term emphasizes the dependence of the individual on society.

Dividing questions

When we want to clarify something that we already know, to show our disbelief and surprise, we need the skill of constructing tag questions . They are called so because before the clarification there is a comma, which separates the two parts of the question: affirmation/denial and the tail - tag .

• She is your friend, isn't she? ‒ She's your friend, isn't she?

Such questions are also called questions with a tail, and they have a very interesting construction model.

Alternative questions

Following from the name, such questions invite the interlocutor to choose one of two proposed options, which are joined by the conjunction “or” - or . This could be a choice of objects, places, actions, qualities, and so on.

The question itself is structured like an ordinary general question, only at the end we offer the interlocutor an alternative: this option or that one? The scheme will be as follows:

• Would (auxiliary verb) you (subject) like (predicate) some tea or coffee? ‒ Would you like tea or coffee?

• Will (modal verb) she (subject) be back (predicate) at 6 pm or 7 pm? ‒ Will she be back at 6 or 7 pm?

What's the result?

There are five main types of questions in English. We hope that after reading our article, you have a better understanding of this topic and can easily not only answer the following questions, but also translate them into English:

• How to construct questions in English? ‒ How to form questions in English?
• How to ask questions correctly in English? ‒ How to ask questions in English correctly?
• What kinds of questions are there in English? ‒ What sort of questions exist in English?

Writing questions in English becomes a difficult task for many: it takes a lot of time and effort to learn the rules and practice knowledge in practice. But as with anything, the more you practice, the better. Ask questions in your head while you go to work, cook dinner, or walk the dog. Let's review all types of questions in English one more time.

Special questions

Very often, the construction of questions in English includes WH-questions - special question words:

What ‒ what?

Where - where?

Who ‒ who?

When - when?

Why - why?

How - how?

These interrogative words are placed first in special questions, and they are followed by the rest, which is built according to the general question pattern:

What (question word) did (auxiliary verb) you (subject) do (predicate) yesterday? - What did you do yesterday?

Where (question word) have (auxiliary verb) you (subject) been (predicate)? - Where have you been?

Who (question word) has (auxiliary verb) traveled (predicate) to India? ‒ Who traveled to India?

When (question word) will (auxiliary verb) you (subject) go (predicate) to a doctor? - When will you go to the doctor?

Why (question word) should (auxiliary verb) I (subject) do (predicate) my homework everyday? ‒ Why do I have to do my homework every day?

How (question word) can (auxiliary verb) I (subject) learn (predicate) more about this opportunity? ‒ How can I find out more about this opportunity?